Every child deserves to be exposed to sport from early age – studies have shown that sport develops the five ‘C’s’, which are critical for youth development: “Competence, confidence, connections, character, and caring”. Many children from previously disadvantaged backgrounds don’t have access to extra-mural activities and this results in them missing out on vital learning opportunities, which could assist in building individual self-esteem, social integration, and acceptance; sports also offer children a constructive and rewarding way of channelling their passion and energy.
Over the past few years, Playball KZN has donated their time to teaching our students at the iThamba Academy essential sport skills, as there was a need for our children to be exposed to sport as a tool for physical, psychological, and social development. This amazing relationship lead Kim Tregear, the head of Playball, and new Chairman of the Kearsney Hockey club, to form a small team of iThemba Academy students to join the Kearsney Mini Hockey group, along with the Madsen Hockey Coaching Academy. Ten of our Grade 4 students were selected to play at an under-9 level, and were sponsored hockey sticks, shin guards, gum guards, and t-shirts from KZN Hockey. Kim is incredibly passionate about the importance of offering all children, regardless of background, a fair opportunity to develop their skills in sports, and be chosen based on merit and skill alone.
Our Academy students have had an amazing journey with our partners in hope, and after a few weeks of starting at Kearsney, the students integrated themselves with the rest of the children at the club. The team practised every Friday at 5:30pm at Kearsney, and it was great to see the students learning to play on Astroturf amongst professional equipment. An amazing blessing is that a local taxi driver, Sihle dedicated his time to picking up the students and taking them to practise every Friday, as well as to their games on the weekend.
The iThemba Academy learners have taken part in competitions across the upper highway, including an exciting round robin at Westville Girls High. The 5 girls and 5 boys from the iThemba Academy group were split into different teams, and it was wonderful to see how quickly the teams bonded and stuck together throughout the tournament. The children were also joined by their parents who had the opportunity to see their bright little ones play hockey for the first time.
The hockey season has drawn to a close, and it ended off with a prize-giving ceremony for all players. Each member of the iThemba Academy team received an award, and were given their hockey sticks to keep, and to further develop their love for the sport. A massive thank you to the team at Kearsney Mini Hockey, Kearsney Hockey Club, Friends of Hockey, and Adele, Trevor and Jayne from Madsen Hockey Coaching Academy, for all of their amazing support.
We are incredibly excited for the future of hockey at the iThemba Academy, and we look forward to growing our Hockey team, as well as the great fundamental skills that go along with sport in all of our students.