As part of its contribution towards the first Netball World Cup being hosted in Africa, by South Africa in 2023, Maties Sport Netball and the Centre for Sport Leadership (CSL) have embarked on social impact initiatives to benefit the greater Stellenbosch netball community. The first phase of these initiatives was implemented last weekend (23-25 September 2022). Maties Netball and the CSL sponsored four (4) teachers (two teachers from Makapula High School and two teachers from Cloetesville High School) to undergo coaching certification. The teachers took part in Netball South Africa’s (NSA) Level 1 coaching course, hosted by Cape Winelands Netball, in Paarl. The teachers in question were: Philile Mtshali, Xoliswa Mbobo (both from Makapula High School), Nicole Jaundry Sardien and Sherelize Engelbrecht (both from Cloetesville High School).
The aim of the NSA level 1 coaching course is to develop and strengthen the knowledge base of those involved in team selections, coaching and those who have just started coaching netball. This is to help them to consistently operate in a state of optimal performance.
Our sponsored coaches have between a year to seven (7) years experience in netball coaching. A year after completing their NSA level 1 coaching course, these four ladies will again be eligible to pursue their NSA level 2 coaching accreditation.
The coaches had the following to say about their experience this past weekend:
Coaches from Makapula High School: “The experience was highly informative; we were able to learn other things that we need to apply when we are coaching the kids. For example, to make sure that we encourage players, to be fair and honest with them. Also, to improve ourselves, we need to do research and communicate with other coaches”.
Coaches from Cloetesville High School: “Thank you for the opportunity. We appreciate it. The experience was highly informative, and we have learnt a lot”.
This coaching course is part of phased social impact initiatives by Maties Netball and the CSL, which will culminate in a netball tournament for primary (U/13) and high school (U/14 and U/16) teams from the above-mentioned schools and other schools in the Stellenbosch community. The netball tournament will be in partnership with Rough Diamond NGO. This pilot tournament will hopefully serve as a talent identification tournament in a few years to come, for institutions in the Western Cape.
Written By: Dr Nana Adom-Aboagye
Additional contributions from: Ms Noluvo Gosa and Mr Sakhumzi Gabela
