COLUMN: Township talent being forced to ‘retire’ from athletics

The U12 girls’ and boys’ 3km events at the ASA cross-country championship last month earned gold and silver medals for Central Gauteng Athletics (CGA) and Benoni Northerns Athletics Club (BNAC).

That Chelsea van Dyk and Siyanda Madlabane, both ranked first provincially in this category in their age group, went to Gqeberha and delivered might seem to some that talent alone carried them across the line.

Or was it a coincidence? Fluke? Luck? A once-in-a-century vein of athletic talent? Maybe not.

Their prowess and winning attitude indicate something else may be going on, and it is.

At Northerns and most clubs in the suburbs, parents are always on the sidelines, cheering on their children.

Madlabane’s coach and guardian were at the nationals and all the CGA cross-country league meets, while the first familiar faces Van Dyk saw when she cut the tape for her gold in the national and provincial champs were her coach and parents.

Unfortunately, it’s not the case for most children who play or run for township-based clubs.

Or put it this way, whatever the parents in the suburbs do, we in the townships do the opposite.

Your child tries out for an U10 soccer team, joins a running club and becomes part of a netball team, but the parent/s will not attend a single event.

What is your excuse for not taking an hour or two on a Saturday morning to stand on the touchline and cheer on your child?

Exhaustion? Laundry? An outing with friends so your child’s extra-curricular activities don’t matter?

Whatever the excuse, research shows children are more likely to participate in sports and succeed if they receive parental support, as per a study by the African Journal for Physical Health Education, Recreation and Dance.

Enter Van Dyk and Madlabane. See why they have been successful?

Here is a shocker, though.

Isaac Ndlovu from East Athletic Club said to me once: “I had a very talented young runner we bought running shoes for after seeing her talent. Her parents instructed her to stop running because we were apparently using her talent to make money.”

Perplexing.

The girl was forced into ‘retirement’. She probably lost the one chance she had to become a national treasure.

How many such athletes in the townships are forced to ‘retire’ from athletics or sports, in general, because of a lack of parental support?

Hundreds? Thousands? We’ll never know.

What do most of these children turn to once they stop participating in sports? Crime? Nyaope? Alcohol?

Take a stroll in your area. You may find the answer on one of the street corners.

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