Phele has big visions for cricket
Isaac Phele (37) who is a Vosloorus Cricket Club (VCC) junior team coach said his love for cricket started at the tender age of 10 while growing up in Soweto.
He said when he arrived in Vosloorus, there was no cricket team in Vosloorus.
“Because of my love for the sport, I had no choice but to look for the nearest team around Vosloorus. The nearest team was in Dawn Park where I joined the Dawn Park Cricket Club that was playing under Bakers Cricket League, which is now KFC Mini Cricket League. I joined them and my coaches at that time were happy about my talent and dedication,” said Phele.
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He said in 1996, cricket was introduced in Vosloorus.
“To avoid travelling to Dawn Park everyday, I decided to join the Vosloorus Cricket Club. I played for their team until I graduated to their senior team.
“When I reached the age limit, I decided to offer my coaching services at a local primary school,” he said.
Phele completed a level one mini-cricket coaching certificate in 2014.
“After I got my certificate, I started to coach the Vosloorus Cricket Club junior team.
“After that, I never looked back as I obtained a level two mini-cricket coaching certificate,” he said.
One of Phele’s biggest achievements was the establishment of the Vosloorus Basadi Cricket Club (VBCC), a club for women between the ages of 40 to 75.
He said no one saw this coming because he was known as a coach for only junior teams. “But the vision behind forming this team was big as it had to do with preventing cricket from vanishing. What make me happy is that the vision is yielding good results.
“I formed this team because I wanted elderly women to continue instilling the love for cricket to their grandchildren at home, even if I am not around.
“Many young people easily lose interest in the sport because no one encourages them. With VBCC having such dedicated players it is very easy to teach children at home. It also makes my job easy as well,” said Phele.
He said he teaches VBCC players the basics of cricket so that they can be able to assist their children and grandchildren to train at their own pace at home.
Phele said before he retires at VCC, he wishes to see many sponsors coming on board and support township cricket.
He also wishes to see Vosloorus having its own cricket stadium and to see a big number of parents coming to support their children.
