Meet the boy who plays netball

His love for netball began at age 14 in 2017 after he saw the Mighty Queens netball team in Madumeleng village playing with simplicity and excellence. When he realised that netball was actually easy to learn he asked to join the club and they accepted him. Two girls from the club, Orlia Lebea and Hope Seoka volunteered to teach him the basics and today he has become a star player scoring many goals for his club. Last Sunday, Tumelo scored 13 goals for Satlaleng when they beat Roots Netball Club 15-5 in a friendly game. A crowd of boys and girls was cheering him throughout the game and uttering words of encouragement. However Tumelo says at the beginning of his netball career he had to overcome a few challenges. Girls and boys in his village used to mock him for playing netball instead of soccer. Also read: Shongile’s star shines bright at netball nationals “Boys told me to my face that I was a disgrace to their gender but I never allowed them to discourage me. All I want is to get onto the netball court and play,” he said. However, due to netball rules, Tumelo is not eligible to play in a league. Also read: Skiet as familiesport se gewildheid neem toe His former team, Mighty Queens are now playing in the provincial league and he is only allowed to participate as an umpire or a coach. “It really pains me when I see others playing while I am not allowed. I really love playing the game but I do understand why they don’t allow boys to play. I guess the only thing I can do is to become a professional umpire and maybe a coach in the future. I will never leave netball,” he concluded.