Soccer legend fish for future stars in Tzaneen
The Mark Fish Foundation hosted a three-day soccer coaching clinics and schools tournament at King's Court Christian School in Modjadjiskloof.
The coaches from schools attended a theory and practical instruction session presented by Steve Coetsee, a well known SAFA Instructor and also the only CAF Continental Instructor in South Africa.
Steve is a legend when it comes to youth coaching and has seen more than 30 of his youth players progress to become Bafana players (of which Mark Fish was one).
The teams (U/16 and U/19) participate with the coaches from day 1 implementing what they learned under supervision of Steve.
Fast Footy Tournament – schools that participated in the coaching clinic play one another in a double elimination.
Schools that participated in the coaching (day 1 and 2) : HS Merensky, HS Ben Vorster, Helmeg Academy, King’s Court Christian School, Stanford Lake College. Schools that participated in the tournament (day 3) : HS Merensky, HS Ben Vorster, Nyakani Secondary School, Helmeg Academy, King’s Court Christian School.
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The winners of the u16 was the team from Ben Vorster, 2nd place Helmeg Academy and the U/19 winners was from HS Merensky, 2nd place Nyakani Secondary School.
African Bank was the major sponsor for which we are super grateful, Egen sponsored the water bottles and string bags and Eta College sponsored the bursary to one child chosen for his talent, commitment and attitude. The children was observed from day two which gave the instructors a good indication of the quality of the players. The three days was hosted by King’s Court Christian School who has amazing facilities. We extend a heartfelt thank you to the principal, Fred Hoffman who availed his school for this purpose,” said Lourika Vlietstra of The Mark Fish Foundation.
Vlietstra said the event will be a yearly initiative with the aim of expanding it across the province and creating hubs per district. Skilled youth instructors can assist the school’s football programme and help developing better players. Expanding this will also include up-skilling the quality of refereeing.
The Mark Fish Foundation started an initiative to uplift secondary school coaches (as opposed to club coaches) as schools have the facilities and the children and it should be managed as a sport the same as Rugby, Hockey, Netball and the likes. Mark believes that if children are developed correctly in terms of ball mastery and skills from an early age (14 years) we should be seeing better quality football in SA.
