Youngsters prepare for athletics season ahead

With the athletics season in its early stages, aspiring athletes looking to excel braved the rain this past weekend to train at the Greenhills Stadium.

One of them was 13-year-old Johan Collins.

Tinus Nortje, coach at the Eagles Athletics Academy, said local athletes were given an opportunity to improve their skills in the sporting codes of shot put, discus and javelin.

“We have a programme at the Greenhills Stadium every Saturday, where at this stage 15 athletes prepare to take part in various competitions and events at their respective schools.

“I started the academy in October 2019 to give these motivated youngsters extra training.”

Tinus added that he started the programme because some of the local schools did not offer such advanced training to their athletes.

“This will give them a better chance when they compete in their sub-districts, provincial leagues and possibly nationals,” Tinus said.