Tshaulu Netball Academy team ready to shine bright on courts
Tshaulu Netball Academy will have plenty to prove when the Vhembe District Netball League resumes next month.
LIMPOPO –Â Established barely eight months ago, the team from Tshaulu village outside Thohoyandou will enter the season as underdogs, but the academy’s founder and manager, Ronewa Nemakonde, reckons his young charges will fare pretty in the fiercely contested district league.
Since its official establishment on 27 February, the team has attracted over 30 passionate players aged between 12 and 26, under the tutelage of Nemakonde, himself an ardent netball fan.
The bulk of the squad is divided into the senior and the development sides.
The team, meanwhile, does not have a head coach, as Nemakonde says: “I am alone in this project”. Before the district league was interrupted by the ongoing Thulamela Municipal League, the academy has been engaged in several club tournaments staged across the former Venda homeland.
Like any other village teams, Nemakonde’s academy have it’s fair share of predicaments, largely financial and human resources based.
The team was aided by a good Samaritan, Boy Nemakonde, a well-known businessman who regularly sponsors teams and stages annual football tournaments around his neighbourhood, who bought the team a playing kit, training bibs, 13 balls and cones.
The team also enjoys support from the local village Headwoman, Ntsedzeni Bohwana, who often finances the club during away matches. Bohwana is one of the few people in this close-knit community who are keen on development, especially in the area of sports.
Nemakonde says he has amassed a wealth of talent which will hoist the Tshaulu flag high to a wider milieu.
He says even though the academy is relatively new, there is an overwhelming atmosphere of euphoria that great players will be produced and go as far as breaking into the Spar-sponsored national side, the Proteas.
“It is still early days, but there are positive signs that were are on the right track. The girls are enthusiastic and whenever they train, you can see they want to become better netball players,” says Nemakonde.
Apart from their fixtures in the local and district municipalities, the Tshaulu academy will descend on the Polokwane netball court adjacent to the Peter Mokaba Stadium where they will test their strength against Polokwane Rising Stars, Lebowakgomo Netball Club and another team from Port Elizabeth on 1 October.
