Virtual soccer matches
This was a double success as the club kept its coaches paid and increased its brand awareness at the same time.
The community’s extensive support of Transition Football saw the soccer club’s face masks go out of stock, and the club is finding another way to give back now.
The Bryanston-based soccer club waived fees for its online lessons during the first few months of lockdown, asking people to rather buy its face masks if they could. This was a double success as the club kept its coaches paid and increased its brand awareness at the same time. Now, virtual matches have seen the players having a blast online, and the club aims to reintroduce its fees gradually over a few months.
“We are so grateful for the support and the new players who have joined us, we want to show support to those who have supported us,” said coach Claudio Lorenzani.
He added that already five weekend match days have been held which saw players take each other on one-on-one. “We have about 25 matches every weekend with 25 of our players versus 25 players from other clubs on Zoom. Through a trial-and-error approach, we have learned how to do this best.”
This is through best-of-three matches, where players are judged on their technique, physical game and tactical game. “Each component counts for one point. For instance, they can see who gets the most touches with the left foot in a certain amount of time, for one point. We get the family involved with the dads reading the rules and the moms holding the camera. The parents are also judges and we find they are often more lenient to the other children than their own child, because they see the value in socialising.”
Lorenzani said the other soccer clubs and groups which play the virtual matches with Transition Football are Education Through Soccer, FC Jabez, Starlets FC, MM Stars and Little Falls. “We are excited to get ready and begin non-contact training as soon as we are allowed to,” the coach continued.
“We will do our sessions very differently. There will be no physical matches but we will keep every player engaged and safe. We have spoken to some Scottish coaches who shared their ideas with us about this so we will base our training on an international standard, not just a local standard.”
Details: Claudio Lorenzani claudio@transitionfootball.co.za; 084 836 1091.
Also read: Transition Football waives fees, sells face masks to raise funds
