TOP professional cycling coach, Guy Watkins has been through every bump and hurdle in his colourful career and now wants to pay it forward to the youth through his newly formed Ogle Road Cycling Academy (ORCA).
Through Cycling SA, Watkins has completed several cycling courses, has a diploma in cycling coaching and also went to the UCI World Cycling Centre in Switzerland, which is the home of cycling worldwide and a unique training hub for athletes coming from developing countries. There he got the highest qualification for cycling.
“All my training and expertise was never about gaining money, but rather to bring it back home and promote skills development through workshops and clinics especially among the local youth. I started a clinic up in Mpumalanga in 2014 which started out with 10 children and 14 bicycles. Today there is over 300 children registered at that clinic at the moment which has seen some of my young cyclists receive their KZN colours and participate in SA champs,” he said.
After Watkins moved back down to his hometown on the Bluff, he could not ignore his passion and soon realised a need for a cycling clinic in the community of Wentworth. “The project started in October last year and is still in its infancy and is supported by the Wenties Cycling Club. It is a process and we are still trying to get more children on board.”
The clinic is held every second Saturday of the month. Children are taught to ride a bicycle, the basic skills of cycling, balance, passing through cones and the rules of the road on bicycles donated by local business and members of the community. “There so much negativity going on in the world. But there is so much potential and positivity right at our doorstep. Its not simply going to come to us but we’ve got to work for it. Our most precious commodity is time, and if we’re not prepared to spend enough time and look for the positive, then we’re just going to moan while our youth remain unmotivated. I want to pay it forward to the community and see these children accomplish great things and go on to represent KZN and SA whether it be in mountain biking, road biking, or track racing. The talent and potential is there, we’ve just got to tap into it.”
ORCA calls on all local youth to be part of this free and fun-filled initiative which is held at the Ogle Road Sports field every second Saturday of the month from 8.30am. For more information, contact Guy Watkins on 083-441-4140.
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