Iphutheng primary learn the Dutch way
ALEXANDRA - The football team at Iphutheng Primary School in Alexandra is hard at work preparing for Danone Nations Cup play-offs on 19 May.
The football team at Iphutheng Primary School in Alexandra is hard at work preparing for Danone Nations Cup play-offs on 19 May.
Thomas Moswane and Lota Kekana, the U12 soccer coaches at the school, took time off last weekend to attend a one-day Powerade coaching clinic run by the Dutch Football Association in Pretoria.
Head coach, Kekana said the lessons learnt were valuable and will help him train for next week’s games. “I also found the Dutch football philosophy in training youngsters interesting,” he said. “What is key is to keep it simple, you need repetition and very importantly, every training drill must produce a result. It’s important to instil a winning philosophy into the kids at an early age.”
Kekana said his team had played eight cluster games to date and had won them all. The school was the runner up at last year’s provincial finals and they aim to go one better this time around.
“We have a better team this year,” he said, “I also have two exceptional players in left wing Tebatso Sekoaleng and striker Josef Maphuru.
“They both play for a local club which gives them a huge advantage over the rest of the team. They know how to create space and are able to anticipate. They have been instrumental in the school’s success in the Danone Nations Cup so far.”
Assistant coach, Moswane said, “Soccer is a team sport so I encourage the players to be friends as they need to rely on each other in a game. I also say they need to be free and see me as a member of the team and not their coach, they need to feel free to play their best.”
If the team win the district round, they will progress to the Danone Nations Cup provincial finals which will take place at WJ Clements Stadium, Reiger Park on 14 June.
