Coaches from Gugulethu, Nyanga and Khayelitsha were among those who attended a national two-day seminar hosted by the KFC Mini-Cricket initiative.
Lizo Sikhunana, a coach at Andile Primary in Crossroads, joined the initiative because he was passionate about the sport and development of young people.
“I am passionate about the sport that is why I volunteered, but the main reason is to help the children with the sport. We need to produce other Makhaya Ntinis and many others. Remember this is where most of them started their career journey,” he told Vukani.
Nyameka Mayongo from Litha Primary in Gugulethu has been part of the initiative since 2014.
Mayongo lauded mini-cricket for its impact on the youngsters. She has seen the results when one of her players Amahle Giladile was selected to represent the province in 2023.
“Mini cricket has had a great impact in the lives of our children. We chose to volunteer because we love the sport and we have a passion for children.”
Coordinator Mark Khoabane said the Cape Metro has 101 cricket development coaches who are rearing to continue their job, that of developing tomorrow’s superstars.
After the seminar he was excited that the hundreds of coaches and mentors from all over the country have renewed their vows to take cricket forward.
In unison they agreed to develop children through KFC Mini-Cricket. “The sport has impacted positively to the growth of our children at schools. This has been happening for years now. The skills they are getting are massive. We also teach them life skills and values so that they can continue with the sport and their education,” said Khoabane.
KFC and Cricket South Africa (CSA) have committed to continue to invest in improving the quality of cricket for children. The two organisations have implemented skills development programmes for the volunteer coaches and coordinators through its coaching courses, to educate and motivate these key role players in sport.
The attendees were joined by current Proteas players Andile Phehlukwayo and Rassie van der Dussen as well as Lara Goodall and Mignon du Preez from the women’s side.
The programme now encompasses over 120 000 children from ages six to 15, enabling them to get specialised coaching at an early age.
Edward Khoza, Cricket SA’s head of pathways was also in attendance and encouraged the coaches to continue with the good job they are doing to develop cricketers.
