Curro Academy Wilgeheuwel’s soccer stars are at the top of their game!
01 September 2022Curro Academy Wilgeheuwel’s under 16 boys soccer team was recently invited to play in the inaugural St Andrew’s College Football Tournament. They won 4 of the 7 matches and competed against schools that are known for their sports achievements, and narrowly missed out in the finals against Grey College Bloemfontein. Other participating schools included Paul Roos Gymnasium, George Royal Academy, Rondebosch Boys’ High, and more.
Curro Academy Wilgeheuwel was crowned the overall inaugural champions of the tournament.
Here’s the backstory
It takes hard work to perform this well. ‘Practicing soccer during COVID-19 was challenging. A high percentage of our learners are aspiring to become professional soccer players or to benefit from soccer scholarship. Due to restrictions, several talented soccer players lost out on those opportunities,’ says Mr Tshepiso More, Head of Sport at the school.
When the restrictions were implemented the Curro players were put on a home-based individual training programme where players were required to follow a fitness programme, do soccer skills-based routines, and they were tasked to watch and analyse at least one match. At the end of each week, players and coaches met on MS Teams for feedback and theory-based discussions. When non-contact sport resumed, most players were still in shape and because of the theory engagements with coaches and other players, they were motivated and ready to go!
‘We began our back-to-sport training programme with a general skills-based, fitness and conditioning programme to assess where players were physically,’ explains Tshepiso. ‘Learners were allowed to participate in sports practices only on the days when at school. This allowed practices to pay close attention to individual needs. No internal matches were allowed but we were able to manage this by having small groups and implementing match scenarios. The small, closed practices were a perfect platform for our coaches to focus on basics and push skills development through a variety of soccer drills targeted on individual performances,’ he continues.
With the resumption of soccer leagues in 2022, the boys and girls at our school were motivated and ready to get back to playing at a high level! They set their targets high for this year and wanted to win both leagues in which they play as well as the Curro Cup Soccer.
Results from the tournament:
1-0 vs St Andrew’s College
0-1 vs George Royal Academy
1-0 vs Centre of Excellence
2-1 vs Alexander Road High School
0-0 vs Paul Roos Gymnasium
Results from the knock-out matches:
1-0 vs Victoria Park High School
Result from the cup final:
0(4)-0(3) vs Grey College