Nomzamo High School netball players are basking in their national championship glory after winning the DStv Schools Netball Challenge this past Saturday (26 July), hammering Lambalathi High School from Mpumalanga in the finals.
The girls from Lwandle made it to the national contest after claiming provincial honours in Bredasdorp last month (June) and received the national crown in Boksburg, Gauteng, following a gutsy performance against Limbalathi, with a 22-17 score.
The team returned from the two-day tournament on Sunday the 27th to a tumultuous welcome, with motorcade and all-round jubilation. Local councillor Xolani Diniso bought the girls a sheep, which was slaughtered specially.
There’s is your veritable inspirational trope – overcoming numerous hurdles, dethroning far better-resourced schools and so on.
Nomzamo High’s principal, Chris Mgubanto, said the victory was not only for the school, but the entire community. “We are saying ‘the sky’s the limit.’ What our children did shows one’s conditions do not determine one’s destiny. We played with schools, some of them resourceful, but managed to beat them.”
Team coach Athi Dlakana, a teacher herself, still could not take the enormity of the national championship in. “I’m still pinching myself. We’ve been participating in this competition for four years. It wasn’t easy. We worked very hard preparing for it. We trained during school holidays. With the help of the local coaches we managed to come through, because most of our team play for local clubs.”
She expressed gratitude to the school for its immense support. Ecstatic team captain Okuhle Fondile (18) said the secret is to play as a team. “Our coach always told us to relax and believe in ourselves as a collective. She also encouraged us to communicate on the pitch.”
