In an area filled with gang violence and a variety of socio-economic challenges, Humansdorp Secondary School has been a beacon of hope with multiple learners excelling in netball, soccer, cross-country, and paddling.
Rochel Pretorius, netball co-ordinator, said the school’s u/14 to u/19 netball teams had participated in local leagues against Nico Malan High School, Jeffreys Bay Comprehensive High School, and Global Leadership Academy earlier this year, when they walked away as overall winners in the Sarah Baartman District.
The team then participated in the Eastern Cape Provincial Netball Championships in June, when the u/14s were placed second in the province, the u/16s first, and u/19s placed third.
In addition to participating in the provincial championships, netball player, Astrid Jenneker, was selected to join the Eastern Cape u/17 team, when she participated in the Telkom Junior Championships in June.
Pretorius said that the school’s netball team then participated in the South African Schools Netball Championships in August, which consisted of the Ubuntu division, for previously disadvantaged schools, and the Botho division, former Model C schools.
She said that despite there being two divisions, the schools were required to play against teams from both.
Pretorius said that the national competition was tough, and that the u/14 made it to 15th place in the Ubuntu division, while the u/16 team finished 12th position in the overall competition.
“Our overall result was not good, but competing in the national competition was a good experience for the players and the coaches,” said Pretorius.
“Being able to compete against stronger teams helps our team get stronger.”
Despite their success in the various netball games, she said that the ongoing gang violence in the communities surrounding the school and the fights at the school, have had a negative impact on their netball practice sessions.
“When there is a fight at school, we have to assess the situation before we can continue with our netball practice sessions, which could take up to a week,” said Pretorius.
She further said that since many of the learners stay in gang-infested areas, they often must “risk their lives” when dropping the learners off at home after netball matches.
Pretorius further said that the additional challenges they face include the funding needed to travel to various netball games.
They are therefore hoping to receive assistance from individuals and businesses.
She said that they are also hoping to receive help to revamp the school’s netball court.
“It is difficult to produce quality netball players without proper facilities,” said Pretorius.
To positively contribute to the community, she said that the school also has two netball coaching assistants who have volunteered their time to assist.
In addition to the school’s success in netball, Grade 12 learner, Lisolethu Dakada, was one of two soccer stars in Humansdorp who were chosen to participate in the Gothia Cup in Sweden in July, while Grade 8 learner, Khanyisa Mofu ,was the only soccer player from Humansdorp to be chosen for the Dana Cup in Denmark.
Dakada, who enjoys everything about soccer, said he was happy to make his parents and school proud when he was chosen for the Gothia Cup.
“I was able to gain some experience while I participated in the Gothia Cup, and I was very happy that my team made it to the quarter-finals,” said Dakada.
Mofu said that he has been playing soccer for most of his life, but this was the first time he had represented his school.
“I am glad that I could represent my school and my community in Denmark,” said Mofu.
To further add to the school’s achievements, Grade 11 learner, Kamva Nkosinkulu, and Grade 10 learner, Qaqamabile Tayi, both paddlers, participated in the Northern German Championships in Germany in July.
The two participated in the 200m, 500m and 1 000m paddling competitions, as individuals and as partners.
Tayi said that he did not expect the championships to be as difficult as they were, and he was surprised by how tall the other contestants were.
“I was able to spend some time training, as well as competing in the championships. It was an exciting experience,” said Tayi.
Nkosinkulu said that he felt privileged to have participated in the championships, and plans to work harder ahead of next year’s championships.
In addition to the paddling, the school also had learners participating in cross-country, where Charlin Helmie won gold in the boys’ u/19, Judieno Witbooi won silver for boys’ u/17, and Shevandre Rooi won bronze for boys’ u/17, when they participated in the Sarah Baartman Cross-Country Championships in August.
The three learners also participated in the Provincial Schools Championships on August 26, when Helmie took claimed a bronze medal.
He will also participate at the Nelson Mandela University Sports Field, South Campus in Gqeberha on September 16, and the National Schools Cross-Country competition on September 30, in Limpopo.
Apart from the school’s sport achievements, it also hosted the Mr and Miss Humansdorp Secondary School competition on August 19, when Jamie Jacobs was crowned Mr HSS and Tashneem Felix as Miss HSS..
