To help combat drug abuse among young people in Humansdorp and to provide those who are interested in playing professional rugby the opportunity to improve their skills, a group of locals has established the Titans Rugby Academy.
Co-founder of the academy, Rewaan Kriega, said that with the high percentage of young children using drugs in Humansdorp and the lack of rugby training at underprivileged schools in the area, he felt it was necessary to provide the community with a rugby academy.
Kriega, together with five other community members, Johnny Kees, Daniel Ketteldas, Petrus Farley, Donavan Coenraad and Rewaan Kriega, then established the Titans Rugby Academy in February last year.
The academy also recently welcomed two additional members on their board namely, Dean Coenraad and Joabin Saffier.
“Our rugby academy provides underprivileged children, who are interested in playing professional rugby, the opportunity to train and improve their rugby skills since many schools in the area do not have rugby clubs,” said Kriega.
He said the academy which mainly consisted of boys, aged 13 and younger, practises at Swallows Rugby Field in Graslaagte, Humansdorp, and currently has 28 young people, with this number increasing every week.
Kriega said since the academy was established one year ago, the team participated in various tournaments and rugby sporting events.
He further said with hard work and dedication, their team won a rugby tournament in Kareedouw, in October last year, which was arranged by the Be Disciplined and Dedicated Foundation.
“The children have participated in various local games which they really enjoyed. Also, winning the tournament in Kareedouw is an achievement that we are all proud of,” said Kriega.
He said the rugby academy currently relied on funding from the founding members and was therefore in need of donations from sponsors.
Kriega further said they needed equipment such as rugby balls, training bags, rugby training marker cones and donations for rugby kits for each player.
“Our aim is to develop the skills of our rugby players and help them get into schools which offer rugby training to further their love for the sport,” said Kriega.
- For more info contact Rewaan Kriega on 081 888 0736 or Donavan Coenraad on 078 476 4491.
