A Grade 10 learner from Tygerberg High School in Parow is preparing for a trip to Europe later this year when she will be embarking on an international sports tour. Young Zoë Brink (15), a hockey
player, says she hopes to learn a lot from the tour and hopes to gain as much experience as possible.
Zoë, according to her mother, has been selected to represent Southern Cape Sports Tours (SCST) on the international sports tour to the historic and culturally rich cities of Paris, Péronne, Arras and Orléans in France during the October school holidays.
Despite playing hockey since the age of six years, she hopes to learn a lot more from her peers while on tour.
Zoë was selected to play u-19 (first team) and also nominated for Western Province trials this year. In March she joined the first team on a tour to George in the Southern Cape where she was honoured to be selected as one of 190 players across hockey, rugby and netball to represent SCST on their international tour to Europe. The tour takes place from Friday 3 October to Sunday 12 October. Carlin de Villiers, her proud mother, says this opportunity provides Zoë with a platform to showcase her hockey talents beyond the school league, while learning from experienced players and coaches, and gaining international experience and exposure in her sport.
Excitement
Asked how she feels about the upcoming tour and opportunity, Zoë responded that she is filled with excitement.
“I am super excited about the opportunity, receiving the news was quite overwhelming and like a dream. It took time to process and once I did it, it was an overwhelming feeling of pride and excitement not only to have been selected, but also the fact that it is an international opportunity. I feel privileged,” she says.
A dream come true
She was also asked what it is she hopes to experience and learn from the tour.
“The things I am most excited to learn or experience are just playing in such a different environment, also how the climate and culture impact the game will be interesting to experience.”
She said her dream is to someday play for the national squad. “Playing for South Africa would be amazing, but I know there is a lot of competition out there. I had an opportunity to attend WP trials this year and it opened my eyes to the level of talent we have here. I know I need to work hard and keep pushing myself to achieve and play at these levels and I am definitely working toward that,” she says.
Her mother says as parents they are proud of their daughter’s achievements.
“As parents, we have always been supportive and proud of Zoë’s achievements in hockey. It has been fun and amazing to have watched her grow not only in skill but also in passion for hockey. From a young age she has shown a willingness to work hard and always reach for the next achievement. She does not settle, and we definitely encourage that.
“We attend every game, cheering her and the team on, yes, it is competitive and we always strive to achieve more, but we also focus on having fun as a family and making her sport part of our family life,” Carlin says.
The family is currently raising funds to help assist her on her tour. A Back-A-Buddy campaign page has been created for this purpose. They aim to raise R75 000 of which R17 100 was raised by Friday last week.
Visit http://backabuddy.co.za/campaign/send-zoe-to-france.
