The remaining stronghold of South African school sports – Afrikaans, private and former Model C iconic schools

School sports has always been the bedrock of sporting prowess in South Africa. Not just any type of school though has produced proteas and springbok but primary and secondary institutions of learning that are embedded in history. Institutions that are over 50 to 100 years have maintained the sporting traditions of South African sports for over the last century. These schools have vibrant and functioning physical education programmes and often they hire sports professionals to run their after-school sports as extra-curricular activities. They understand the value and the power that sports plays to attract learners to their schools. Just hover around the website of any traditional school that is embedded in culture, you will see plenty of sports photos of the first team in a variety of sporting codes, you will see war cries at swimming galas and then you will see photos about the school’s infrastructure. In that order.

These schools value sports so much that often the director of sports at these schools is highly incentivised for his duties. His job description will include establishing the schools’ dominant sports as a super power within the national school sport rankings. They hire external non-teaching staff to head up the sports who offer specialised training. These external staff members often have qualifications such as a post undergraduate degree in sport science, biokinetics and strength and conditioning. These coaches understand the requirement of teaching pedagogy and they are familiar with motor learning and skill acquisition. These schools operate in a spiderweb sport environment and if you’re an “outsider” sports coordinator who has not attended any of these elite schools as a learner you simply will not be selected for the job. It is an environment for old boys and old girls’ alumni to flourish.

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Even during a time-consuming curriculum these institutions have always maintained how their sports is run and pride themselves for the various national team players they have produced in a variety of sports. ?The hall of fame wall of these institutions is filled with former learners who are national team players and the wall is used as a marketing tool to raise the prestige of the school. Maybe you might be wondering which schools I am talking about in this article? That’s simple: in South Africa I am referring to Afrikaans, private and former model C schools that are entrenched in tradition.

The sports system that these schools operate in has stood the test of time and includes festivals over national holiday periods. When it is time to compete in festivals the school ensures that they are ready to give it their all as the events are normally broadcasted on national television. Each school has a sport culture and has identity in the school blazer. The learners are passionate about their?school and advocate their school when meeting new people.

If you visit these schools there is acres of land with multiple sports fields, Olympic size swimming pool, ?hockey Astro turf and indoor gymnasium. ?There is absolutely no shortage of sports facilities and one can find their place in any extra-curricular activity at the school because there is an assortment of choices. With specific reference to Afrikaans schools they have maintained the tradition of sports especially in rugby, cricket and netball. They have raised the bar and continue to set high standards for the learners who go to their schools. Come rain or shine, winter or spring, Afrikaans learners have developed a strong will to persevere in sports irrespective of the weather conditions. This is because the institutions they go to embody a strong will inside them. Former Anglo Saxon schools also have a strong tradition linked to their founding as they promote rugby and cricket with strong foundations entrenched in these sports. The infrastructure for sports development in rugby, cricket and netball in these schools is already in place, which will result in us producing world class national team players in these sports. The same cannot be said through about football, a sport which is considered the number one sport in the country. Football continues to lag to its counterpart sports, with a shortage of recognition at prestigious schools and insufficient infrastructure for proper development in many schools. There needs to be a concentrated effort to help the sport grow in model C and private school. It is only then where we will have a fighting chance as south Africa.

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By Sithembiso Nkosi