Dutch coach at academy

Petros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor
DUTCH soccer coach Jan Pruijn has hailed the setting up of Sports Avenue Academy in Harare as a big stepping stone in tapping natural talent which he believes is abundant in young Zimbabwean players but needs to be properly developed.

Pruijn, who is also into football consultancy, arrived in the country on Thursday night and yesterday began his tour where he is observing the talent identification exercise being carried out by a panel of local coaches engaged by the academy.

The academy, a brainchild of former CAPS United board member marketing, Nhamo Tutisani, and his partner Edzai Kasinauyo, is currently based at Mt Pleasant High School.

A pool of experienced coaches led by former ZIFA technical director Nelson Matongorere have joined the academy’s head coach Friday Phiri in holding trials for budding talent which began at the school on Wednesday and will end tomorrow.

Matongerere has such coaches like Stanford “Stix’’ Mtizwa, Albert Mabika, Misheck Chidzambwa, former Dynamos juniors coach Herbert Maruva and CAPS United chief scout Josephat Rwafa assisting Phiri to find the best talent from a large pool of players ranging from Under-11 to Under-17.

The local coaches were yesterday joined by Pruijn, who has specialised in junior football in both his native Holland and South Africa, as they continued to assess 245 players who have been trying their luck during the trial stint.

Pruijn, who is scheduled to hold a seminar with the local coaches tomorrow morning, said he was in the country to share his experience and give advice to the Sports Academy directors and their technical crew on matters related to the setting up and sustenance of a school of excellence.

Tutisani indicated to the coaches that they were determined to make a difference in the development of football in the country and would try to avoid some of the pitfalls that have swallowed those academies which have collapsed.

One of the moves Sports Avenue Academy has undertaken is to also rope in technical experts in the game.

Pruijn also has an understanding of the African game having worked in South Africa and Ghana.

In 1999, he was employed by Ajax Amsterdam as the manager of the international youth system, working with the academies in Ghana, Belgium and South Africa and in 2008 he succeeded Hans Vonk as the technical director at Ajax Cape Town.

Pruijn also briefly worked as Ajax Cape Town interim manager in 2009 after the resignation of Muhsin Ertugal and occupied the same position three years later after succeeding former Warriors striker Wilfred Mugeyi.

“I am trying to give the directors some direction on the academy based on what I have seen. I will give them information on what I think is necessary to set up an academy and how they go on in the first two years and beyond.

“What I have seen so far is in line with my expectations.

“Of course, it is far from what Ajax Cape Town have and further away from what is in Holland but at the same time in the younger age groups you can see a lot of talented players who just need to be developed the right way so that when they are 16 years they can be up to the standard that we are looking for.

“At the moment most of the players from this country depend on their natural talent to reach a certain potential or a decent level like that of Khama Billiat and Willard Katsande but with an academy they can be helped to develop and that is what we are hoping this academy can do.

“You must start from somewhere and the starting point is always to have the players available, to have the coaches who have the passion and the capacity to identify and develop those players. Zimbabwean players have the potential to go direct into the European leagues.

“The facility is not the best because you need a better surface for this level of players and with more investment the ball starts to roll.

“I will meet the coaches on Sunday and give them some technical aspects from the Dutch training and how to teach two different age categories,’’ Pruijn said.