Chronicle Editor
Nkosilathi Sibanda, Online Reporter
BULAWAYO based Young Flying Sports Academy (YFSSA) has started a netball training programme in bid to nurture girls in the sport.
The academy’s diversification drive would also include other sporting codes in its portfolio.
This development came at a time when the academy was on course to spread its services in other provinces. The grassroots talent development institution is well known for grooming youngsters in football and has done so for over 11 years.
The decision to incorporate netball training was necessitated by the need to grow and offer a broader sporting platform for its clients, according the academy’s founder and director Colleen Nyambiya.
Nyambiya, who is respected former top flight football player and development coach said it was high time they promote the girl child through netball, as they had seen it wiser to to have more sport codes in their programmes.
“Our latest move on having netball under our wing was driven by the need to promote talent. We thought this was the right time that we also concentrate on other sport,” said Nyambiya.
“It had been a good 11 years, Young Flying Stars Sports Academy has been known as a football development centre. Of late, after a thorough research, we finally said let’s do this. Our children have to be groomed and exposed at a tender age. So far have groups of girls coming through for training and grooming, from the ages of six to 14.
We have assembled experienced and qualified coaches in the likes of former national team player Perpetua Siyachitema and Zanele Ngwenya the former professional player at Railstars netball club. We believe what we have done with boys, we can do with the girls as well. It is more to do with encouraging our children to participate in sport.”
Nyambiya said on introducing netball, they rode on the popularity of the sport in the country following the impressive performance of the national team side, the Gems who have qualified for the World Cup in Cape Town, which will be contested for from the July 28 to August 6.
“Netball has now become a people’s sport. The following is huge and judging by the number of people who now follow it, we thought best to also be part of the talent development process. It does not bode well to have girls start playing the game at Form 4. Let us groom them now, as they grow so that we feed in a pool of talent that would be at the disposal of professional teams and the national sides,” said Nyambiya.
Apart from the normal training and grooming of players, Nyambiya said plans are already afoot to avail scholarships for the players in a bid to encourage a culture of intertwining education and sport.
“There are opportunities for scholarships, the same way we are doing it for football. The reality is, we cannot separate education and sport. There are academically gifted girls who are also talented in sport as well.
The broader vision starts at home, where we aim to have these players in the national team in the future. As they play in the national team, they will get recognition and exposure to expand and play for top leagues across the world. Also, in that regard, they will earn money and change their lives for the better.”
Young Flying Stars Sports Academy in 2019 rolled out an outreach programme in Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South.
From these outlying areas, the academy has scouted young players in Imbizo Barracks, Cement Siding, Umguza, Figtree, Hwange, Tsholotsho, Shangani, Filabusi and Gwanda.
Online Reporter