Rugby Coaching Clinic @ Verlorenkloof
During the weekend of 9-11 June 2023, we hosted another successful rugby coaching clinic involving the local farm children on the Verlorenkloof Farm. This is the 5th year I’ve facilitated this project, with the participation and the enjoyment increasing exponentially each year, with both boys and girls of all ages participating. These coaching clinics happen at various stages throughout the year, and it’s been quite a remarkable journey from its early stages of the clinic, where most of the children had never seen a rugby ball before, let alone learnt any of the rules.
My aim at the start of the project was never to coach or identify the next Siya Kolisi, but rather to illustrate the life skills to the children that rugby instils so well. Life skills such as teamwork, inclusivity, discipline and the value of physical exercise are just some of the skills and life lessons which I had hoped the children would take away from the rugby sessions which will be of value to their future endeavors.
The sessions usually start off with a few passing drills, where after we engage in a game of “touch rugby”. During half time the children are then treated to oranges or watermelon as a refreshment. Due to the growing participation at our last rugby clinic, I decided to include some coaching reinforcements in the form of my friends Peter Gerber, Charl Pretorius, Cara Kotze and Josephine du Plessis. The additions of the girls to the coaching team were a huge hit among the girls in the village, as it was the catalyst for the inauguration of the local Verlorenkloof hair salon (see image below).
Hopefully these rugby coaching clinics will continue to be beneficial to the kids and all those involved in the years to come – Geor Schulze, Croft 23
