Pinnacle College adds new items to their sporting portfolio
Following on the successful partnership with Transition Football Academy, Sandton Seals Swimming club has come on board to collaborate with the school too.
Pinnacle College Kyalami is on cloud nine after adding swimming to their full-time aspiring professional athlete programme in collaboration with Sandton Seals Swimming Club.
This follows another successful partnership with Transition Football Academy.
Sandton Seals Swimming was founded in 2000 by coaches Simon Peterson and Lean Smith to promote the sport and lifestyle of swimming.
Club secretary and treasurer at Sandton Seals Swimming Lee Villavicencio said, “We have collaborated with the school to assist in growing and developing a love for swimming. We believe it is a life skill and our objective is to get students swimming from pre-school right up to high school.”
He said nobody is excluded as they offer lessons from beginners to masters. “We look forward to working with the school and having every student be able to swim and enjoy the sport.”
In 2021, Transition Football Academy also partnered with the school by introducing a unique offering in partnership with Celtic FC of Scotland.
The school’s Kerri-Ann Michael said, “The full-time student athlete programme ensures that athletes perform both on and off the field. Students follow a rigorous programme which provides opportunities and exposure to well-known local and international clubs as well as scholarship opportunities abroad.”
The director of football, Claudio Lorenzani, who holds a UEFA A Licence said, “We have placed many young talented players at some of the biggest PSL teams in the country as well as having players abroad. Players can engage in their studies while pursuing their football in an accelerated European-styled academy model.”
Head of sport at the school Matthew King said they have decided on three key focus areas in terms of sports development and academies, adding that swimming is their major focus.
“We look forward to fostering a relationship with the Sandton Seals and developing our young swimmers at Pinnacle College and not only developing top swimmers but equipping our learners to learn a life skill such as swimming. There is an excitement in the air too because parents recognise and appreciate the work that has been done at Sandton Seals Swimming Club and the various other schools that they have been involved with.”
When asked what the highlight of the partnership with the football academy has been, he said, “It’s the overall improvement I have seen in both coaching quality and the performances our teams are producing. We have the bonus of exposure to transition international partners such as Celtic and Gulf United. This has enabled us to become recognised as a soccer school to our neighbouring African countries and seen young student-athletes join us from all over Africa.”
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