SEEING a drop in the sports level which he left in top form, Zukile Madikizela has made it his mission to bring Pinetown Boys’ High School (PBHS) sports to its high level again.

Returning to the school 10 years later as the sports director, Madikizela said one of his long-term visions is providing learners with a wide variety of sporting codes.

During his high school career, Madikizela participated in rugby, hockey, soccer, debating and public speaking. He left a mark at the school as he was announced Speaker of the Year 2013 at a Toastmasters’ championship.

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He played for first-team hockey and first-team rugby.

For Madikizela, being active in school activities gave him opportunities as, in 2018, he became a rugby referee, and in that same year, he made the KZN panel and earned the award of Rookie of the Year.

In 2019, he made the SA Academy.

“I won the Most Improved Referee for KwaZulu-Natal, and, in 2022, I won Referee of the Year. I was one of the National Panel

Referees and refereed the annual provincial Craven week.” This took his career further as it saw him take charge of rugby games, professionally, alongside other referees that are in charge of games.

He said he feels we have learners that can excel in other sporting codes but never get a chance to explore or try those sports due to the limitation of sporting codes available to them.

“Young people love trying out different things, and by introducing a variety of sports, I believe we can make a difference in our boys’ lives which will yield positive outcomes for their future endeavours.”

He highlighted a four-year plan of exposing the young sportsmen to high performance structures and also moulding the players into holistic players, being the best equipped players on and off the field, and exposing the learners to the groove of professionalism as best as possible.

The former head boy also spoke about mentorship programmes that seek to teach the learners about financial management, possible outcomes if one finds themselves in the professional atmosphere and how to cope with those challenges that come along with whatever environment they find themselves in, post high school.

Madikizela does not see himself as only a sports director but also as a father figure and brother to best balance out the challenges the boys face and to make the young sportsmen as comfortable as possible.

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He acknowledges that there are challenges from school to school.

“Challenges can range from not having transport to travel after practice or not having transport to travel to the allocated location on the sports weekend, but all in all, the Pinetown Boys’ High School Sports Department are taking these challenges one step at a time in order to best meet their vision and goals set out before them.

“The PBHS have had their fair share in young sportsmen feature in the provincial and national stage in various sports codes, and that’s an indication that the school has the potential to go all the way,” he said.

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