Bredell cricket teens work hard to fund their sport
While most spent the December holiday relaxing, these two teenagers were hard at work to earn money for their beloved sport.
Cricket is no cheap sport.
Gloves go for R1 000, while a bat could cost you R10 000. Don’t forget a helmet for R1 500, a guard for R600 and padding for at least R900.
For the Karg family from Bredell, this hefty fee is multiplied by two, because brothers Dale (14) and Reece (17) are both young cricket talents.
They represent Eastern Gauteng in indoor cricket and play for their respective age category’s first teams at Jeppe High School.
The brothers go on at least six cricket tours a year each. These tours take them to Port Elizabeth, Durban and Cape Town. At around R6 000 a tour, the brothers’ cricket, combined with their school careers, could cost their parents roughly R288 000 (gear excluded).
Which is why the brothers decided to pitch in.
While many spent the December holiday relaxing, spinner Reece and batsman Dale were up at 8am to clean pools, cut grass and tend to the grounds of a local complex.
“It’s good to work,” Dale explains at the Karg’s kitchen table, while a cricket game plays on the TV in the room next door. “It taught me that hard work gets the work done.”
Older brother Reece agrees. “It’s worth it that we learn how to work and our parents don’t have to pay for everything themselves.”
The boys are money-wise beyond their years, which they probably got from dad Brian. “We were a poor family growing up, but I had the best of what my mom and dad could give me,” he remembers. “It’s important for me that my sons learn discipline, the value of money and the need to contribute.”
So, the brothers spent the majority of their holiday doing just that, while still saving 10 per cent of their income to give to the church.
“Whatever you do in life, give it your all because that is your signature,” is Dale’s tip to working hard.
His cricketing heroes include his namesake Dale Steyn and Australian cricketer Mitchell Starc. “Show people what you are made of,” Reece, who looks up to David Miller, adds.
The cost of cricketing? Not cheap. Learning to work hard for what you want? Priceless.
