Jeugpark principal angles out his Protea colours
'I would like to think that my secret is just my dedication and passion for the sport'
LAERSKOOL Jeugpark Primary School principal, Willem van der Vyver, (49), continues to impress with his angling skills.
Van der Vyver has once again received Protea colours for angling and is set to compete in Namibia at the 2017 championships this September.
As if managing a school with over 1 400 learners and a staff of 60 is not enough, the Edleen resident is also the acting chairperson of Kempton Park Cricket Association.
“I have been bank angling for the past eight years and have represented South Africa at national level for the past seven years. This will be the third year in a row that I’ve received Potea colours,” he said.
“Angling is quite a complicated sport as you need to understand the weather conditions, the season and the species you are after. At the same time you need to have exceptional skills, casting from either long or short distances. You also need to be knowledgeable about the depth of the water in which you are casting as the technique involved differs between shallow and deep water,” said Van der Vyver.
Van der Vyver is a very busy, energetic person. He also leads the Thaba Marula Cricket Week, is the angling team captain at national level and team captain at provincial level. He has not lost a single angling test series in three years.
“I would like to think that my secret is just my dedication and passion for the sport. I have a good support structure at home, namely my wife and my children. I get a lot of support at school and the staff is so proud – they even arranged for me to be in Kempton EXPRESS.
“My journey started at Vereeniging Angling Club and today I am proud to represent South Africa abroad.”
“Angling is one of the sports with the most complex set of codes in the world. It makes me proud that there are other anglers in Kempton Park, such as Johan Booysen and Gordon Mere, who are doing big things and winning everything there is to win out there,” he said.
Van der Vyver’s biggest catfish catch weighed 23.42kg and his biggest karp 12.3kg.
He said fishing was extremely complex. What is considered a big or rare catch in one country is not even considered a catch in another.
“Therefore I feel that competing in Namibia is going to be tough as they know and understand their climate better. We must follow the rules of the country we fish in and this will be our biggest challenge this year. I just want to thank my heavenly Father for blessing me every day with the strength and health to be able to do what I do.”
