Khosa junior team gears up for another year of rugby

The Khosa Sports Club is a long-standing institution on the West Rand.

The club was founded in 1917 as an association for past students of Krugersdorp High School, as a means for them to get together on a regular basis, to participate in a wide range of activities and social responsibility programmes.

Today, the team behind the Golden Lions Youth Rugby section of the club, with their non-profit arm, the Khosa Junior Rugby NPC, intend to drive their programme even further within the Khosa Sports Club, to empower young players in the sport of rugby, to teach them new techniques, to help them improve their skills and help them grow into well-functioning members of society.

The organisation currently brings on players in teams ranging from U/6 to U/18, with rugby practices on Friday nights. Players in this programme form part of the larger Golden Lions Rugby Union (GLRU), and will compete throughout the season against other intra- and inter-provincial teams.

In 2018, the Khosa U/11 team was invited to Durban for the Inter-Provincial Tournament (IPT). Players who participate in the IPT, as with the Craven Week for schools, can receive their honorary colours. This provides players who might not have been able to attain this in their schools, for what ever reason, to have their shot, and prove themselves a friendly and fun environment.

Members pay a yearly fee of R1 000, which covers the entire season. Kids involved with the club each get a number, which they can carry on to any of the clubs in the GLRU roster. Team jerseys will be an additional cost, but the management team is working hard to get the maximum cost no higher than R350.

Your heart will melt when you see what the team does, on game day, for the little ones in their ranks. A handful of their members are far too young and small to participate in games. With this in mind, the club regularly arranges a ‘special play’ with opposition teams in the league. Three- and four-year-olds (who do not turn five in that year) are sent out on the field with the bigger players. Some are pretty scared at this massive new opportunity, but not one of them wants to leave the field once they get their first taste at victory. With all the other players and coaches in on the arrangement, the little one is handed the ball and encouraged by the other players to run for the try-line. The other team plays along, acting like they’d tackle the little one, but letting him through with just a close enough call to make it seem real. After this try, which is not added to the actual game’s score, the little player is hooked on the game, and can’t wait to join the bigger team.

Last year, the club had 160 players, of which about 30 were kids who unfortunately would not have had the means to participate in the sport if it wasn’t for a helping hand from the club. The club sets aside some funds in its yearly budget to help these children play with their friends and have the same opportunities in the game, without having to worry about where the money will come from.

Right now, the club is urgently looking for new players to fill their U/16 and U/18 teams.

Furthermore, the organisation helps out where they can, largely choosing one general cause to focus on. This year their focus will be on the fight against cancer, with 70 per cent of the proceeds from their events and other fundraising projects going to the cause, or any other cause they deem important. The remaining 30 per cent will be used for in-house projects and general housekeeping. They are still considering with which organisation they will be pairing with this year.

“We want to get kids out of their houses, out from behind the Xbox, and keep them off the streets and on the field, playing this amazing game. We want to develop them and teach them how to play in teams and make new friends,” said Susara Snyman, the team’s Secretary and Events Marketing Manager, adding, “We want to provide them with the opportunities they might have missed out on in school.”