Volleyball spikes into action at Darnall Primary

Tongaat volleyball star Prabashnee Naidoo recently helped launch the sport as a new code at the Darnall Primary School.

Naidoo (47) last represented South Africa at the 2025 World Masters Games in Taipei, where the women’s team clinched a silver medal. Returning to Darnall Primary, she put the school’s enthusiastic group of nine- to 13-year-old girls through their first official volleyball training sessions on January 27 and 29.

“I was honoured to be invited to Darnall Primary to set the foundation for the sport,” said Naidoo.

“My mission is to bring volleyball to the fore, and Darnall is my hometown, so I am excited for the future of volleyball at the school.”

Between laughter and plenty of fun, pupils were introduced to fundamental skills such as the serve, bump, volley and spike.

“I was met with smiles and hugs from the little ones,” she said.

“They were excited to try volleyball and showed a lot of enthusiasm. We celebrated with a team call inspired by the school’s motto: ‘Courtesy and Courage.’”

Headmaster Eugene Nel said volleyball was introduced to offer girls another meaningful sporting option.

“Girls’ sport is very important,” said Nel.

“It helps develop learners holistically and ensures they build essential ball skills needed for volleyball specifically, but also for other sports.”

Nel added that Naidoo played a key role in launching the programme.

“We hope to achieve excellence in the sport and continue developing it so that we can compete at a wider level. Our plans for the future include hosting inter-school mini tournaments, similar to what we already do with other sports in our curriculum.”

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