Resident breathes new life into The Reeds park

Tyler Rodney, an Uitsig High School alumnus, is passionate about his community and understands the uniting force behind South Africa’s most popular sport.

He is on a mission to get residents out for a bit of soccer at the park on the corner of Kestrel Avenue and Skinner road.

Rodney said that he noticed that Centurion was increasingly becoming closed off, with fewer activities available over the years.

“I noticed a down-turn in what people can do in Centurion.”

He said many people worry about their safety, resulting in residents opting for less social activities, alienating themselves from their community.

“When I was growing up at high school Uitsig, I used to play on this exact field. Then I guess it just died down,” he told Rekord.

“So I thought now that I’m old and broken, it was time to start getting back into shape, and I needed a place where I could actually play.”

Rodney decided to take action, and invested his time and money to set up Rodrigo Football Club, with a five-a-side field marked out at the park.

“I used to play five-a-side, but I had to go all the way to Fourways.

“Some of the other places have artificial grass and can be very expensive.”

Rodney worked to get the necessary permissions and approvals from residents near the park and set out to bring his plan to reality.

“Getting the guys with a tractor to come and cut the grass was the first hurdle, because it was very long.”

He then installed bamboo goal posts, before replacing them with sturdier ones.

“It was difficult with all the by-laws I had to work with to get all the permissions needed.”

His plan has already been successful in drawing out community members.

“The guys who were playing with me there on Sunday just showed up. We didn’t even expect them there, they were just there.

“Things like this really bring people together.”

Rodrigo said they plan to meet at the field at least around 15:00 every Sunday .

He is currently working towards finding local businesses and community members to keep the project moving to new heights.

“Eventually we would love to grow this with the community, adding to it as we go.”

Ward councillor Alta de Kock said the project was drawing local kids out to be more active.

“[We] need more initiatives like this,” she said.

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