If you are a football coach and want your team to score more goals, it might be good to convince your brother to take to the field if you know he is the man who can do it for you.

Tuks’s Varsity Football coach, Nicholas Stothard, did ask his brother, Alex, to play for his team. He did not get to regret his decision. Alex scored 13 goals to help the team qualify for the South African Breweries Regional League final earlier this season.

Tuks’s goal-scoring prowess during the league was actually impressive. The team scored 37 goals in 18 games and only conceded 9.

The two brothers hope to continue the trend from today (Wednesday) when Tuks take to the field to play TUT in their first Varsity Cup encounter.

Alex Stothard is quick to emphasise that it is not his own individual brilliance that leads to him scoring goals.

“The majority of my goals had come down to the work my teammates did. I just found myself in the right pockets of space to get the opportunities to score,” the attacking midfielder explained.

If there is one thing Alex Stothard feels strongly about, it is that he is only another player in the team. He is not expecting any brotherly favours.

“When it comes to playing football, we both got a job to do. I know what is expected. So Nic and I keep our relationships strictly professional. We don’t even talk football when we are at home. I don’t want to get involved in any of the decisions. It is essential to be kept out of the loop and treated as any other player,” he explained the situation.

For Alex all that matters in the end is what is best for the team and the University of Pretoria. That is to win the trophy for Tuks.

According to Alex Stothard, in the buildup to the Varsity Tournament, many emphases have gone into creating a rock-solid defence.

“It is going to be hard to break down when we play. But there is more to us than solid defence. I agree with ‘Coach Nic’ that we are going to score a lot of goals,” he remarked.

Alex Stothard has been passionate about football since he can remember. He had a stint playing football in Scotland and at the SuperSport United Academy.

If he can have his way, everyone will at least once play a game of football.

“To me, football is the most fantastic sport there is. There are so many reasons why it is beneficial to play it. Young kids get to learn to interact with others and the benefits of working together as a team towards a common goal,” he commented.

He believes football also requires various skills which will stand you in good stead in many other facets of life. It is also a fun game to play.

“What I love about playing football at a more competitive level is that any team can beat any team on any day. It all depends on who performs on the day and which coach is tactically the savviest,” he concluded.

The Varsity Football Tournament is going to be played in a Bio-bubble format at Tuks. The first bubble is from 8-15 September. Each team will play four games. The second bubble is from 22-28 September. It includes the semi-finals. The final will be played on 4 October.

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