Young catcher, a diamond in the rough
The junior player is one of the promising catchers in the development structures that the modern game is in dire need of
POLOKWANE – Moletlane Texas boasts with the province’s latest catching phenomenon, Koketso Kekana. The junior player is one of the promising catchers in the development structures that the modern game is in dire need of.
At the age of 16, he is already a national asset, having represented South Africa during the 2016 Junior Men’s World Championships in Michigan in the United States.
It was during his trip to the States that he featured in three matches, in which the green and gold brigade of South Africa did not acquit themselves pretty well in the 11th edition of the Junior World Championships. They finished 10th after Botswana, who were extremely explosive with the bat as they ran riot to clobber their South African neighbours 9-4 in a swashbuckling fast pitch encounter.
Kekana says even though they were the whipping boys during the tournament, they have learned many lessons from the international showpiece.
“Firstly, for many of us in the team, it was for the first time participating in a tournament of such magnitude. It was an event of immense physicality. We did all we could and gained a lot of invaluable experience over the course of the tournament,” he said.
He emulates Texas head coach, Mamphiri Backstage Sethosa – one of the venerated catchers to have graced domestic diamonds – with great aplomb and fortitude. The young Kekana knows very well that stepping into the shoes of Sethosa will be a task as immense as ascending to the peak of the Himalayan Mountains.
With good intentions, though, he is determined to make the catcher’s protective gear his personal attire. The junior player is one of the promising catchers in the development structures the modern game is in dire need of.
thoko@nmgroup.co.za
