Sharks Academy to kick off in Southern KwaZulu-Natal
It's an exciting time for the local game, especially for rugby playing school leavers.
THE Sharks Academy Southern KZN is the first satellite ‘Sharks Academy’ to open in one of the five sub-unions that constitute the KwaZulu-Natal Rugby Union. Situated at Douglas Mitchell Sports Ground (home to the Riversmead South Coast Warriors) in Uvongo, the Academy’s mission is to develop the game of rugby in the Southern KZN region by providing young men an equal opportunity to further their careers in rugby and academic studies.
The academy is a registered NPO and forms part of the Southern KZN rugby sub-union, which is an affiliate of the KZN Rugby Union. The academy has the full backing of the KZN Rugby Union and The Sharks (Pty) Ltd.
“It is our intention to ensure that the development of rugby will be entrenched in the rural areas and, in doing so, will of course improve the standard of rugby in our province and in particular will augment the development of previously disadvantaged communities,” said Doug Haralambous, who is one of three directors. “The academy will be an institution where young boys can achieve their life goals with a combination of the development of their rugby abilities and the furthering of their academic education.”
The academy will be aggressively collaborating with local schools in our region to identify rugby playing school leavers at the end of their matric year.
Students from other provinces will also be considered. A structured programme envisages the ‘early identification’ of rugby talent and the development thereof through a high-performance programme which enhances the conversion rate of players from amateur into the professional rugby arena.
In addition, this programme is under-pinned by a well-balanced academic programme which strives to ensure that all players are equipped with suitable education and life skills. “Our partners have also recognised the development imperative of black rugby players within our province and identified the academy as the ideal platform to accelerate our region’s contribution towards the Sharks and South African rugby in general,” said Dougie.
The team includes Andrew Binikos (general manager and coach), Christo Henderson (recruitment officer and assistant coach), Jaques Petzer-Moore (administrator and trainer), Deon Kayser (Sharks Academy consultant), Ryan Leary (Sharks Academy consultant) and Dr Robin Wise (physio and chiropractor).
For more info email info@thesharksacademyskzn.co.za or visit the website www.thesharksacademyskzn.co.za.
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