Soweto Basketball Academy has called on parents to throw more support behind kids who are playing sports
Parents urged to support kids in sport.
Soweto Basketball Academy has called on parents to throw more support behind kids who are playing sports. Jacob Tsiane, the academy’s co-founder and coach, said that in a township like Soweto, where the risk of kids falling victim to drugs, teenage pregnancy, and crime is high, the support kids receive at home can make the difference.
“I think parents underestimate how important their role is,” he said.
“We can teach kids everything here at training: discipline, the right eating habits, but if these things are not followed through at home then the education is lost.”
Soweto Basketball Academy is a training institution based in Central Western Jabavu (CWJ). The academy has been in existence has been producing some of the best young basketballers in the country. One of these players is 17-year-old Busisiwe Mlotshwa, who has gone as far as representing South Africa at a national team level in the youth divisions.
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“I’ve been with the academy for a few years now and it’s been a great experience for me, it’s given more opportunities than I ever thought I would get. I’ve learned habits here that I apply to many different stages of life: to work hard, to be disciplined. I learned all these things through playing this sport,” Mlotshwa said.
According to Tsiane, the problem may lie deeper than many would assume. He shared his thoughts on pressures facing the youth and some advice for parents.
“Some of these kids are talented, and it’s a shame they don’t get the support. If you analyse it on a deeper level, you realise it’s almost a cultural thing that comes from our own older generation. The sport was not taken that seriously when we grew up – it was just something we didn’t do. A parent going to watch their child play sports was unheard of. But I think as parents we need to realise that times have changed. Our kids are living in a different environment where the pressure is higher.
“It’s easier to fall victim to drugs or crime now than it was 30 years ago because now there is easier access to those things. Just passing by the park you’ll see groups of kids doing drugs, we couldn’t do that, so we were hardly tempted. Today it’s much easier to do, and that’s why I think as parents we have a bigger role to play now more than ever, and a large part of that is to support our kids when they play sports.”
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