Mahwelereng Hub does its homework in more ways than one

News

Cricket365
June 28, 2017

Of the many things parents worry about when their children start playing sport, ignoring their schoolwork as a consequence is probably at the top of the list.

The coaching staff at the Mahwelereng Hub, in Mokopane, Limpopo, are trying to address this by introducing afternoon classes to be conducted before practice sessions to take away the age-old question of “have you done your homework?” when their charges get home.

“We have our own afternoon classes to assist our players with homework before we start practice,” says head coach Tirivangani Kepekepe. Talk about rolling up your sleeves.

The one thing Kepekepe desperately needs his municipality to roll up its sleeves on is their water shortage problem: “We have a problem of running tap water most of the time.

“This affects our session and the watering of the pitch.

“We have a borehole but the water pump is broken and there is no money from the municipality to fix the pumps.”

Kepekepe’s hands-on approach extends to being an active member of the hub’s senior team. Having played Premier League cricket, he is a bowling allrounder for the team.

This should make the Monday review sessions tense affairs not only for the players but the head coach as well, especially if he has dropped a few catches in the field over the weekend.

Maybe as a nod to their different approach, it is noticeable how Mahwelereng’s success stories are with girls instead of the usually lopsided ratio of boys to girls when it comes to provincial players produced.

Last year they produced five such players for the Limpopo Impala Cricket Senior Ladies team.

Their goals for this year are a little more main stream: “The hub’s goal for 2017 is to produce more quality provincial players that will perform well in the national tournament weeks. We also want to get more rural schools around Mahwelereng playing cricket.”