GB Hockey Transfers Skills
07 / 02 / 2012
78! That was the number of times a young scholar from Mount View High School bounced a hockey ball on a hockey stick using only one hand. The young scholar was challenged to do this by one of the GB Hockey squad members at a development clinic held at Stellenbosch University on 06 February 2012.
The GB hockey team, coming off a recent loss to SA in the last test match of the three match series, took the day off to show scholars from Khayalitsha and Hanover Park the ins and outs of hockey. The day started with the squad members talking through some of the rules of hockey as well as the etiquette of the game, misconduct, dealing with other players, penalties and most importantly, general safety. Once this was done, the squad and the scholars ran out onto the Maties Hockey Astro turf for training drills. The training included drills focussing on passing and receiving, attack and defence, ball handling and shots at goal. Even though it was a blistering hot day, nothing could prevent the scholars from running through their paces with enthusiasm and wide grins plastered to their faces.
"Many of these kids have not picked up a hockey stick in their lives, and within five minutes they're already better than our strength and conditioning coach", joked Richard Alexander, who has won 46 caps for GB Hockey with 5 goals to his credit, as a young Ryan Fredericks from Mount View High School slams a hockey ball into the back of the net. "Their hand/eye co-ordination is phenomenal, it might be the best I've seen", continued Alexander.
Chris Grant from International Inspiration, the organisation affiliated to LOCOG (London organising Committee of the Olympic Games) was excited about the turnout as well as the impact of this training session. "Sessions such as these give the youth confidence as well as instilling the values of leadership and sportsmanship."
The GB Hockey 26 man squad is currently in a training camp at SUSPI (Stellenbosch University Sport Performance Institute) as they complete their training ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Today, the fourth ranked team in the world is lapping up the attention of the young scholars but tomorrow they face SA at the Stellenbosch University astro turf in the second of the three match test series.
14-year old Sails to Glory at Sport Awards
06 / 02 / 2012
Young solo sailor, Maria Mabjaia triumphed at 2011's Mozambican Sport Awards. She was announced as the recipient of the prestigious, SUSPI sponsored, Sports Person of the Year award.
"It was very emotional to see a girl from very humble origins come up," said Iliasse Fakira representative of Perola Negra Lda - The organizers behind the award ceremony. "Due to this level of exposure, she is now competing in the World Championships in New Zealand."
Maria lives in a rural area about 30Km from Maputo with her mother and sister. Despite having limited financial and material resources she defied the odds and won a bronze medal at the All Africa Games in Maputo 2011. On Maria's return from New Zealand she will be attending a 10 day training camp where she will be exposed to an all round physical assessment, followed by an introduction to a structured training program at SUSPI's world-class facilities. SUSPI has committed to provide full access to all of its facilities and services, including sport recovery, sport science and access to the high performance SUSPI gymnasium.
Gugu Ntuli - CEO of SUSPI has expressed her delight at the Mozambican Sport Awards ability to indentify such a young and promising talent, "We look forward to welcoming Maria to Stellenbosch University and SUSPI, and are honoured to be able to support her ambitions."
SUSPI offers a wide range of first rate services to the sport, fitness and wellness industries. Situated in South Africa's second oldest town, namely Stellenbosch, SUSPI possesses the necessary scientific and sporting infrastructure to ensure that members of the sporting community are presented with a range of quality, centrally located services that will enable them to fufil their sporting needs. SUSPI's client base includes national and international federations, professional teams, high performance academies, individual athletes, as well and health conscious individuals and members of the general public.
Herman Qualifies for Games
01 / 02 / 2012
Maties swimmer, Heerden Herman one stroke closer to the 2012 Olympic Games
Heerden Herman, silver medallist at the Commonwealth games and former World Junior champion, was far too strong for the opposition in the 1500m freestyle at Swimming South Africa's International Invitational in Durban. The 21-year old finished twelve seconds ahead of Miles Brown and 5 seconds faster than the Olympic qualifying standard in a time of 15:06.11. The only other South African swimmers to produce Olympic qualifying times were Chad Le Clos and Riaan Schoeman in the 400 Individual Medley.
Heerden won the 400 Freestyle the previous day and piped Chad Le Clos the post for the best male performance of the competition. His impressive performance takes him another giant step forward in his quest for Olympic glory.
Dr Karin Hugo, the Sport Science Manager at SUSPI, was ecstatic about his performance, "we are very relieved that he is on track again and thank you to everybody who believed in him and provided support".
SUSPI provides free gymnasium and ice bath sessions for Heerden, while SUSPI's Sport Science Department does scientific testing, monitoring and interpretation of Heerden's daily exercise and recovery levels. SUSPI also oversees Heerden's power training and conditioning outside of the swimming pool and during Gala's Heerden is supported and assisted with the recovering of his lactic acid levels combined with massage and muscle activation.
SUSPI Goes Beyond Sport
12 / 12 / 2011
Delegates from the Stellenbosch University Sport Performance Institute (SUSPI) attended the Beyond Sport Summit and Awards 2011 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) from 6-8 December 2011.
The Beyond Sport Summit and Awards are considered to be the largest and most influential global gathering in the field of sport and development. Over the two day period, Beyond Sport welcomed some of the most influential and forward-thinking global figures from the worlds of sport, business, politics and philanthropy to Cape Town.
The likes of Tony Blair (former Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland); Michael Johnson (Multiple Olympic Gold medalist); Lord Paddy Ashdown (Chairman of UNICEF) along with local luminaries Fikile Mbalula (Minister of Sport and Recreation); Bryan Habana & Ashwin Willemse (Springbok stars), Danny Jordaan (FIFA World Cup 2010 CEO); Natalie Du Toit & Oscar Pistorius (Paralympic Gold Medalists), amongst others, attended this benchmark event.
Not only did the event have an envious line-up of speakers but it also announced the winners of the 2011 Beyond Sport Awards. 35 projects were shortlisted across 12 categories, covering 18 countries and 22 different sports. These projects were chosen from close to 400 entries from more than 125 countries that submitted applications to this year's awards.
To SUSPI an event of this nature is an inspiration as it supports our belief that sport should leave a legacy, whether as an investment in facilities, such as our development at Lentelus, or in people, such as the Youth Sport Initiative and the Schools Outreach Programme. Further, it acts as a catalyst to spur our efforts to be a finalist at the prestigious Beyond Sport Summit event in London in 2012/13.
