Ball boys to the rescue
Koketso Kgoboge | Wednesday November 4, 2015 15:24
Motlhabani said the ball boys mainly play in the Under-15 regional league. He said during their youth league games, which are usually played at the Serowe Sports Complex in the early hours on weekends, they also receive training as ball boys. “It is very important for these boys. They like to come out and watch their role models. Again this is to give exposure to the young boys and there is also a lot of improvement in the way they play their football since we brought them in as ball boys.
“We have 12 Under-15 teams in the region and we want to involve all the players we have, we also have women’s and Under 17 teams. They all show the desire to help as ball boys and we have decided we will rotate them so they all get a chance,” Motlhabani said.
He said the idea of providing ball boys came after they realised that young people go to the stadium in the cold nights and without guardians, which was a safety concern.
“We had realised that there was shortage of ball boys as the teams used to pick randomly outside the stadium at the time of games. We saw this not safe for our boys because they remained at the stadium after their morning games and they will walk home with strangers after the games.”
“Since we started this programme we engage their parents and guardians. After their games, we make sure they all go home and then we will select those who will take part in the games. We provide lunch and transport for them, because we also cater for those who stay on the outskirts of Serowe,” he said. Motlhabani added that their initiative improves the flow of the games while simulteneously saving time. “We are trying to add to our game. Trained ball boys save time and improve the service. Football fans want to watch the game and these boys keep the ball on the pitch. That is what we teach them, to make sure the ball is on the field for most of the time,” he added.
He added it has encouraged young boys to move from the streets and come to play. He said the youth teams in and around Serowe had seen a lot of growth in numbers of players and the competition in the regional youth league has become tougher.