Gabz Rising Stars aims to alter football landscape

Calistus Kolantsho | Friday June 5, 2020 10:54

 

Gabz Rising Stars aims to alter football landscape

Academy owner, Kenneth Dambe envisages the facility would become a constant conveyor belt of talent.

The academy is based at Masa Primary School in Gaborone.

Dambe said the academy has a tailor-made and all encompassing programme, which targets the technical, tactical, psychological, physical and social aspects of the game.

The centre is open to both boys and girls. He said it has brought a unique balance to the community. Gabz Rising Stars attracts players from Ramotswa, Tlokweng, Gaborone North, Gabane and Metsimothabe.

Dambe said the academy is social impact-driven and has a good blend of children from private and government schools. He said they ensure that every child is given an equal opportunity regardless of their background or gender.

“I have been privileged to have worked in professional clubs in South Africa from coaching to performance analysis and having a hand at developing youth players that are currently household names plying their trade in the South Africa Premier League and others in Europe,” Dambe said.

“In short, I have a passion for youth football. We have come in as Gabz Rising Stars as we realised there is a huge thirst for grassroots development and I have been fortunate to have coached from Under-6 to senior team.”

Some of the players who Dambe has worked with include Lebogang Manyama, Keagan Ritchie, Marc van Heerden, Kermit Erasmus, Kamohelo Mokotjo and Daine Klate.

He has a wealth of experience spanning over 20 years in professional football, and dealing with children of different races, religion and cultures. Dambe said one important thing that sticks with him is that children do not all develop at the same rate and have to be approached differently.

“My passion for football is contagious and I find children respond very quickly and it comes as a blessing,” he said.

Gabz Rising Stars has over 70 children of different age groups from Under-6, Under-8, Under-10, Under-13 and they are planning to introduce Under-15 next year.

Dambe said all their players have gone through a grassroots programme.

“We have relations with Premier League clubs that have already shown interest in our Under-13s. We also have working relations with clubs in South Africa including partnerships with international sporting agencies,” he said.

Dambe said world-class programmes are vital for the youth, as clubs are operating in an increasingly competitive environment both physically and psychologically.

He added the youth require channels for expression and development of their potential.

“It is not just the need for sponsorships that would cushion or fill the void to sustain ourselves. We have to factor things such as facilities, having the best coaches, sport science, media relations, tailor-made programmes etc,” Dambe said.

He said he runs his academy as a business and dedicates all his time to it because they want to be the biggest exporter of football talent from Botswana and be at par with international trends.

Dambe said Botswana needs to move away from just preaching about grassroots development and actually walk the talk.

“Starting a child at four years would cover or complete his/her technical cycle by 14 years. You cannot expect to produce quality at

12 when there is so much that a player has missed through pre-development,” he said.

Dambe noted that football is not only about talent but also having players with the right attitude. “As a small nation, we could be excelling in more sporting codes. Grassroots development needs to be infused into our curriculum. Countries like Japan, Australia and China are reaping rewards of development and are consistently present at most youth championships,” he said.

Dambe is of the view that the country could only change its style of play as a nation through grassroots development.

On the impact of COVID-19, Dambe said the outbreak of the virus has affected him both financially and psychologically by taking him away from what he loves most.

“(I miss) Seeing the smiles on the faces of our players when they run in for training. On the positive side, COVID-19 has given us time to refresh our training programme. We updated players’ records and putting in a post-lockdown COVID-19 guideline. We also provided a training programme to our players during lockdown,” Dambe said.