Since the momentus opening of the sports academy with netballing legend Maggie Birkinshaw leading a five day residential for girls from across Western Tanzania, we have settled into an early routine.
Our team of four coaches have begun visiting schools across the district offering training sessions to improve standards and identifying talented players to invite into the academy. Each Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon they visit local schools in rotation. On Fridays they hold training sessions in the largest town Bunda, and on Saturdays and Sundays the most talented players are invited to the academy for more intensive training.
Girls training at the Academy
At the end of October, a team representing the academy played for the very first time. They came up against a well drilled, more experienced and older team from Bunda but acquitted themselves well after a wobbly start. 9-0 down at the end of the first quarter, they fought back well, eventually losing 18-30. It was the first time our girls had played on the completed hard-court surface and the first time with proper footwear! Once they settled into a rhythm, they proved themselves competitive against the older, more experienced girls.
The most talented players from Bunda will be incorporated into the academy going forward as part of the plan to expand the opportunities on offer to as wide a geographical area as possible inside the two regions we straddle. We hope to develop players from Simiyu and Mara to be able to offer at least a small bias to our region before the talent net is spread nationwide. Once our facility becomes a residential centre of excellence, the coaches will be liasing with schools and clubs all over Tanzania and travelling to assess potential new entrants into the academy.
View on the pitches from the Clubhouse
In the meantime, it was great to see the hard-court pitches finally finished and the clubhouse first and second floors completed, ready for their internal fittings. We are already moving on to plan the construction of the accommodation block and some raised safari style rooms for visiting coaches, teams and supporters of the project. These rooms will offer wonderful views into the newly gazetted area of Serengeti National Park on the other side of the Mbalangeti river. We hope that the profits from visitors using them will provide essential funds to support the academy operations.