Baby Proteas coach, Precious Mthembu has lauded the importance of school-level competitions for players.
Mthembu and other national coaches, including the national Under-19 team rely on schools' netball competitions such as the DStv Schools Netball Challenge (DSNC) to select their players.
Mthembu has a team of 25 players that she and assistant coach Phumza Maweni are taking through their paces as they try to find the perfect squad for the upcoming Netball World Youth Cup set for 19 to 28 September in Gibraltar.
A total eight number of players in the group competed in the 2024 edition of the DSNC including Mbali Diphoko of Shayamoya Secondary School. Shayamoya, a school from a rural area in Kokstad, had an impressive showing in Botho despite their circumstances.
The former Spar Proteas midcourt star says competitions like the DSNC are crucial in identifying players and bridging the gap between grassroots and national level of netball.
“Watching them play in the different competitions like the DStv (Schools Netball) and the TNC (Telkom Netball Championships) has really helped. The schools have done a good job in making sure the players are prepared enough for university netball and not just the Under-21s.
"For the players to make the Under-21 team in their first years is phenomenal, credit to their coaches, the schools, and obviously the schools federation,” says Mthembu.
The Baby Proteas squad that won the Netball World Youth Cup qualifiers had a handful of DSNC graduates, which included Karla Victor, Atkins, Sunel Smit, and Renezia Andrews. The former KwaZulu Natal Kingdom Stars coach, says she is happy with what they have seen so far in the Telkom Netball League.
She is confident they will be able to get the best team to represent South Africa in Gibraltar later this year.
“There have been some really good things. Seeing them at a competition level where it is different from having trials. Having them in the TNL is good. It is a different kind of pressure, we can see them in all the spheres of pressure, physically, emotionally, and everything else.
"I am enjoying having a group of them and managing to compare them over a long period of time with other players,” she says.
The Baby Proteas and the rest of the teams will return to the North West on 13-17 June for the second leg of the competition.
2024 DSTV SCHOOLS NETBALL CHALLENGE GRADUATES IN 2025 TNL
Mbali Diphoko- Shayamoya Secondary School
Ammetise Bandu- High School Marais Viljoen
Thato Legodi- Prudens Secondary School
Kiara van Eeden- High School Noordheuwel
Jade Atkins- La Rochelle Girls High School
Zahrah Noah- La Rochelle Girls High School
Mari du Raan- High School Diamandveld
Lara Ehlers- Bloemhof Girl’s High School