Mpumalanga’s Chief Ampie Mayisa Secondary School is using the lessons they learned from the 2025 coaching clinics series ahead of the upcoming the DStv Schools Netball Challenge (DSNC), powered by Bestmed Medical Scheme, national finals.
The school was one of four participants at the Gauteng-based coaching clinics led by Baby Proteas centre Karla Victor and former Gauteng Golden Fireballs assistant coach Nomsa Zungu.
Chief Ampie coach Hloniphile Sibiya says the lessons from the day came in handy when the team competed in its first national finals. She says they have carried this into the Mpumalanga DSNC provincial finals as well.
"We have developed a lot. Last year was the first time that we qualified for the national team, and the coaching clinics assisted us a lot. Our players were scared of the big stage but now we are seeing their confidence come through. Especially when they put on the kit we received from DStv, the confidence grows because we have been to the nationals and the coaching clinics. We hope that we can receive such honours again this year," says Sibiya.
Chief Ampie is vying for the two available spots in the Ubuntu stream at the national finals set for 23 to 25 July at Hoërskool Dr E.G. Jansen in Boksburg.
The Leandra- based school has qualified for day two of the Mpumalanga DSNC provincial finals. The school is one of 19 teams in the province fighting to go to the next round of the Challenge.
The DSNC, in its sixth edition, is a partnership between MultiChoice and South African Schools Netball, launched in 2021 with the aim of unearthing future Spar Proteas stars while also creating a competition that will give rise to new school rivalries, ensuring that all schools, urban and rural, get to experience the sport at the same level.
The competition is divided into two streams, Botho and Ubuntu, which offer an opportunity for the haves and have-nots to go to the top of the competition. Over the years, the tournament has also been a fertile hunting ground for scouts in universities and national teams to find talent.
Sibiya believes that from their experience in their debut season at the national finals, they will be better prepared to deal with the tough challenges of the competition.
"We are aiming to make it to the podium at this year’s nationals. It will be our second time at the national finals and we want to better our last year’s performances to show some progress. We now have experience of how the national level is like unlike before. We want to make it into the top three as we finished eighth last year," she says.
Day two will see the schools battle it out in the quarterfinal round and only four schools, two in Botho and two in Ubuntu, will qualify for the last round. Middelburg Hoërskool, Nelspruit Hoërskool and Hoër Tegnise Skool Witbank are some of the favourites in the Botho division on the last day of the competition.