19 Aug 2015

After realising that Batswana were gifted in sport, government found it fit to introduce constituency tournaments to unearth talents among the youth. That being the case, youth of Setsile in Mahalapye Administrative Authority also embraced the initiative and formed a netball club called Setsile Netball Club.

In an interview recently, the founder of the club, Taboka Jameson said the club came into existence in January 2015 as a way of unearthing talents in the village. She said her passion started way back during her school days when she was a netball player. 

The former player reiterated that she wanted to instill sports on Setsile youth, because with sports, one could earn a living. She cited star athletes such as Isaac Makwala, Nijel Amos and others who were eking their living through sport.

Also, she highlighted that she wanted to form a highly competitive team and also produce quality players who could play at national and international levels respectively. She stressed that one of the benefits of sports is to prevent young people engaging in ill social issues which might destroy their future.

“Our dream as a team is to compete seriously in constituency level, and proceed to national level where our players would have opportunity to market themselves to super league netball teams.” She said the tournament gives young and emerging players the opportunity to discover their talents and gain exposure.

Her ideology which is to unearth youth talent in the village and export it to other teams, she said might also bring development in the club and the village community. She said the team was made of outgoing school and school going players.

The founder, who is also doubling up as the club captain, said she was happy that school-going players could also help their schools win school competitions. Taboka explained that the tournament also promote solidarity, community unity, peace and tranquility among other teams in the constituency. 

She further said the tournament had accorded them the opportunity to improve their wellness. “It is good for body exercises which promote one of the Vision 2016,” she said. 

She said there were health benefits associated with sports, as it could reduce the level of stress and depression. The captain of the club said rules and regulations of the game should be obeyed, hence instilling discipline in youth.

She was happy with government support saying the money won during the tournament could be used to uplift the lives of club members as well as disadvantaged community members. She advised that the teams should share what they receive during the tournament equally and also invest in community projects by helping the less privileged. Ends