DEDICATION
5.1 Introduction
5.3.3 Significant others
The learners were able to identify a person who played a pivotal role in their journey to achieve in sport. Having one person who has been instrumental in the learners’
achievement provides them with sustained support, guidance and an anchor. For Chayton, his private coach and mentor is someone I can rely on (C3), since as he not only provides outstanding coaching but stability in all aspects of his life. He is totally reliant on his private coach for support and guidance. Having total confidence in Nonthando’s netball ability has made the school’s netball coach an important icon in this learner’s life: She has faith in me; she knows I can do it (No9). To have someone believe in her potential gives her a sense of a positive aura from an external force.
Imparting sound moral and ethical advice has a profound effect on the learners’ self- esteem. Theola says my coach always tells me that when you are in sport, it is the best thing, especially for girls69(The5); this has made her club coach the person that epitomises good living through playing sport, in an environment ravaged by abuse, drugs and violence. Her club coach has instilled in her the value of sport in one’s life and this has propelled her to be the best she can be. Learners are also not immune to problems and upheavals in their lives and when these occur Jemma relies on her grandmother for advice on the demanding world of gymnastics: I would ask my granny and she will tell me what to do (Je3).
Having to meet her training obligations, Tojan has to travel long distances to meet with her coach. The person who makes this possible for her is her mother (she gives up a lot to take me (To6)), and this sacrifice of her mother is what makes her the most important person in Tojan’s life. When Daryl decided to focus on his studies during his matriculation year, his swimming was compromised. Although his father was disappointed, he said my dad did not force me when I stopped swimming just after I
69 Walter and Du Randt (2011) in their study found that growing up in communities where exercise, particularly for women, was not seen as part of their Black culture and therefore not seen as important or encouraged.
138 started my Grade 12 (Da2). This trust and faith from his father makes him the most significant person in Daryl’s life.
The family is the most important support structure for the learners and they look to the family for love and support. They appreciate the sacrifices that their parents make in order for them to succeed in sport. The family environment provides a crucial setting in which the learners grow up and where they are first introduced to sport, which leaves a lasting impact. Having friends to spend time with and socialise with is important in creating a balanced lifestyle for the learners. Being with friends constitutes a relaxing environment in which the learners can be themselves. The learners value the commitment shown by the coach to their training, and want to make them proud by succeeding. They look up to their coaches, who provide valuable skills development, and do their best to impress them. The learners feel that their coach is more than a coach and knows everything about them.
Having a significant person in their life provides the learner with the assurance that there is someone out there upon whom they can rely and who believes in them. The significant other is someone that knows the learners well and offers them compete support in everything they do. In this study the significant others that the learners identified were their mother, father, grandmother, coach or mentor.
5.4 Theme three – Sporting excellence, schooling and the curriculum Building up speed
The school is the context in which sport is made possible for the learners, and here pertinent issues relating to the role of the school, the PE curriculum and sports versus academics are discussed. This theme echoes Bronfenbrenner’s mesosystem, which refers to relations between microsystems or connections between contexts. These refer to the relation of the learner or the learners’ families’ experiences to school experiences.
In this study the school is the context, and the extent to which the school experience contributes to the learners’ sporting development will be analysed.
139 5.4.1 Role of the school
Schools are sites at which the education of learners unfolds, both academic and sporting. For the learner, the role of the school in promoting their sporting endeavours deviates a bit from this traditional role, in that they see school as an opportunity to promote their sporting agenda. The selection of schools becomes imperative in how best their sporting needs are being met.
All of the learners in this study except one have at one time in their schooling life attended former white schools. Selection of school has been a conscious decision, to allow them to realise dreams that would not have been possible at the schools in their residential area. Learners from the rural and township areas have moved to former white schools. Tholethu’s father sent his son to schools that he thought provided him with sound education as well as sporting opportunities: I did my Grade 1 and 2 at Bergey West, which is a former white school (Tho3). His formative years were spent at former white schools, with the last phase of his schooling at a former Indian school. Similarly, Sekani, although living in a rural area, starting his schooling by attending the former white school near his home: I have always been in the former white schools (Se3).
Fortunate to be financially secure, his father was able to send him to a prestigious school in Durban, which he also boarded at. For him the time spent at school was the best five years of my life (Se4). Moving to a former white school, and from a rural to an urban area, proved to be of great advantage to Sekani as he excelled in rugby through sheer determination and hard work and made it into the provincial rugby team.
Having the opportunity to attend the school of their choice has meant added burdens for the learners and their families in terms of time and finance. For Siani the only disadvantage he experienced being a black boy was in terms of travelling to his school:
I am only affected in terms of distance (Si6). Siani’s parents have only sent him to former white schools from Grade 1, and as a result he had to travel long distances from his home in the township. Although not so much of a financial strain on the family (since his dad runs a shuttle service), it did mean spending long hours travelling to school. This was alleviated when he went to high school and because of his excellent performance in sports not only received a scholarship at school (Si3) but also free boarding at the school, which meant no more travelling.
140 Nonthando has not been that fortunate. With no scholarship, and a desire to attend a better school, her father has had to pay school fees as well as travelling expenses, since her school is quite a distance from her home in the township. With the added responsibility of being a prefect at the school, her hours are also much longer: I only leave school at about 4 o’clock (No6). However, the school has a dedicated netball coach who took Nonthando under her wing, providing her with the chance to excel in netball.
The learners have also been fortunate in that they have been recruited by schools because their sporting talents were noticed. Daryl’s swimming talent was noticed by his coach, who happened also to coach at a prestigious former white school. As a result, Daryl got a full scholarship (Da4) to this school. Being recruited by this school provided Daryl with a means of furthering his swimming career.
Schools have also been selected for the role they play in enhancing the learners’
sporting requirements. Playing soccer and wanting to further his soccer achievements required Brendon to compete all over the province, throughout the year. This meant he had to compete during school time, so being in a school that is very supportive of what I do (B8) meant that he could do just that. Brendon had to change schools since his previous school did not afford him this flexibility. Some schools do not contribute at all to the learners’ sporting endeavours. Nkosi says school does not do much for soccer (Nk8). He relies on his club to further his soccer ambitions, since playing soccer for the school is not a positive experience because the school is unorganised and not able to provide the stability that he needs.