Curro’s Northern Academy. Two Northern Academy students have shown their sporting prowess, making it to the upper levels of their respective sports. Sade Hartlief, a Grade 11 netball player from the school in Polokwane, played in the provincial tournament in October of this year. She has a view to trial for the national team. Karabo Mpaneng (Grade 12) has shone at the Dstv Diski Challenge and is now a permanent member of the team.
Sade has been playing netball since Grade 4, developing her skillset over the years. She now plays in the position of Wing Defence. She was invited to participate in this year’s provincial tournament, which took place in Pretoria. Sade played for the Under-17s A team with her peers, who played 9 games in total. The team was ranked 7th out of 14 schools for their respective age group.
Sade believes winning is not the end game and it is rather what is learned from the experience. She also turns to netball as a form of relaxation and to put her mind to something when life becomes stressful.
“Becoming a provincial netball player has been a significant achievement for me. I have had a tough year, but it has made me stronger and I am channelling that into my netball,” she says. Sade also says that nothing worth achieving comes easy. She has been working hard at the gym to get stronger to play on the court. “My dad says you cannot expect to go to provincials if you have not trained. So I put a lot of time into my training.”
Karabo
Karabo on the other hand started playing soccer when he was a young boy living in a township in Johannesburg where he already had aspirations of getting into the Dstv Diski Challenge team.
It was in September 2021 that he really got to show his talent and was chosen to represent the Dstv Diski Challenge, part of the PSL tournament. He is now a permanent member of the team.
At just 19, Karabo plays with peers a few years older than himself, with the average age being 23. He has however already played for Bafana Bafana at the young age of 15 so he knows what it is like to be the small fish in a big pond but has proven that he can hold his own on the field.
As a Goal Attack, he plays a central role on the team’s side and believes that dedication to the game is everything. He says that challenges come along your way but it’s how you deal with them that makes you stronger. He applies this positive attitude on and off the field.
Karabo is one to watch, and while he finishes his schooling at Northern Academy this year, he will continue playing with hopes to play for Bafana Bafana again and make it to the World Cup or the Olympics.
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