Rugby Kapteins. In ons gewilde reeks oor sport kapteins, gesels Schools That Rock vandag met André Vermeulen. André is die kaptein van Augsburg Landbougimnasium, Clanwilliam, se 1ste rugbyspan. Hy druk vandag die eerste drie in ons reeks vanjaar oor Rugby Kapteins van hoërskole in Suid-Afrika.
“Ek speel rugby vandat ek sewe jaar oud is. Rugby is my gunsteling sportsoort omdat dit ʼn mens so baie selfdissipline en nuwe vaardighede leer. Ek het ook besluit om rugby te speel omdat dit jou ook fisies en emosioneel versterk. Rugby is ook iets wat ek verskriklik baie geniet. Daar is niks so lekker as om saam as ʼn groep jong manne te kan werk na ʼn doel. Hierdie doel is nie slegs daar gestel vir die einde van die rugby seisoen nie. Verder het ek ook besluit om rugby te speel omdat my pa al sy jare ook rugby gespeel het. Ek wil hom graag trots maak en ek het ook ʼn baie groot liefde en passie vir die sport.
Toe ek my eerste wedstryd gespeel het, het ek geweet dat ek dit weer en weer oor sal doen. Om daai adrenalien te kry wat geen ander sportsoort vir ʼn mens kan gee nie. Ek het ook geweet dat ek van daar af net vorentoe sal werk om myself te verbeter en om die rugbyspeler te word wat ek weet ek kan word.
My eerste wedstryd
Wat ek van my eerste wedstryd onthou, is net hoe al die ouers altyd ons aangemoedig het. Ons was ʼn 0.7 spannetjie en ek onthou hoe lekker dit altyd was om nog kaalvoet rugby te kon speel. Ons het almal lekker saam gespeel, al was ons nog baie jonk gewees en al was daar nog baie wat ons moes leer.
Toe ek die eerste keer op die veld gedraf het as rugby kaptein, het ek geweet dat daar baie druk en verwagtinge op my skouers sal wees. Ek was egter baie kalm gewees en het net gefokus daarop wat ek alles moet doen om die span se koppe op te hou, te lei en ʼn goeie voorbeeld te stel.
My raad, as rugby kaptein, aan beginners is dat jy nooit moet moed opgee nie. Al voel dit of die wêreld op jou skouers is of al voel dit of alles teen jou draai moet jy net aanhou en deurdruk. Jy sal nooit daaroor spyt wees nie. Jy raak baie sterker deur moeiliker dinge wat jou probeer afdruk. As jy egter wys dat niks jou kan onderkry nie, sal niks jou onderkry nie en jy sal in ʼn sterk persoon ontwikkel. My onderwyser sê ook altyd dat ons elke klein bietjie moet insit om berge te kan versit.
Die posisie wat ek tans speel, is nommer 7 flank. Ek het ook al senter, slot, agsteman en flank gespeel,maar ek is meer as tevrede met my huidige posisie. Ek is al vanaf my heel eerste wedstryd wat ek gespeel het, toe ek 0.7 gespeel het, as kaptein gekies.
Motivering
As rugby kaptein, hou ek die span gemotiveerd, selfs wanneer dit nie goed gaan nie. Ek doen dit deur te probeer om altyd die ouens se koppe hoog hou. Ek motiveer hulle ook om nie na die telling te kyk nie. Ons moet na elke afskop dink dat ons by nul begin sodat ons as ʼn span nie grootkop kry nie. As dinge dalk nie so goed gaan nie, probeer ek altyd om met die manne te praat tussen skrums en lynstane wanneer ons bymekaar kom. Ek vra hulle om rustig te raak en mooi te dink wat ons elkeen moet doen in die posisie wat ons speel. Ons moet die spelpatroon so glad as moontlik laat vloei.
As rugby kaptein probeer ek ook dat almal mekaar moet motiveer en nie moeilik met mekaar begin raak nie. Hulle moet nie minder geneig wees om te luister en hulle eie dinge te begin doen nie.
Myns insiens moet ‘n goeie rugbyspeler beskik oor selfdissipline, respek vir ander en jouself en bereid wees om te leer en te luister. Jy moet op jou slegste dae steeds opdaag en doen wat gedoen moet word. Verder moet ‘n goeie rugbyspeler beskik oor uithouvermoë, goeie kommunikasievaardighede, hulpvaardig, vinnige reaksietyd, fiks wees, liefde hê vir die sport en dit voluit doen. As rugby kaptein is my sleutel tot sukses om my kop hoog te hou en te doen wat van my verwag word in my posisie. Ek veg ook altyd totdat die eindfluitjie blaas. Wat my inspireer wanneer ek elke keer op die rugbyveld draf, is om my talente as rugby kaptein uit te leef en om meer te leer van myself. Ek wil ook my skool se naam hoog hou en die mense wat ons ondersteun trots maak.
Lekkerste wedstryd
My lekkerste wedstryd was toe ons die jaar ons eerste liga wedstryd gespeel het teen Hoërskool Dirkie Uys. Dit was regtig ʼn baie harde en fisiese geveg vir ons as span. Ons het in die reën gespeel en dit is iets waaraan ons nie noodwendig gewoond is nie. Ons het 5-3 gewen. In die tweede helfte het ons teenstanders ʼn strafskop voor die pale gekry waarmee hulle misluk het.Toe die eindfluitjie blaas, was dit ʼn baie groot plesier om te weet dat ons so hard geveg het. Dit was alles die moeite werd en was lekker om al die ouens so gelukkig te sien. Die span het ook besef dat al die harde werk beloon is en dat ons as span net gedoen het wat ons moes doen.
Die beste rugbybesluite wat ek as rugby kaptein geneem het, was om te luister wat my span se opinies ook is. Om uit te vind hoe hulle dink en wat hulle voel moet ons ook doen in sekere situasies en daarvan af ʼn besluit maak. As die span goed voel oor ʼn besluit kan ons baie meer bereik saam omdat hulle dit dan wil doen en hulle gemotiveerd is om te doen. Wanneer ek ‘n moeilike wedstryd gehad het, sal ek gewoontlik iewers heen gaan waar ek rustig is. Dan sal ek aan al die foute probeer dink sodat dit verbeter kan word. Ek praat ook met die spelers sodat ons mekaar kan help en ook so met die afrigters omdat hulle dinge weer uit ʼn ander oogpunt verstaan wat ons nie noodwendig altyd doen nie.
My rugbyheld
My grootste rugbyheld is my pa. Die mense praat altyd oor hoe lekker hy rugby gespeel het. Ek wil graag sy skoene vul en hom trots maak om so ook ‘n goeie rugbyspeler te word soos hy wat hy was. My rugby-doelwit wat ek vanjaar wil bereik, is om te bou op nuwe leier-eienskappe wat ek nog kan ontwikkel en om my beste te gee by elke oefening en wedstryd. Ek wil ook graag ons interskole wedstryd op ons tuisveld wen. Ja, ek is van plan om na skool rugby te speel.Ek wil verder gaan studeer en sal graag vir die Universiteit waar ek gaan studeer rugby speel.Ek hanteer my verantwoordelikgede by rugby saam met my sosiale en akademiese verantwoordelikhede deur tyd te maak vir alles. As ek by rugby-oefeninge kom, dan vergeet ek van alles en fokus net op rugby en wat ons die dag moet doen. Wanneer dit dan kom by akademie en dinge soos dit, fokus ek weer om te presteer.
My grootste enkele hoogtepunt in my rugbyloopbaan, is om die rugby kaptein te wees vir my skool se eerste span. Buiten rugby neem ek ook aan ander sportsoorte deel soos krieket en muurbal.
Die professionele rugbyspeler met wie ek graag wil koffie drink, is Duane Vermeulen.
Ek sal myself beskryf as hardwerkend
Rugby Captains
In our popular series about sports captains, Schools That Rock talks to André Vermeulen today. André is the captain of Augsburg Agricultural Gymnasium, Clanwilliam’s 1st rugby team. Today he is scoring the first try in our series this year on Rugby Captains of high schools in South Africa.
“I’ve been playing rugby since I was seven years old. I like rugby because it teaches you so much self-discipline and new skills. I also decided to play rugby because it also strengthens you physically and emotionally. Rugby is also something I really enjoy because there is nothing as fun as being able to work together as a group of young men towards a goal. This goal was not only set for the end of the rugby season. I also decided to play rugby because my father had also played rugby for all his years. I would like to make him proud, and I also have a very great love and passion for the sport.
When I played my first game, I knew that I would do it repeatedly to get that adrenaline that no other sport can give a human. I also knew that from there I would only work going forward to better myself and to become the rugby player I know I can become.
My first game
What I remember about my first game is just how all the parents always encouraged us. We were an u7 team and I remember how nice it was to still be able to play rugby barefoot. We all had a great time playing together, even though we were still very young and even though there was still a lot we had to learn.
When I first ran onto the rugby field as rugby captain, I knew there would be a lot of pressure and expectations on my shoulders. However, I was very calm and just focused on what all I need to do to keep the team’s heads up, lead and set a good example.
My advice, as rugby captain, to beginners is that you should never give up. Even if it feels like the world is on your shoulders or even if it feels like everything is turning against you, you just have to keep going and push through. You’ll never regret it. You get much stronger through harder things trying to push you down. However, if you show that nothing can get you down, nothing will get you down and you will develop into a strong person. My teacher always says that we have to put in every little bit to be able to move mountains.
The position I’m currently playing is No. 7 flanker. I’ve also played center, lock, eighth man and flanker, but I’m more than happy with my current position. I’ve been selected as captain since my very first game I played, when I played u7.
Motivation
As rugby captain, I keep the team motivated, even when things aren’t going well. I do this by trying to always hold the guys’ heads high. I also motivate them not to look at the score. We have to think after every kickoff that we start at zero so that as a team we don’t get big-headed. When things might not go so well, I always try to talk to the guys between scrums and lineouts when we get together. I ask them to calm down and think carefully what we each should do in the position we play. We need to keep the game pattern flowing as smoothly as possible. I also try to motivate everyone among themselves and not start getting each other. They should not be less likely to listen and start doing their own things.
In my opinion, a good rugby player should be fit about self-discipline, respect for others and yourself and be willing to learn and listen. You still must show up on your worst days and do what needs to be done. Furthermore, a good rugby player must have stamina, good communication skills, helpful, quick reaction time, be fit, love the sport and do it to the fullest. As a rugby captain, my key to success is to hold my head high and do what is expected of me in my position. I also always fight until the final whistle blows. What inspires me every time when I jog on the rugby field, is to live out my talents and to learn more about myself. I also want to keep my school’s name high and make the people supporting us, proud.
Most enjoyable match
My most enjoyable game was when we played our first league game that year against Dirkie Uys High School. It was really a very hard and physical battle for us as a team. We played in the rain and something we’re not necessarily used to. We won 5-3. In the second half, our opponents got a penalty kick in front of the posts with which they failed. When the final whistle blew, it was a great pleasure to know that we had fought so hard. It was all worth it and it was nice to see all the guys so happy. The team also realized that all the hard work was rewarded and that as a team we just did what we had to do.
The best rugby decisions I made were to listen to what my team’s opinions are as well. To find out how they think and what they feel we should also do in certain situations and decide from there. If the team feels good about a decision, we can achieve a lot more together because they want to do it then and they are motivated to do it. When I’ve had a tough game, I’ll usually go somewhere where I’m calm. Then I’ll try to think of all the errors so they can be improved. I also talk to the players so we can help each other and so with the coaches because they understand things again from a different point of view that we don’t necessarily always do.
My rugby hero
My biggest rugby hero is my dad. The people always talk about with how much fun he played rugby. I would like to fill his shoes and make him proud to also become as good a rugby player as he was. My rugby goal this year is to build on new leadership qualities that I can still develop and to give my best at every practice and game. I would also like to win our interschool game on our home turf.
I handle my responsibility in rugby along with my social and academic responsibilities by making time for everything. When I get to rugby training, I forget about everything and just focus on rugby and what we need to do that day. Then when it comes to academia and things like that, I focus on performing again.
My biggest single highlight of my rugby career is being the rugby captain for my school’s first team. Apart from rugby, I also participate in other sports such as cricket and squash.
The professional rugby player I would like to have coffee with is Duane Vermeulen.
I would describe myself as hardworking.
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