By Chris Totobela
Sharpshooting Makhanda netballer Sinovuyo Nonkonyane is the go-to player for goals, says her proud coach.
Nonkonyane, a 17-year-old, grade 11 pupil at Khutliso Daniels Secondary School, is making waves in school and club netball in Makhanda.
Grocott’s Mail sat down with the soft-spoken teen as part of theYouth Month special feature that profiles young people making their names in sport.
Nonkonyane told this reporter she was introduced to netball by one of her school teachers, Vuyiswa Mthetho, who also happened to be a coach.
She remembered how it all started. “I was very young and nervous when I started, but I fell in love with the sport and never looked back since then. I struggled to score goals until my coach helped me with extra training sessions.”
Nonkonyane is now a permanent feature in the United Queens and Kutliso Daniels’ first teams and is their main goal scorer.
She has dreams of playing for the Spar Proteas – the South African national netball team, and believes nothing is impossible.
Nonkonyane took time to explain her current coach Bhongolwethu Setheni’s role in her netball career. “My coach played an important role in my game and he completely took my game to another level. He also helped with my confidence as I can now shoot for goals from any distance and angles.”
Nonkonyane said her team’s secret is their hard work and love for each other. But most importantly, the respect they have for the game. She added that she takes netball very seriously and trains regularly to keep herself in good shape.
She also shared a Youth Month message with other young people. “Sport makes you forget about your problems and it helps you focus on your studies. Women and children are always in danger of being hurt out there, and it is important for young people to keep themselves busy with sport and education.”
Her coach, Setheni, praised Nonkonyane for her respect. “Sinovuyo is a very respectful child who likes her sport. She is a very important member of my teams and is the go-to player when we are looking for goals. She is our leading goal scorer and has pulled us out of difficult situations on many occasions. I used a very simple but effective method to help her with her shooting skills and it worked.”
Setheni urged young people to get involved in sport and equip themselves with education to help them maintain a healthy lifestyle.
