A Factreton-based organisation has been transforming the lives of dozens of children from disadvantaged backgrounds through soccer and empowering them with life skills.
Life Zone Soccer, based at Wingfield Primary School in Factreton, runs a programme called Coaching-4-Life.
Jeremy Wyngaard, founder and director of Lifezone Soccer International, says this year the organisation celebrates 10 years.
He says they run the programme for about 900 children weekly and that the initiative forms part of the school’s curriculum.
“We have been running the programme at the school for the past 10 years. We have also been conducting a physical education programme since 2013, on an artificial football pitch that, through our network, was sponsored to our organisation and built at Wingfield Primary School.”
Wyngaard, a former professional player for Santos, says they aim to expose children to opportunities that they might not otherwise access.
“We want to transform the kids and help them understand that they can achieve anything in life. With our tours to Sweden, we have seen people who come from poor backgrounds. Those parents also raise funds for their kids to get on the plane. Nothing was a hand-out; families had to raise the funds themselves.
“We have seen kids come through the programme who went on to play for professional academies like Ajax Cape Town, Santos. We have a boy that came through our programme who recently played in the national team.”
Grant Poole, Deputy Principal at the school, says he believes the programme is beneficial to the learners.
“The time and effort that Jeremy puts into these kids is amazing. Education and physical education go hand-in-hand. This programme directly implicated our systemic tests. There’s been a positive impact on our learners. All schools are judged by the systemic results, and we might be in the disadvantaged community, but our results are top class.”
Ember Edwards (21) says she started the Lifezone programme in 2014 and says it has shaped her soccer career.
“When I started, I could not even kick a ball properly; I couldn’t do basic stuff. But my coaches helped me improve. I am currently playing for Hollywoodbets at the University of the Western Cape. I played in the South Africa national u-17 soccer team. In 2018, I participated in the u-17 Fifa World Cup. In 2019, I participated in the Cosafa Cup u-20 team.”
Edwards explains that she recently returned to South Africa after playing soccer in the United States of America (USA) for about three years.
Wyngaard says the programme is open to boys and girls.
“This programme also focuses on girls’ soccer and we have schools like Kenmere Primary, Garden Village Primary and other schools. We also included Windermere, Kensington and Maitland High Schools. The physical education programme forms part of the life orientation programme of the department of education.”
Wyngaard says the past 10 years did not come without challenges.
“We have persevered through difficult times, but 10 years later, we are still here. We would like to thank the school, especially the deputy principal Grant Pool. He has been one of the key people that have helped us.
“Whatever achievements we have achieved are through God. It is not for us as an organization, we see ourselves as a conduit to help kids realise their full potential and to maximise it.”
