Stories of Hope: Episode 2 - Siphamandla Dlamini
Siphamandla Dlamini’s story: A 19-year-old soccer coach from Malacca Road Informal Settlement, grew up playing soccer with friends where he developed a passion for sport. He joined the Sharks Soccer School and helped them enter a team into the Durban Central Football League Association. He faced many challenges along the way, but he also received support from various sponsors and mentors. He hopes to pursue a career in soccer management and inspire other young players in his community. Read about our Stories of Hope: Episode 2 below or watch the video.
“(00:15) Hi my name is Siphamandla Dlamini, I am 19 years of age, I am currently doing Matric, and I live in Malacca Road informal settlement with my family.
(00:27) Soccer has been a passion in my life as I was growing and playing in different leagues, and playing in Malacca Road Informal Settlement me and the other boys went to the park to play soccer. I saw potential in them, but I did not know how I would get them into the league.
(00:42) Through the Seed Fund, I met Tyron and I soon started helping him coach at the Sharks Soccer School. During this time, I shared with him the possibility of getting the kids from Malacca Road informal settlement into a league.
(00:58) With the help of Edge Training we were able to enter a team into the Durban Central Football League Association.
(01:06) The support from Edge Training and also Shosholoza and Rod Smith who wrote an article about us helped get us sponsors from the community. We managed to get soccer balls from Shosholoza as well as shin pads. Edge Training also helped us with the kit. We were now able to play as a team and as unit and having pride knowing that we are part of a team that is going somewhere.ﾠ
(01:36) It helped us a lot from where we are to where we go. Even when we played in our games and did not get the results we wanted and finished towards the bottom of the league, but we still had a sense of pride knowing that we came with our best and came and played. Where we were once no one and not noticed, now people know us of who we are and how we play.
(02:02) As rewarding as this journey has been, there have also been a number of challenges along the way which I have learnt so much. I have to learn how to deal with conflict, I had to try keep the team motivated when results weren’t going our way. I had to discipline boys for not rocking up for practice.
(02:23) This experience has definitely put desire in my heart to potentially pursue a career in soccer management and hopefully unlock some of the talent in this country to make Bafana Bafana a force to be reckoned with once again.”
Next Steps
Siphamandla Dlamini completed his Business Administration NQF 3 Learnership whilst working on his sports coaching skills. Are you interested in changing the life of a student while maximising your BEE scorecard? Reach out to Edge Training today! We are an accredited training provider with over 24 years of experience in the Skills Development industry. We offer various learnership programmes so you can find a learnership that best suits your needs. Reach out to one of our representatives today, we can’t wait to hear from you!