KNYSNA NEWS - A small independent Christian school in Knysna has celebrated a breakthrough achievement in sport at the school.
Excitement was high on Friday 16 May, ahead of 11-year-old Grade 5 learner Zoe Asamoah's arrival at KEC Academy School to be honoured for making the U11 Eden girls' netball team.
Asamoah is the first learner from the school to be chosen for an Eden sports team.
All the learners - dressed in pyjamas as it was Pyjama Day at the school - lined up on either side of a red carpet running to a gazebo, where Zoe was to be officially handed her Eden team badge and receive the school's colours of honour.
The were singing hymns as they waited excitedly for Zoe to arrive.
Applause erupted when Zoe and her parents arrived.
'She must go to the top'
Zoe's father, Sampson Asamoah, told the gathering he had not expected his daughter to become a standout performer in sport at the school.
Learners waiting for Zoe to walk the red carpet after she received her Eden badge and the colours of honour.
"I didn't know she was doing so well. It [her selection for the team] took me by surprise," he said.
Zoe's mother, Beatrice, said she and her husband were very happy about her achievement.
"We are praying for more victories for her. She must go to the top in netball," she said.
'Disciplined and authentic'
The school, which has about 200 learners and operates from nursery school level to Grade 9, was founded in 2017.
Netball coach and teacher Marno Plank says Zoe takes a disciplined approach to netball, and enjoys the sport.
"She practised and practised so she got better at it; she's well disciplined and every time she gets onto the court she enjoys herself and is her authentic self."
Academic award winner Zoe has been the top learner from Grade 3 to Grade 5.
On being selected for the Eden team, she said: "I feel very good and excited at the same time - because I'm going to Cape Town to represent Eden."
She and her teammates are to compete in an inter-district competition there, at a date still to be determined.
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