KNYSNA NEWS - From starting out merely as social football training for Knysna ladies, Strikers Development Academy has burgeoned into an academy for young aspiring footballers in Knysna.
It was founded by head coach Matt Kerswill in September 2021 after he identified a need for more social, outdoor exercise and fun for ladies in Knysna. His efforts led to 10 ladies with zero previous football experience falling in love with the game.
This led to them taking part in their first tournament a year later - a five-a-side league in Plettenberg Bay.
It was around this time that three 15-year-old boys happened to be at Loerie Park and asked one of the Strikers Ladies stars if they could join in as they had little else to do.
"It soon became apparent that there were many more boys from Knysna communities such as Hornlee, Khayalethu, Concordia etc, that had no extra-curricular activities and needed a constructive outlet," Kerswill said.
The start of the academy
With the help of his partner, Rachel Wood, and the incredible volunteer work of Bella Stevenson, the Strikers Development Academy was founded in October 2022. On 8 November 2022, 10 boys attended the inaugural Strikers training session.
By the end of that month, they had 40 boys at varying age levels taking part.
These initial sessions were facilitated with no more than three soccer balls, some cones and little other equipment, and highlighted a dire need for more. Jeeves Heated Towel Rails answered the call immediately, and until today remains a loyal supporter of Strikers.
Now, seven months since that first training session, Strikers has roughly 80 boys who train at Loerie Park every Tuesday and Thursday while the ladies continue to train and play every Monday and Wednesday.
They make use of volunteer coaches, all with various backgrounds in the football community – Caleb Colardo, Sinethemba Kruweshe and Keith Forrest. "The Strikers' vision is to create a community-oriented, opportunity-giving, academic (with sport focus) Academy," Kerswill explained.
"Here Strikers aims to develop and further the lives of young South Africans whose talents may otherwise go undiscovered.
"Strikers aims to create a community where our youth are given a platform to grow their young minds and reach for the stars."
A massive step in this process has been registering and entering the boys and the academy into the junior leagues that are to be run through the Knysna Local Football Association.
Recent developments
One of the biggest donations came recently when Strikers received 40 pairs of soccer boots through the help of the Knysna Networking group, Jeeves and Cambalala Guesthouse. The Strikers' first team kit was also recently purchased, courtesy of sponsorship from Pet and Pool Knysna and once again, Jeeves. Strikers also has a variety of operating costs such as petrol, food and water (among others) for the players, that were sponsored by Aquaman Pool Care and Dream Knysna.
"Strikers Development Academy is incredibly grateful to our willing Knysna community, and in particular to our awesome sponsors, who are all contributing to enriching the lives of these young boys and girls," Kerswill emphasised.
"We hope to open up doors that these young boys would otherwise never have dreamt to be a possibility. The potential that our Knysna community has, is great. These boys are regularly playing matches against various other local teams in Knysna and the boys are loving every opportunity to play and train."
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