Tuks junior athletes win gold at CAA Championships in Lusaka

Tuks's junior athletes, Chane Kok and Brian Raats, won gold today at the Lusaka Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) Championships.

Raats jumped 2.15 metres to win the men's under-20 high jump competition. To the 19-year-old's frustration, he sprained his ankle during the competition.

"It is why I decided to stop after I won gold. I did not want to risk aggravating the injury."

Last year Raats won a silver medal during the Junior World Championships in Columbia.

The 18-year-old Chané Kok was victorious in the under-20 women's 100m hurdles. According to her coach, Adri Schoeman, her most formidable opponent was the wind from the front.

"Chané won in 14.30s. It is a good result because the official wind reading was -2.3m/s. If it was not for that, Chané could have come close to setting a new personal best. It is the first time she has competed internationally.

"What amazes me about her performance is that Chané was genuinely sick for two weeks. So I decided that she had to take a complete break from training. We had one training session before she left for Lusaka. The fact that she won gold proves that she has a big-match temperament. It is going to stand her in good stead in the future."

There is going to be no respite for Kok. When she gets back, she will be immediately off to Bloemfontein to represent Tuks at the South African Student Championships over the weekend.

According to Schoeman, it might be her last race for the season.

"If Chané gets selected to compete at the Africa Senior Championships, we will consider it. She has what it takes to become a top-class international hurdler, but she needs to be appropriately managed. I don't want her to be overraced. There are too many stories in South African athletics of young talented athletes who never fulfilled their potential due to being pushed too hard too early."

Kok is also the South African under-20 100m-hurdles champion. She won silver at the senior championships.

She is not the only one who wins medals. This weekend Schoeman will be competing at the South African Masters Championships in Cape Town. During last year's World Masters Championships in Brazil, Schoeman won the 100 and 200 metres in the 50-54 age category.

"It is a good thing that I am still competing myself because it serves as a reminder of what my athletes must go through when they race. It is easy to forget about the effects of lactic acid and the emotional stress of racing when you are not competing yourself."

Schoeman is a four-time national champion.

“Eliminating opponents” is Maart’s passion

The one thing the 19-year-old Sian Maart enjoys is "eliminating" opponents during an attack in a hockey game.

It might sound like he is going to extremes, but he is not. The reality is that the 19-year-old Tuks player's passion is hockey. When he plays. It does not matter which team. Only one thing matters, and that are to win.

"I love to be on the attack during a game. There is a definite thrill to 'eliminate' the opposition," said Maart, who represented the Proteas in the recent Africa Under-21 Tournament in Cairo.

When told to use the words to "eliminate opponents," make it sound as if he is the bully on the team. Maart only laughs and then explains what he means.

"What attracted me to hockey is the fast paste at which the game is played. To be competitive means, you must hone your skills to absolute perfection. The better your technique, the better you play. I play as an outside midfielder or a 'very high' midfielder. It boils down to having the ability to outsmart your opponents with nimble footwork and good stickwork. It definitely helps to be tactically savvy as well. To me, this comes down to 'eliminating' your opponents."

Maart matriculated at Paul Roos Gimnasium in Stellenbosch, so it can't be wondered what made him decide to come to Tuks.

"For a long time, I have admired the quality of hockey played at Tuks. As far as I am concerned, Sigz Ntuli is the best coach in South Africa. I want to be coached by him."

According to Maart, he was also an avid rugby player and an athlete at primary school. Sprinting used to be his thing. In his prime, he could clock 11.20s over the 100 metres.

"I know it is not that fast, but for hockey, it is fast enough."

Maart admits there are days when he wonders how his sports career would have played out had he decided to stick to playing rugby, especially since there is big money to be made in the professional game.

"I played as flyhalf or fullback. In my matric year, I could not resist the urge to play rugby again. Without my coach's knowledge, I played a game or two. My coach was quite upset when he found out about it. He threatened to take me off the team. And so my rugby career ended. I have no regrets. Hockey is my game. My immediate goal is to make sure I get to play for the Proteas under-21-side who will be competing at the World Cup at the end of the year."