Academy hones young talent

Established  two years ago, the Sports Coaching Academy has shown remarkable potential as it continues to deepen its roots in local sports particularly amongst the children.
Owner of the Academy, Romeo Van Wyk, a fitness professional and consultant said before he decided to pursue his passion for sports, he worked at Virgin Active for close to 12 years.
“I love sports, and have been playing sports ever since I was young and this initiative for me is a way of giving back to the community. I want kids from a young age to take sports serious, who knows, they might just grow into Namibia’s pride.”
Namibian born van Wyk grew up and finished his education in South Africa. He studied Fitness and Nutrition at Intec College. Van Wyk also has a qualification in Tennis as well as a level two cricket coaching qualification from Cricket Namibia.
Clearly a born sportsmen, Van Wyk said that he sees a lot of potential in young athletes as they are very talented and can eventually rise into great athletes.
“These kids keep getting better and better and are showing a lot of potential. We encourage children who excel in a particular sport to progress to a higher level and ultimately to club or national level.”
At the moment, he is a private coach at St Georges College and Emma Hoogenhout Primary School where he trains children of different ages.
Van Wyk said it is important for parents to invest in their kids sporting activities as school teachers are not qualified to be sports coach. “Most of these teachers simply give physical education for the mere sake of it,” he said.
Sports Coaching Academy endevours to develop, enhance and nurture children’s sporting skills throughout Namibia although it is only currently based in Windhoek. Van Wyk told the Economist that  he plans to be involved with other schools from other parts of the country.
The Sports Coaching Academy offers training skills in the sport codes of athletics, tennis as well as cricket.