The first day of the 22nd annual Ken Short under-14 Water Polo Festival on Thursday was completed, almost miraculously, without interruption in a week that saw lightning warning sirens go off every afternoon.
The greater miracle, though, was the mere fact that this festival marked a return to some normality for this group of boys who were able, for the first time in almost three years, to pit their skills against a variety of opponents on the same day, and then to mingle with them in a social way afterwards.
There was also a return to the stands of the parents, and the unique enthusiasm that you get from the sidelines in water polo -particularly at under-14 level – when the spectators voice their support without really knowing what the decisions being made by the referees are all about (that partial ignorance is common at all levels of the game).
All of which made for a great day of sport and a fitting culmination of months of planning and preparation by the Jeppe water polo staff.
It was decided a couple of years ago that the Ken Short would be festival, not a tournament as it had been before that. There would be no final, no winner, and no tournament team will be chosen. The thinking was that boys at this age still have so much to learn about the game, and about sporting competition in general, that making winning the main objective of playing should be removed from the equation.
This idea was put to the principals of the schools that regularly participate - which reads like a who’s who list of the top boys schools in the country - and it was readily agreed to.
And if anyone thought that all of that would translate into this festival not being taken seriously, you need only look at some of the coaching staff that are at Jeppe this weekend.
I spotted Lwazi Madi, the South African mens captain. He is coaching the SACS team. Terry Downes, a former national captain and coach, and one of the games all-time greats, is here with Affies, and former national player Andrew Ridley is coaching KES. Graham Waters, one of the most experienced coaches in the game is back with the Maritzburg College team and Jeppe’s new coaching acquisition, Lucky Letshaba, is putting his years of experience into developing our under-14s. Among the referees – all of them men with years of experience - is Miguel Morais, a current national player.
Which goes to show that water polo takes the development of its younger players very seriously and that the Ken Short Festival is seen as an important part of that.
Not that all the teams and players need the same level of development. This is a festival where winning is not supposed to be important, but on the evidence of the first day’s play, there are some teams that clearly stand out. The last game of the day – between Rondebsoch and Bishops was at a level way above that of beginners and those teams looked like they have been playing the game for years.
Joburg’s St David’s were also very impressive, as they have been all season.
Results
St John’s 3 Pretoria 0, Jeppe 6 Parktown 4, St Davids’s 8 St Stithians 4, Affies 5 St John’s 4, Grey College 8 St Alban’s 1, St Stithians 7 Jeppe 1, St David’s 7 KES 0, St Alban’s 5 Affies 5, Pretoria 7 DHS 1, St John’s 4 St Benedict’s 3, Rondebosch 8 Grey College 2, Bishops 12 KES 0, Parktown 8 DHS 4, St David’s 11 Clifton 2, Bishops 4 Rondebosch 3.
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