Tiago Da Serra was roped into being a ball boy for the UP-Tuks Varsity Football team in 2013 when he was a Grade 11 learner at TuksSport High School. Fast forward to 2016 and the midfielder has entrenched himself in the University of Pretoria’s starting eleven.
Da Serra has been a part of the Tuks Football structures since he was six years old and playing for the university’s first team is a dream come true.
“It has always been my dream to represent my university and it is surreal to be actually living my dream,” he told varsitysportssa.com.
Da Serra, a Higher Certificate in Sports Science student, believes that Varsity Football is a very special tournament, not only in terms of the quality of the competing universities but also because the competition allows athletes to pursue an education.
“Varsity Football is a great platform for student athletes to showcase their talents in a way that they could not before. The competitiveness of all the teams is incredibly high,” said Da Serra.
“On the topic of academics, Varsity Football is unprecedented in South Africa. The fact that the competition rules are very strict on athletes performing in the lecture halls as well as on the field is creating athletes who can still give back to society once their careers are over,” added the 20-year-old.
Da Serra has aspirations to play professional football and maybe even represent the national team one day, but for now he is completely focused on helping UP-Tuks qualify for the 2016 Varsity Football semi-finals.
By Dan Lombard
