UP-Tuks coach Evangelos Vellios says that participating in the Varsity Roots campaign gave his team a major boost this week.
The defending Varsity Football champions held coaching clinics for five high schools in the Mamelodi area as well as Sunnyside primary school, which Vellios says was just as valuable for his side as the schoolkids.
“We had a lot of fun with the Varsity Roots programme and the players really enjoyed it because these kind of things help to get the team spirit up,” he explained.
The players ran some skills sessions with learners from Gatang Secondary School, Lehlabile Secondary School, Ribanekala Secondary School and Solomon Mahlangu Freedom School and Vellios said that the outing was very worthwhile.
“On top of the drills and fun we are trying to show these kids that there is a pathway from school to tertiary education and that you can study while getiing exposure playing football in a quality tournament like this,” he said.
The learners were put through their paces by the UP-Tuks squad, with a series of passing and shooting drills, whilst there was also some good advice on conditioning from the Pretoria team’s specialist coaches.
“It is just about promoting Varsity Football and showing the youngsters that this is a great platform,” added Vellios.
