Former Buhera councilor and a prominent sponsor of the domestic soccer league and tournaments shares his vision of opening a junior academy in Buhera district with the aim of nurturing and grooming not just athletes but brands from the grassroots.
Pride Machimbidza a renowned sponsor for the Buhera east domestic football tournaments has pledged to uplift all sporting disciplines from the grassroots by opening the first ever junior academy in Buhera constituency in a fortnight times.
Unlike his past adventures, the academic will not only be limited to boys and girls soccer but all sporting disciplines including boxing, mixed martial arts , cycling , volleyball, tennis, squash , baseball and basketball only to mention a few.
Machimbimbida a former councilor and patron for Buhera football club best has vowed to uplift the sporting disciplines from the grassroots level through the junior academy, with joint efforts from the sports and recreation committee (SRC) and Buhera Christian community (BCC).
Speaking during the handover, takeover ceremony of the Murambinda B stadium which will be used by the academy, Machimbidza said, he is now taking a new adventure of uplifting and nurturing the fresh blood from the grassroots as the area is with vast potential of breaking the boundaries.
“I am taking a leap of faith in this new adventure of finding special gems in the dust, raw talent and takes it upon myself and the technical team , to nurture , develop, polish , train and help them realize their full potentials in the world of sports as a wholesome sportsman with etiquette’s” , he said. .
The team is aiming to recruit many young players under their wings to groom and manage, hoping they will make it cut to top flight leagues as household names like The MMA fighter Themba Gorimbo or the Olympian gold medalist and the current minister of sports, heritage , arts and culture Kristy Coventry.
He went on to say, grooming from the grassroots it is the only way to go, in as much as having quality ,and disciplined players is concerned.
Sports in general needs someone who is highly disciplined and this level of discipline can be instilled at a tender age and it grows.
What separate great athlete from the rest it is discipline before everything, he said with a smirk.
He expressed the need to equip the younger ones with skill-sets, knowledge and prepares them mentally as the world of sport have shifted to psychological warfare and mind game.
“The world of sports is rapidly changing and it in now highly tactical and a mind game which needs proper in-house training from a tender age, equipping them with mental and physical strength as you cannot teach old dog new tricks” , he said.
The clubs scouts and technical are going on a schools tour scouting for potential boys and girls to recruit in the Buhera constituency starting from the 19th to the 1st of august 2024.
Those selected will be invited for trials and clinical coaching in the summer for further selections, were we will build from there going forward, leaving no one behind, he said.
The Buhera chairperson applauded the new initiative by the former councilor and encourage the community to rally behind him in this endeavor of uplifting the youth.
The chairperson Mr. Wason Mudeeze went on to say recreation sports can also be a way of safeguarding and protecting our kids from the rampant drug pandemic which is taking a toll on the nation.
“As the community we need to rally behind Mr. Machimbidza, as the junior academy is a community thing and a solution to drugs and substance abuse pandemic we are fighting against as Buhera” , he said .
He added, “The upsurge in the drugs such as crystal myth, marijuana, cheap brews, dagga, codeine and other illicit drugs in Buhera was due to idleness and lack of recreational outlets leading to youth taking dangerous substances for recreational purposes”.
He went on to say the importance role of nurturing the young talents and encouraged them to make wise decisions, in life as every decision has its own repercussions.
He also highlighted the need for the junior academy to be strict and maintain the high standards values which can tally with the international standards.
The sport and recreation committee member said, the initiatives was long overdue, and Buhera has a proven records of producing athletes, sportsmanship over the years and hopefully soon it will be exporting talents for international market.
“ A junior sporting academy was long overdue in the area as the place had produced so many athletes who represented us well as Buhera and the province of Manicaland but because some of the athletes lacked mentorship they ended up derailing due to different reasons” , he said .
This comes at a time , Murambinda B secondary school athletes participated in the prestigious independence celebrations as the flame bearers.
