Star player destined for bigger things

Star soccer player Zoë de Kock, 17, a Grade 11 pupil at Tafelsig High School, has joined her national teammates on a training camp in Johannesburg ahead of the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) Girls’ under-17 Region 5 championships in Malawi, in December.

Her latest call-up comes as no surprise to those who know her and she is the only player from Cape Town to join the squad.

Getting called up to the national side does not come every day. But when getting that letter in the mail for the third time in the same year, one can get used to it, her grandmother Venetia Paulse, 66, jokingly said.

Paulse, along with her late husband Vivian, who died four months ago, has always been the player’s number one supporter. Although not always a follower of the game, her granddaughter’s rise through the ranks has turned the family home in Keeromsberg Street, Tafelsig, into something of a soccer fan zone, with Zoë the star of the show.

The youngest of three siblings, Zoë has been playing soccer since the age of 7, mainly thanks to her brother Venito’s influence.

She joined Rocklands-based Hotspurs Ladies FC two years ago and has made her mark as a goal poacher of note.

“I got my first SA call up in April, my second in October and my third call up earlier this month,” she said.

Clearly destined for bigger things, the energetic teenager believes that talent alone is not enough to succeed.

“What's needed is just give it your all on the field, do the basics and do what's expected from you and always listen to your coach,” she said.

“The only thing I would like to add is that you need to work hard – not only in soccer but in life in order to be where you want to be one day,” she said.

Hotspurs coach, Yaasien Solomons, was immediately taken in by the talented player’s attitude and performance the first time he spotted her at a tournament in Macassar while coaching at his former club Beacon Spurs.

“The second time I saw her was when she played against our boys early the next season when we were busy with pre-season friendlies.”

At the time, he said, Zoë was with Mowglies FC, the same club her brother was with.

“She gave defenders a torrid time, now you must remember, those defenders just came of an exceptional previous season, where they won the Mitchell’s Plain Local Football Association (MPLFA) league and knockout, the Wynberg St Johns tournament as well as the YMO St Lukes tournament. But she gave them such a hard time in that friendly. I think after the game I had a chat with her to congratulate her on her performance,” he said.

“At Hotspurs we have young players who only want to play in Zoë's no10 jersey. So then we had to tell her, she needs to lead by her performances and her behaviour, on and off the field, because those young players want to be the next Zoë de Kock. Since then, she has accepted her role as a leader within the club ,” he said.

Solomons believes it is as important to pay as much attention to the development of girls’ football as it is to promote the boys’ game.

“Girls face the same dangers in the communities they come from and by developing girls’ soccer we are creating an environment where they can get away from everyday stresses and dangers,” he said.

National women’s coach Desiree Ellis, who herself will be keeping a close eye on the championships in Malawi, couldn’t agree more. At a homecoming event, at Athlone Stadium, earlier this year, following Banyana Banyana’s success at the Women’s African Cup of Nations (Wafcon), in Morocco, Ellis paid a special tribute to club coaches who helped lay the foundation for future national players. “So the coaches out there who do the work, who work with the players 24/7, this is for them and everyone who is involved with women’s football,” she said when bringing home the winners’ medal from this year’s Wafcon tournament.

“To the little girl out there, you can be whatever you want to be. And to the parents out there, allow them to do that,” she said.

Regarding the upcoming Cosafa girls’ championship, she said there can be no better platform than international competition to help prepare players to compete at the highest level.

“It’s about giving players an opportunity to test themselves but most importantly, to gain international experience,” she said.

Hotspurs founder and chairman, Frank Gabriel, believes the young player is one of the best in her age group but says there’s many more to come. “We are fully focused on developing girls football to a level that will produce more Zoë de Kocks,” he said.

“Our next aim is to get a goalkeeping coaching structure in place that will help to develop what is currently a challenge in female football as not enough female keepers are coming through the ranks,” he said.

Coach Solomon's wife Thaania has taken over chair duties on an acting basis while Gabriels is on duty at LFA level. Herself a firm believer in the all-round development of women’s football, Solomons is working towards obtaining a CAF C Licence.

“Women's soccer must be prioritised. Tt should not be treated as an afterthought. Currently bigger clubs have women’s teams, but more time and effort is given to the boy’s/men’s side of the club. The women's team are left on their own to train on their own. The same effort is not given. And that is the reason Hotspurs Ladies are for females only, so we can give all our time to the players,” she said.