When we started hockey in 2008, we didn’t have enough players to make up full teams. We had to put boys and girls from ages 10 to 13 in one team with only 11 players and no substitutes. Despite not having ideal sporting facilities, we have grown so much from our humble beginnings to a position where we represented the Limpopo Province at the National Championships the past 2 years.
We have won a number of competitions/championships such as the 2011 U13 Boys and the 2012 U10 Girls champion trophies at Koedoeskop in Limpopo, the 2013 U13 Boys and U13 Girls won at the Mokopane Hockey championship as well as winning the 2013, 2014 and 2015 Diabetes Day Hockey cup for both Girls U13 and Boys U13.
The girls U13 won the Limpopo Provincial Schools Sports Hockey Championships in 2014 and represented Limpopo Province at the National Championships at the University of Pretoria, TUKS, in which they came in 5th position and in 2015, the girls won the Limpopo Provincial Championships again and came 6th at the National Championships in Pretoria.
The U13 Boys won the Limpopo Provincial Schools Sports Hockey Championships in 2015 and represented Limpopo Province at the National Championships in Pretoria in which they achieved the 5th position. In 2014, the U13 Boys lost 1 nil to Groblersdal in the finals of the Limpopo Provincial Schools Sports Championships landing them in 2nd position.
We had 3 players who played for the U13 Limpopo Provincial Hockey team in 2014 – Benny Mabote, Kholofelo Mampa and Noah Mokonyama.
In 2015, 4 Sunrise Hockey Players were selected to play for the Limpopo Provincial U13 team – David Modipa Mashala, Noah Mokonyama, Glen Maoto and Madimetja Langa. These players were part of the Limpopo Provincial Team that became the South African Hockey Inter-Provincial Champions at the Inter-Provincial Championships in Witbank in July 2015 coached by our Kubiku Kubs Kozanai.
In 2016, 5 players were selected for the Limpopo Provincial Hockey teams – Mantaba Rakgoto, for the U13 Girls team; Katlego Mphahlele, Modipa Mashala, Kgotso Dikgole and Mahlatsi Mmola for the U13 Boys.
In 2017, we again represented the Limpopo Province at the National Schools Sports Championsips that were held in Durban from the 9th to the 15th of July and the Girls Hockey Team scooped Bronze! They won 4 nil against Gauteng, 2 nil against Free State, 3 nil against Northern Cape, 2 nil against Mphumalanga and only lost 3 nil against Eastern Cape and 2 nil against KZN. The boys came 5th after conceding goals in only two matches in the entire tournament.
Vision and Mission Statement:
Sunrise Primary School Sports Department strives to identify and nurture individual talents. Our vision is driven to the idea that, ”lack of sports makes John a dull boy” hence we use sporting activities to promote learners’ networking and interaction with their outside environment and help them to express firm commitment to their future endeavours. We sincerely believe that, despite the challenges we have with inadequate sporting facilities, we will be optimally integrated and co-ordinated for massive participation not only locally in Mokopane but Nationwide.
Motto:
“When we take the bull by its horns, the aim is not to test its strength but to bring it down and dehorn it”. We aim to be an active participating and winning team in the region.
Sponsorship:
We would like to thank the following sponsors who have supported us so much during the last few years:
- Folang
- Zebros
- Office Made Easy
- Stans Stationery
We currently practice on the netball courts at the Primary School premises which is only 15 x 30 meters and a normal hockey field is 55 x 90 meters. We hope to obtain a sports field in future where we can build hockey facilities to further develop the children’s potential. To find out about ways to sponsor our hockey teams or facilities, please contact Mr Gerhard Kotzé.
