KickMag Launch Issue 1

Discovery Soccer ParkSpring League 2018

Editorial Notes Gone are the days where the great little players have to wait for many years to start being recognised as goodEditor NotesWelcome to the first edition of our Digital and In different societies where gender has beene-mag. Our platforms focus on soccer devel- an issue with male dominance in manyopment issues, exposure and opportunities spheres of life, football has managed tothat will be discussed in length to allow our bridge the divide through the involvement ofreaders to make informed decisions about the women as administrators and managers insport. the game at the highest level. Major leaguesBoth forms of magazines will bring to the fore, around the world include ladies soccer inthe good, the bad and challenges faced by their ranks and the results have in the recentthe role players in the game. The develop- past shown the high level of women talentment of the soccer game mainly starts from and competency in the game as witnessedthe ages of 4 to 15 years of age. We also dis- with the first Ballon d’or award being awardedcuss matters relating to men in the middle of to a female soccer player at the same stagethe park (referees), coaches, parents, associ- with their male peers at the recent Ballon d’orations, supporters and fans. event.Gone are the days where the great little play- These are some of the motivational reasonsers had to wait for many years to start being for so many young girls looking forward torecognised as good only when they are adults making football a career choice. Others mightplaying in the professional ranks or in bigger even become successful and famous, whosoccer leagues. This magazine will bring to knows, “the Girl is allowed to dream”. In thisthe reader, the stories about the kids from issue we cover a story of a young girl who istheir own neighbourhoods and communities. on her way to stardom in the beautiful gameFootball is commonly known as “the beautiful under the heading “Girls kicking it high.game” around the globe and is considered to May you enjoy our first edition and manybe the most accessible and affordable sport more coming soon.to be played by anyone, either alone or withfriends and families anywhere. It is howeververy emotionally consuming as it divides fami-lies and friends who support different clubs intheir localities and around the world.

WINNERS WILL BE NOTIFIED VIA SMS

DiscoverySOCCER PARKSPRING LEAGUE2018 Discovery Soccer Park, Wanderers have done it again, with yet another fun-filled Spring League tournament. The tournament hosts have over the years emphasised that whilst there is fierce competition amongst the kids and their respective teams trying to edge out each other from day one to stay in the tournament until the final day, the focus is not on competition, but rather on enjoy- ment, fun and social cohesion between the junior soccer teams around Gauteng. Ryan Kalk, CEO of Discovery Soccer Park has indicated that the main priority of the tourna- ment is to get the kids from the ages of 5 to 17 to spend the last few weekends of the year, post their regular part of the season participating and enjoying themselves playing the sport that they love and having fun in front of their favourite sup- porters, family and friends. To indicate the point at hand, all the players participating in the tourna- ment receive the same medals on the last day and only the teams finishing as the ultimate last team standing in their’ respective age group gets a tro- phy that is similar to all the other age groups. So, from the 21st October to the 18th of Novem- ber it was that time again when the kidz around Gauteng, including teams from Pretoria and Springs had a turn to showcase their talents and stamina by playing football in the scorching heat of Gauteng.





Whilst the fun, enjoyment, camaraderie andteamwork have been evident over the entireduration of the tournament, the kids have shownthe tenacity and elements of competitivenesswith amazing skills and talent. One could seethe long range shots, pin point crosses, defencesplitting passes and acrobatic goal-keepingskills. It is either kids are just competitive by na-ture or their coaches and parents have directlyor indirectly instilled the level of competitivenessin them, or maybe we should give credit to TVfor showcasing competitive soccer stars in var-ious leagues around the world or the Consoleswith games like PES, EA sports etc.The Discovery Soccer Park Spring League hasgrown in leaps and bounds and has showcasedthe skills and football knowledge at an earlyage of the competitors. The record-breakingattendance with 125 teams, over 1000 playersand over 2000+ spectators per day shows thatthe formula is working and the Discovery Soc-cer Park, team has long realised that soccer atthese age groups and levels is a family event.The open spaces within the Clubhouse allow thefamily members to relax in a secure environmentwith a multitude of snacks and refreshments,especially the early morning coffee for all theattendees.If the success of the 2018 event is used as agauge, then 2019 is set to be even bigger andbetter with the expected number of spectators,parents, coaches and players anticipated togrow. We are looking forward to the spectaclesof soccer wizardry and abundance of talentsand skills from these future Bafana Bafana andBanyana Banyana stars.

KICK IT KIDZ MAGAZINELAUNCH Patience is a virtue they say. Others go fur- ther and say that good things come to those who wait. This is more appropriate for this first edition because on the 15th of February 2018, was the day that the unknown new media company was launched to the public for the first time, taking out a secret that was kept for almost 2 years, whilst the stories were written and refined for the consumers, partners and the clients, including the little people that play the amazing sport called the Beautiful game. The attendance was great and the festivities started a bit late due to rain that ran havoc on the day, however the spirit were never dampened as the participants started com- ing in, defying the gloomy weather and met with a smell of a well refined coffee in the venue. The launch venue was at Genesis Suites Hotel and Conferencing in Fairmount Johan- nesburg. Fortunately the warm breakfast and drinks made up for the coldness outside. Soon the function started and the hosts from Kick it Kidz Media welcomed the attendants and ensured that everyone was warm and relaxed. Straight from the beginning the attendants knew that something different and import- ant was about to break, even though it was kept wrapped from the Media. This was the invite only event and it lived up to its billing. The people that attended the event was a mix of diversity with some coming from the corporate, easily identifiable and recognised ex soccer professional players for local and international clubs and our national Bafana Bafana team, soccer development coaches, marketing and digital heads from some of the well-known Professional Soccer teams.

Kick it Kidz magazine’s content head The attendants were very excited and of-kicked off the proceedings, informing fered their support for the magazine as theythe attendants about the new company all agreed that it covers a neglected market.launching on the day. He took the at- Mark Fish was the event’s guest speaker andtendants to the beginning of the con- he also emphasised his excitement about thecept, the reasons behind the idea and launch of the two magazine platforms. Hewhy this media company is unique from cautioned about the magazine embeddingany other in the country. He presented with the stakeholders and not attending to thethe benefits of the media house launch- negative stories in the development sphereing at this particular time in our history, and only focusing on the positives. What hejust four month before the Russia 18 was indicating was that the magazine shouldWorld Cup. live up to its launch promises and be a mouthThe launch was focused on the new piece for the industry in a balanced manner.eMag and Online Digital Magazinewhich are new platforms that will focuson the soccer development coveragefor kids aged between 4 and 15 yearsold, playing football. This is for bothBoys and Girls.





OMAK AD

www.skillexplore.co.zaWe attend to all yourskills developmenthassles without breakingthe bank.Every business has its own risks, let us help younavigate through them.Try us, you have nothing to lose. For all your various training and skills related requirements, just get in touch with us at [email protected]

GKICKIINRG LSShelley is a dedicated, committed and a tal-referred to as the go to girl in front of the ented little girl who shows that gender is not a determining factor in becoming successful. Having scored so many goals both at schoolIT HIGH 9and current soccer club, she has now been goals. Kick It Kidz have had a chat with herMove aside guys, coaches, parents and her team mates who have all sung her praises. She gives us hope that the future Banyana Banyana teams willShelley is in the not have a shortage of natural scorers.building. Shelley is a shy girl, who does her talking in the field of play and has thanked her parents and uncles for motivating her to pursue foot- ball. She represents hope, passion, hard- work and commitment. As long as she keeps doing what she does best, one has no doubtWhen majority of soccer loving people, the that one day we will also have one of our ownfans, supporters and sponsors think of foot-ball, women soccer is not usually the first little flower gracing the international shores and becoming successful.thing that comes to mind. However this phe-nomenon will someday change as more pro-fessional systems are gradually being phased Her balance of play and studies is commend- able as she shows that having fun can helpin to accommodate women into the sport. kids focus on their education. Her teachersMost teams around the world have womenfootball of all ages training at an early age and are happy with her performances both on and off the field.have now increased the chances of making adecent living for athletes should they choosesoccer as a professional career.You mustn’t be fooled by their features, theysay. This is a very accurate statement whenyou think of a precious, tall, tiny and beautifulgirl that is Shirley. Those who have faced heron the opposite side have borne the brunt ofa hard tackler, hard running, dribbling skillsand fierce shot to name just a few of her attri-butes.

9 9

HEALTHY EATING AND MEALTIPS FOR ACTIVE KIDSBy Lila Bruk, Resgitered Dietitian (www.lilabruk.co.za)It can be difficult to get your children to eat the right foods atthe right times especially if they are very active and thus inneed of extra energyBEFORE SPORTSBefore playing sport in the afternoon, it is essential that children eat an easily-digestible meal atleast 30 minutes before playing and that provides a source of both carbohydrates and protein.Some examples of suitable after-school before-soccer meals include:• Pasta salad• Grilled chicken and salad in a pita bread• Raw chopped vegetables (e.g. cucumber, red pepper, baby tomatoes) with hummus, avocado and cottage cheese as a dip, with some whole-wheat crackers or provitas• Tuna salad• Feta and couscous salad

DURING SPORTSAssuming your child has eaten a small meal or snack before exercising, water should be suffi-cient during sports. If your child feels they desperately need to eat during their sports session,fresh fruit is ideal as it provides hydration and natural fruit sugars to fuel their training.AFTER SPORTSAfter sports, it is extremely important that they have a snack, which allows their bodies to refueland recover and replenish their nutrients. Examples of suitable snacks include: o 200 – 300ml (1 cup) fruit smoothie/milkshake o 250ml (1 cup) low-fat fruit yogurt or 350ml (1½ cups) drinking yogurt o 200ml (1 cup) drinking yogurt + low-fat energy bar o Small handful of lean biltong + low-fat energy bar or dried fruit bar o Sandwich with low-fat cheese/cottage cheese/lean cold meat/chicken + 1 fruit o Bowl of cereal with low-fat or fat-free milk o 30g lean beef biltong + 10 jelly babies + water o 2 small packets pretzels or 6 rice cakes + 30g lean beef biltong/low-fat cheeseUnfortunately, it is also extremely possible that after sports are done, your child will beg you totake him/her to the nearest fast food outlet for some deep-fried treats that will not do their bodiesany good. If that is the case, here some alternatives for the fast food bites they are craving:FAST-FOOD ALTERNATIVESInstead of eating You could eatFried Chicken Grilled chicken breast (cooked in tinned tomato and onion mix as a sauce).Hamburger and chips Grilling take away outlets are usually quite good fast food options, as they flame-grill their chicken, and thus it is usually lower in fat. Grilled ostrich patty OR chicken burger patty OR a steak burger in a seed roll, with salad and oven-baked chipsPasta in cream sauce Pasta with bolognaise sauce (made with extra-lean mince), OR aLamb schwarma baked potato with a low-fat cheese, meat, chicken, tuna, tomato or mushroom sauce (made without cream) Grilled chicken breast, or lean beef steak, cut into strips and served in a pita or wrap with salad vegetables, OR a chicken kebab with rice and vegetables.Pizza with cheese and salami Thin crust pizza, with less cheese and extra vegetables

INCREASE YOUR CHILD’SFRUIT AND VEGETABLE INTAKEMany parents struggle to get their children to eat enough fruits and veggies. Here are some tricksand tips to get them munching.• Chop up a piece of fruit into breakfast cereal• Make a fruit smoothie at breakfast (made with yoghurt and fresh fruit)• Have fruit as a quick and convenient snack between meals, or as a dessert after meals.• Snack on raw vegetables with hummus, low-fat cottage, or mashed avocado as a dip.• Use vegetables in stirfries, soups, salads, stews and even vegetable juices.• Put salad onto sandwiches to increase the fibre of the sandwich and make it more filling.• Try out new and exotic fruits and vegetables that become available to prevent becoming bored with eating the same ones day in and day out.

SOCCERMOMS

SOCCER MOMSDefined and used mainly as an Americanslang, the term soccer mom normally refersto a mother whose child or children playsoccer or similar activities; a mother whospends much time transporting her childrento athletic events, or otherwise supportingher children’s activities; especially any suchwoman viewed as a member of a particular(usually influential) class of voter, consumer,etc. “The term has evolved around the world andis generally accepted with its definition,however with the society challenges anddynamics having changed in the last coupleof decades, we have seen a soccer momchanging and adapting to the new roles aswell. Women are now generally occupyinghigher seats in society and are known to ex-cel in multi-tasking than dads, and as suchhave taken the role of sport support to thenext level.What does it mean for kids to have theirsoccer moms during their practice sessionsand matches? Clearly, the response is over-whelmingly obvious. The kids want parents’support at all times even more when theyplay or are engaged on hobbies and sportactivities.Meet Zodwa the single parent and a soccermom. She is a “hands full” parent who isnormally referred to as “maphathephathe” inzulu slang, meaning the one who never sitsdown. She is a typical hands-on deck per-son, who takes care of all her kids’ spiritual,educational, physical and emotional needswithout any complaints. She took time tochat to the Kick it Kidz team about herself.She was asked a couple of questions andshe opened up about her challenges, joys,sacrifices, family support and successes.

She is a proud Kaizer Chiefs FC supporter Any take-home learning from being a soccerand has two children – Zinhle a son and Ntsa- mom?ko her youngest daughter. When asked aboutwhether she has already started bringing the I have learnt a lot from it, I’ve seen how im-little one for her son’s soccer practise, “Most portant our support mean to this kids on theof the time, I usually drop Zinhle off at prac- field of play, cheering them even when theytise, go fetch her and bring her to soccer with lose, it gives them hope and encourage-me. After that I still have to go cook for them ment. For me personally it also improvedbefore going to work for my night shift. In the relationship that I have with my son,the morning it’s madness, I don’t know what which is priceless.I would do without my family’s support. Mymom helps me drop my daughter at school What advice would you give to other new soc-while I drop off my son. cer moms?If I don’t support I would advise them to get involved andthem, who will? support their kids, not only in soccer but with everything that they do. I won’t lie andBelow is how the rest of the interview took say it’s easy, I would tell them that it requiresplace: time and commitment but it can be done.How important do you think your son views your Where and how does school fit in all of this?support in his soccer? After practise we do homework and if I haveI think it is very important to him and all of my to go to work for my night shift, my mom iskids, because if I don’t support them, who then a great help for me because she en-will? Even though I don’t have much but the sures that school work is also taken care of.love that I have for them is more than whatmoney can buy. When I am at the matches, I Do you ever feel like quitting, when it all be-encourage him and that gives him confidence. comes too much?What sacrifices does one make to do what you Yes, in fact last year I did. My little girl haddo? to go under knife and I felt like I cannot cope anymore even with my families support IWell for me I had to forget about a social life, still felt like everything was too much. Zin-I sometimes feel like I am missing out, but I’ll hle left soccer completely as a result butrather miss out on my friends than miss out he also couldn’t cope sitting at home. Heon my children’s activities, because at the end really wanted to go back to soccer and Iof the day it is fulfilling when they achieve and had no choice but to bring him back. I don’tI know I was part of that achievement. regret it at all because when he’s involved in soccer, he improves in a lot of things, likeWhat happens if your daughter says she wants to he listens better, pays attention and takesplay soccer as well? instructions.If she wants to do it, I would definitely supporther as well, it would actually be easy for mesince I am now exposed to the sport, if shechooses something else other than soccer Iwill also give her the support that I am givingto her brother.

Do you agree with the meaning of the termsoccer mom?I wouldn’t go as far as saying I am a crazy soc-cer mom, I scream and encourage my son andhis team. One day I found myself shouting andI was surprised with myself, I think it comesnaturally for us to scream and shout in order toencourage our kids so I think that qualifies meto be a soccer mom but not that crazy mom thatwill embarrass her child.Soccer moms should definitely be proud of thegreat work they do for the kids. However there isanother side that not everyone is happy about.One of the coaches and mentors for the soc-cer under 6 to 11 years of age categories, hashinted that, soccer moms are difficult customerssometimes. Their continuous interference withthe coaches’ decisions for not picking their kidsfor the matches, or for tackles on their kids andsometimes for not affording their kids opportuni-ties to score penalties is mostly met with venomand vengeance.Their being used to being so much in their kids’lives, sometimes cloud their judgment and makeit harder for the mentors and coaches to instildiscipline that is so essential at this early age. Itbecomes worse when the kids cry over a tackleor for the coaches shouting. The soccer momsusually take their kids sides regardless of thematters at hand and it creates a negative habit intheir kiddies’ behaviour.Whilst we celebrate the soccer moms’ greatwork, we give them a yellow card for interferingin the coaches and referees work. Otherwisegreat work all round.



MANIN THEMIDDLE

A man in the middle is a commonly used jar- The referees are given full responsibilitiesgon for the official who is in overall control of and accountability during the matches andthe soccer game. The official’s proper name are therefore entrusted to apply their mindsis a “Referee”. He is usually helped by two and use their discretion for fairness duringother officials on the field of play called the the officiating period.referee’s assistants (formerly known as lines-men). Once the kids graduate to under 9 they areWith soccer evolving and the rules of the expected to use bigger goal posts, biggermatches changing, the various soccer bod- fields and the laws of the game start to biteies are using the technology and any other a little bit. Under 10 requires half of thevaluable and accepted means to improve normal adult soccer field and the rules ofthe game and make it more competitive. off-sides, penalties, proper throw-ins, cornerThe referee’s main objective is to ensure that kicks and free kicks apply. Once graduat-the results are fair for both teams, by apply- ed to under 11, then all the necessary anding the predetermined and agreed rules and important rules of the game applies as nor-regulations. mal. This implies that the men in the middleWe have seen in the past couple of years, should always study and learn the rules ofthe emergence of new rules and innova- the beautiful game, but also keep abreasttions to the game, particularly with the UEFA with the changes made almost yearly by theChampions League matches, where the International Football Associations Boardnumber of referee’s assistants has doubled (IFAB) on the soccer rules.from 2 to 4, taking the total number of activematch officials to 5 including the man in the “Human errors have causedmiddle, who is still accountable for all the headaches over the years fordecisions made on the day. So, you have 2 players, supporters, fans, teams,normal lines men (typical old name used to associations alike and as suchdefine the 2 officials on the opposing side have created major talking pointsof the lines) and two new ones placed just at workplaces”around each side of the goal lines, where theusual referee’s assistants normally go during In this article we have outlined the import-the penalty shootouts. ant roles and major responsibilities that theThe role of the referee’s is highly important men in the middle play in ensuring that theas it also ensures the protection of players games are fully legitimate and that they arefrom career ending tackles, where the per- seen to be fair. Human errors have causedpetrators are given warnings through yellow headaches over the years for players, sup-cards or are basically instructed or removed porters, fans, teams, associations alike andfrom the soccer field by means of a red card as such have created major talking pointsfor continuous misbehaviour on the field at workplaces, shebeens, schools and at allduring the match. the other common assembly places.The development soccer is no exceptionwhen it comes to applying the rules of the Whilst many have sworn at them, despisedgame as it usually involves the same setup them and threated them, they have alsoof officiating, however leniency is always praised them when things go right for thempractised at lower levels based on age. The and that is what makes a beautiful game theunder 6, 7 and 8 are not usually penalised most loved and hated sport in the world.harshly, even though the rules have to beinterpreted mainly the same way, there are Men in the middle, keep reading and learn-times where leniency is expected on things ing new rules and regulations and continuesuch as proper throw-ins, corner kicks etc. helping the most played and loved sport in the world to grow and become better.