Buffalo City‘s u19 water polo team will pull out all the stops at the 51st edition of the Schools Water Polo South Africa (SWPSA) Inter-Provincial Tournament (IPT), which takes place in Cape Town from 5 to 9 December.
Last year, they finished eighth after a fourth place finish in home waters in 2024.
Ahead of the Cape Town event, Buffalo City has been hard at work fine-tuning their tactics and improving their skills. They have maintained a schedule of training five times a week.
“The team has prepared well. I am confident the players will play to the best of their abilities,” Khanyisa Mpumlwana, the Buffalo City u19 coach, told SuperSport Schools News.
Time in the pool is important. So, too, is match action, and Mpumlwana would have been happier if his charges could have also buttressed their training with exhibition matches against some of the leading contenders. However, travel costs are prohibitive.
The Buffalo City team represents a small province with big dreams, and, while their size counts against them, it has also enabled them to consistently produce top players. Two of the side that will contest the annual IPT, Joshua Touch and Nathan Weise, were included in the SA u17 side that travelled to Brno in the Czech Republic for an u17 tournament.
“My motto is ‘no whining, complaining, or excuses; do your best’. We have to do the best we can with the hand we have been dealt,” Mpumlwana shared.
Part of doing that has been finding competitive opponents for his charges, including the Buffalo City u16 team, whom they compete against every Friday and Saturday.
“My coaching philosophy focuses on inspiring, empowering, and guiding athletes, and trusting them to make independent decisions. Hopefully, this builds problem-solving in the pool,” Mpumlwana explained.
The coach will be supported by his team manager, Kerryn Fenn. They’ll lead a young side made up of Grade 11 learners, none of whom were part of the u19 team last year. No matric students took part in the trials because of exams.
The Buffalo City think tank cast their net and selected players from four schools. Merrifield College has the highest representation with six players in the side: Malachi Wolmarans, Thuse Ntsebeza, Daniel Trow, Joshua Talbot, Tannaer Pennachini, and Abakhe Ngamlana.
Selborne College had five players selected: Nathan Weise, William Schaefer, Michael Miller, Nico van de Venter, and Blake Abrams. Joshua Touch and Lutho Mbiza will fly the flag for Stirling High, while Sam Harris represents Hudson Park High‘s interests.
Team:
Joshua Touch (Stirling High School), Nathan Weise (Selborne College), Malachi Wolmarans (Merrifield College), William Schaefer (Selborne College), Michael Miller (Selborne College), Thuse Ntsebeza (Merrifield College), Daniel Trow (Merrifield College), Nico van de Venter (Selborne College), Sam Harris (Hudson Park High School), Lutho Mbiza (Stirling High School), Joshua Talbot (Merrifield College), Tanner Pennacchini (Merrifield College), Blake Abrams (Selborne College), Abakhe Ngamlana (Merrifield College).
