Pretoria - Passion, dedication and hard work can take you from humble beginnings to places where you have never imagined you would be in your life.
This is the attitude of 32-year-old sports aerobic and gymnastic coach Ignitious Molefe Moeletsi who has motivated youngsters from various Pretoria townships to compete on the world stage in October this year.
Although sports aerobics and gymnastics are not a popular fit among teenagers growing up in Atteridgeville, Olivenhoutbosch or Mabopane-Moeletsi while growing up in Saulsville from a family of 14 he had different ideas.
For 10 years he has been coaching the two sports at the infamous Rosina Sedibane Modiba Sports School and where eight children have qualified to represent SA at the World championships in Belgium after excelling at the national championships in Cape Town earlier this year.
He says the children, who are between the ages of 16 and 18, will be clad in Protea colours and have been “ working very hard” to win the world championships.
“These children are dedicated and that started showing when they competed at the provincials to represent Gauteng at the national championship where they got a score of 8.4 that propelled them to represent South Africa at the world championships in Belgium.
“We will be competing with many countries to see who wins the world championship but I have trust that these children have what it takes to pull through and bring the championship home,” he said.
Moeletsi, having competed abroad in his earlier days, attended a township school at Makgwaraneng Primary in Atteridgeville where he started his journey in gymnastics.
“My first competition was at the provincial games, where I placed in the number 1 position.
“I was then selected to represent Gauteng in Durban for the Love Life games, where I got the number three position. For the following year I participated in a number of competitions and won provincial and national level games.”
He said in 2010, for financial reasons, he was forced to find work, which lasted two two years.
“I decided to find another way to focus on my passion for sport and gymnastics and started coaching the drummies and gymnastics team at Banareng Primary School in Atteridgeville,” he said.
There too he managed to motivate the team to participate in the National championship in Kimberley.
“My team and I competed at a provincial level in Pretoria, participating in various categories and were placed in the first position,” he said.
Moeletsi has a club run by himself and his partner Lovedalia Ledwaba called Dalia Fitness Club.
Children to represent the country in Belgium from 26 to 28 October are Ntokozo Skhosana, Didintle Mokgoko, Ofentse Madi,Tisetso Gololo , Aphelele Mtetwa, MphoTsetsewe and Orapeleng Vivian Moeletsi.
They will be accompanied by their two coaches Moeltsi and Lindiwe Sithole.
All athletes as well as their coaches will obtain Protea Colours after participating at the 2023 World Championships in Ghent, Belgium.
Pretoria News