Wynberg St Johns held its junior presentation at the sportsfield at the Youngsfield Military base in Wetton on Sunday, with two under-12 players – Dayaan Stemmet (pictured left) and Abdul-Azeez Adams (right) – stealing the show.
The ‘Terrible Twins’ – better known as Yaanie and ZiZi – scored about 50 goals between them, both in their first year at the Wynberg-based club.
The two have built up a menacing attack and both have an eye for goal, with ZiZi playing the role of provider more than often, with Dayaan the ultimate finisher.
Yaanie walked away with the award as Player of the Year, while ZiZi was the under 12A team’s Most Valuable Player. Dayaan also scored the most goals for the season, having started the year a bit later and scoring hat tricks in his first two matches.
Their coach, Shafwaan Williams, better known as coach ‘Shafi’ is confident with the right guidance and attitude, the duo have a bright future ahead of them.
“There are factors that come into play, like what they do when you don’t coach them away from the training ground,” said Williams. “I also don’t coach them to the point where you must do this or do that. No, I want them to learn and grow by their mistakes which I allow them to do as well.
“They should just not only rely on what I say but rather do certain things on their own as that is the only way they will learn and grow. If something went wrong on the field, I would ask them why it went wrong. What do you think should have been done differently for it to have worked. There are things I allow them to do and to express themselves, you know.
“I also create a team culture where there is no ‘I’ but us, we are a collective and together we achieve success and they are fully aware of it. If our other ‘B’ or ‘C’ teams are playing they know they should support and encourage one another.”
Williams went as far as saying that Stemmet and Adams can one day become top strikers for Premier Soccer League clubs as well as the national team.
“Look, they are definitely not always going to play together but they have what it takes to make it at the top level one day. I remember in some games it was just the one player available and then that player would step up or other times it was the other striker.
“I wanted to create a team spirit but also to let the players know they are on their own and what they can do for their team. Are they willing to take responsibility when the team is doing badly and take it upon themselves, you know? And yes, by all means, they have achieved, and I predict a bright future for them,” Williams concluded.
Both these players will be moving to the under 14’s next year and it will be interesting to see whether they will be able to build on their first season at WSJ.
