Issue link: http://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/123951
Spurred on by the success of Nigeria as the African Champions; Rush Nigeria has doubled its efforts to be one of the breeding grounds for the development of future Nigerian national team players. Rush South Africa has embarked on a new program to help boys and girls in an impoverished area and our club continues to grow and gain recognition throughout the region. What lessons does Nigeria come away with from the African Cup of Nations that was just completed in South Africa where Nigeria edged Burkina Faso with a 1-0 victory to lift the cup? One would have to be blind not to note the absence of "seasoned" professionals playing with the major European clubs. Surely Coach Keshi was off his rocker pitting his young, domestically raised, and inexperienced squad against teams loaded with a 'who is who' in world soccer. Rush SA senior players and management, have embarked on a huge program of adopting and mentoring a large number of young athletes (boys and girls) in an informal settlement known as Zandspruit (an informal settlement with a population of almost 70,000 people who live in tin shanty homes). Most of the children in this area succumb to alcohol and drug abuse; the young girls in this area have become rape victims. Rush SA and the Rush Academy with the senior players have designed a program for these young guys and gals to assist them with their daily challenges. The mentors and management staff work in groups and visit the area on a daily basis, where life skills and soccer are part of their daily routine of educating these youngsters. Rush SA has identified a number of these children as possible recruits for an education program that is being adopted via the academy staff. rails Rush South Africa senior players mentor young previously disadvantaged athletes of P assion What is to be learned from the Super Eagles success? Well for one, the Federation would do well to back the coach and team they put out to represent Nigeria. And if they cannot do that then leave the position for someone who will "have the coach's back". All politics aside, Rush Nigeria has taken a number of points from this experience. First, domestically grown players are no less than their big money counterparts in lavish European clubs with huge budgets. The local player can be developed to rival his counterpart across the pond. All he needs is the chance to succeed! Rush will strive to provide this through our training regimen and attention to the needs of the local player. Second, domestic league standards, while not up to the level of the English Premier League or Serie A, are making great progress in giving the domestic player the experience to compete on a global scale. Here at Rush Nigeria, we feel we have a part to play in developing our young talent by giving them the very best opportunities for success, and fostering an atmosphere that is nurturing, positive, and challenging that not only develops them as soccer players but contributing members of society. an d P For more information about the Nigeria Rush Soccer Club, you can find us online at: www.NigeriaRush.com For more information about the South African Rush, you can find us online at: www.rushegoli.com urpose M SIERRA LEONE RUSH Tajikistan Rush SIERRA LEONE RUSH RECEIVES FOOTBALL EQUIPMENT Tajikistan Rush Ready to Implement Grant egins t h e P at h eet , B Sierra Rush, a youth development and education organization working in the Wellington area of Freetown recently received a container load of football equipment including soccer balls, jerseys, and training gear from the United States. The Technical Director of Sierra Rush, Mr. Abdul Sesay currently resides in Los Angeles and was in Freetown recently to receive the donation and supervise the distribution of soccer equipment. Mr. Sesay is a professional coach and holds a degree in sports psychology and was a member of the Sierra Leone National Football team. to V ictory " SPRING 2013 Rush SC has become a big hit with a large part of our community, because of our discipline, attitude and commitment to the development of our young athletes. Winning is not a priority at the moment. Our coaches believe that if we take care of the technical aspect of their development, the winning will take care of itself. The senior Rush players have volunteered their time to ensure that Rush SA fulfills their mandate to assist as many youngsters as possible. Rush SA would like Rush brings opportunity for young boys and girls in Sierra Leone PAGE 26 to take this opportunity of thanking their senior players for this amazing initiative and dedication to this amazing program. We'd also like to extend our appreciation to everyone involved in the Rush REACH Program – Donna Pettigrew and her wonderful ambassadors– and for setting the example for Rush SA to follow. Mr. Robert O. Hamilton, director of operations said that during the distribution process, Sierra Rush has made great progress in developing various levels of boys and girl's teams and continue monitoring and evaluating their skill development based on the seventeen rules of the game. Mr. Hamilton returned to Sierra Leone from Los Angeles to help develop the capacity of the soccer club and create a conducive atmosphere for proper nurturing of young people who have shown interest in the game of soccer. In May 2011, Rush Soccer of Littleton Colorado accepted Sierra Rush as their 14th. International partner. This was a major breakthrough in the development of the club to have attracted an international soccer organization as a partner in soccer development in Sierra Leone. Sierra Rush would benefit from working with Rush Soccer to develop the administrative capacity of the club, receive technical, financial and material support in order to establish a soccer academy in Wellington. "Sierra Rush has three division of boys' and girls' teams namely U12, U14, U16, U17 and we are working towards producing a premier league team in Sierra Leone national league," said the director of operations, Mr. Hamilton. For more information about the Sierra Leone Rush Soccer Club, you can find us online at: www.sierraleonerush.com Tajikistan Rush has been awarded a grant from the Asian Football Development Project (AFDP). The AFDP, inspired by the vision to launch several new clubs in Tajikistan, is partnering to make this vision a reality. As August 2013 fast approaches, Tajikistan Rush is in full swing preparing for unprecedented "Rush" events. Throughout the past year, the Tajikistan Football Federation and Rush have been involved in a unique partnership toward the development of youth in collaboration with existing professional clubs. When the Asian Football Development Project heard about the vision, they jumped at the chance to join in the project. Troy Ready, Tajikistan's Technical Director, will be implementing the project as the mediator between parties of Rush and each individual club. He notes, "This partnership has already been monumental in the developmental possibilities for Tajik soccer. As we are seeing, others are joining the excitement which only helps to create more positive momentum moving forward." Ready has recently returned to Tajikistan with several bags of Rush gear to help with the launching of these new clubs and sends his "thanks" to the Rush family for all of their support. S E R V I N G S O C C E R P L AY E R S L O C A L LY B Y S E R V I N G O U R PA R T N E R S G L O B A L LY ere t h e T Rush South Africa African Champions Focus on Greater Youth Development "Wh Rush Nigeria PAGE 27 For more information about the Tajikistan Rush Soccer Club, you can find us online at: www.TajikistanRush.com SPRING 2013