{"id":12,"date":"2023-04-09T21:05:22","date_gmt":"2023-04-09T21:05:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.westrandballersacademy.co.za\/?page_id=12"},"modified":"2023-04-10T10:00:23","modified_gmt":"2023-04-10T10:00:23","slug":"about-us-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.westrandballers.co.za\/?page_id=12","title":{"rendered":"About Us"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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ABOUT US<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Westrand ballers Football academy is a youth soccer program, committed to developing players in and around Johannesburg, South Africa (practices are primarily within
Krugersdorp). The club was formed to give players access to a progressive playing
philosophy and an advanced level of coaching. WBFA has at least 2 teams per age group as we are driven by quality, not quantity. Our intention is to help players develop in a competitive but ultimately enjoyable learning environment and our focus is on the individual athlete, not the result of the teams.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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We don\u2019t look for the biggest, strongest players who can kick the ball the hardest. We look
for kids who have all-around athletic ability, good technical skills, game intelligence, and
most of all, a desire, willingness, and passion to work hard and learn from our coaches. For
us, attitude and behavior come before everything else. Our teams practice 2 or 3 times
per week and we expect our players to work on their technical skills and conditioning in
their own time, as often as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The club is run by Junior Mwale along with assistance from parents and other key
volunteers. Our coaches are full-time professionals with qualifications from South Africa
and Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We felt a glaring gap had emerged and a sustainable, grass-roots development program
was needed to maximize the natural skill of youngsters in South Africa.
We at WBFA believe that South African soccer players lack the basic skills to succeed in
professional football. This is why most South African players do not make it in Europe. Our
goal is to eradicate this problem and equip these young boys(girls) with the right skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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HIGH SCHOOL & COLLEGE SOCCER<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If your son or daughter is looking to play in High School, our academy is an ideal place to
learn the game; virtually 100% of players have made their respective High School teams
since the club was formed in 2017. As a matter of fact, one of our former players currently
plays for Sundowns ladies which competes in the Hollywood bets championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

College coaches are always looking for well-rounded players who are versatile, understand the game, and make smart decisions. Our approach to practice and the whole developmental environment at our Academy gives players a second-to-none soccer education so if you want to prepare for college soccer, you simply won’t find a better place than here at WBFA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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RETENTION RATES<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At Westrand ballers football academy, our retention rate (percentage of players who choose to stay with us each year) is almost 100%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is comfortably the highest retention rate in the Westrand and South Africa as a whole and likely among the highest retention rates in all of Africa, not just for soccer clubs but in all youth sports. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the past couple of years for example, out of almost 100 players, only 2 chose to leave. That’s less than 2% and this reflects our engagement with parents and commitment to making the experience as good as it can be for every kid we coach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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WHY CHOOSE US?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are many aspects to the academy that make us stand out, but the primary factor is the genuine love and care we show to every one of our players in what is a true family atmosphere. We treat every player like a member of our family and this is why our environment is so unique and rare. This personal relationship is hugely important from a coaching perspective and it is evident in the way the players respond to our coaches. It is a friendship, just as much as a coach-player relationship. Our coaches know that they are not just soccer coaches, they are mentors and friends to all of our players and the resulting environment is one that fosters true development and growth. There are a couple of important questions to ask yourself when considering WBFA and other clubs, both here on the Westrand and further afield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you find a higher-level team? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Possibly. While most of our teams play at the LFA level, some of our divisions play at GDL and SAB levels, of course, it\u2019s possible you may find a slightly higher-level team and if that is your sole aim, we wish you good luck. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you find a better developmental environment?<\/strong>
Absolutely not. There isn\u2019t a better practice environment (or overall club environment) aside from the two professional clubs in Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs. If you are joining one of these clubs, we congratulate you and wish you all the best. If you are not joining either of these professional academies, you won\u2019t find a better developmental environment than here at Westrand ballers football academy. In terms of actual player improvement from Point A (when a player joins the club) to Point B (when a player leaves the club), we are unmatched in the job we do with both on-field soccer development and off-field character development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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WHAT CAN WE DO FOR EACH OTHER?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This page details some of the things we do as an academy that will help your son or daughter but just as importantly, we expect players to ask themselves, \u201cwhat can I bring to WBFA and my fellow teammates?\u201d When we are looking for players, we look for much more than soccer ability; we are looking for hard-working, honest, humble kids who want to be part of something special where they can learn and grow over many years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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OUR STYLE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Our style of play (the result of the way we coach every individual and the teams as groups, as well as the freedom we allow for creativity to develop) is very much an attacking, possession-based one with an emphasis on entertainment. Why entertainment? For us, there is no point in playing youth soccer unless there is entertainment all-round. We want our players to be entertained as individuals. We want teammates to be entertained by each other. We want parents and coaches to be entertained by the players and we even want opponents to be entertained! It’s not a coincidence that wins or lose, we regularly receive comments from opposing coaches and parents in appreciation of the way our teams play. Winning soccer is not always entertaining soccer and entertaining soccer is not always winning soccer. Entertainment (and therefore enjoyment) is, for us at least, winning in itself. That may sound idealistic, and it is, we prioritize entertainment and development above winning and always will. That said, our winning record, for anyone who is interested, puts us in the top 5 out of 80 clubs in RCLFA for the last 3 years running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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OUR APPROACH TO DEVELOPMENT (AND WINNING)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We recognize that development and improvement are hugely important; therefore our priority is to help every player that we coach to develop both on and off the field. However, we do not ignore the fact that every individual wants to win. That said, improving as individuals and a collective group supersedes any focus solely on winning \u2013 therefore winning is not completely ignored; it is just secondary to improvement. The work we do in training and games is our real focus and therefore it is about the whole process, not the result. The quote below sums up perfectly our approach to coaching youth players: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cSome youth academies worry about winning. We worry about education.\u201d \u2013 Xavi Hernandez, FC<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Barcelona & Spain Why don’t we focus on winning? Simply because it is something outside of our control. The ‘process’ is controlled by us; we determine the elements of the process (hard work, energy, and performance based on how we practice) but we cannot determine the outcome. The outcome of any game is (statistically speaking) roughly 50% decided by chance. Therefore it makes no sense to focus on the end result when 50% of it is outside of our control! We cannot control the outcome, but we can control the process and so that is the most important thing to us. In order for youth soccer players to develop quickly, three key ingredients are required: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. PASSION <\/strong>\u2013 This could come from parents, a role model, or even a film that ignites a desire to work hard at the game. We certainly help to bring out and develop our players\u2019 passion for the game. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. PRACTICE<\/strong> \u2013 Deliberate and meaningful practice is absolutely vital for the development of any youth Soccer player. Players need to be challenged in every single practice session and one of the best ways to do this is via specific small-sided games \/ pressurized possession situations. We focus very heavily on these aspects in all our team training sessions. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. COACHING<\/strong> \u2013 Top-quality coaching is perhaps the most important ingredient of all. Our coaches possess many of the essential characteristics required to develop young soccer players; they are inspiring and set high standards, and organizational practices that provide situations where players are regularly challenged to think for themselves and solve problems. They demonstrate skills and techniques with professional-level precision to give players a visual guide, and they encourage and welcome risk-taking and mistakes; two key elements needed for improvement and development. When choosing a club and coach, it is worth remembering that qualifications and badges mean very little without the ability to deliver. And this is where our coaches excel \u2013 exceptional delivery.Every aspect of our philosophy is geared toward player improvement. We don\u2019t look at opponents as enemies, for example. This is youth soccer. We look at opponents as a way to help us develop (and hopefully we help them). Our opponents are another cog in the wheel of learning and development.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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    ABOUT US Westrand ballers Football academy is a youth soccer program, committed to developing players in and around Johannesburg, South Africa (practices are primarily withinKrugersdorp). The club was formed to give players access to a progressive playingphilosophy and an advanced level of coaching. WBFA has at least 2 teams per age group as we are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-12","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westrandballers.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westrandballers.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westrandballers.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westrandballers.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westrandballers.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.westrandballers.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":219,"href":"https:\/\/www.westrandballers.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12\/revisions\/219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westrandballers.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}