Bulletin

What a privilege it was for the Union Schools’ cricket boys to share an unforgettable afternoon with a legend of the sport, 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗞𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻!

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦’𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵.

The afternoon began with an air of excitement as the boys eagerly awaited their special guest. Gary Kirsten, known for his remarkable international career as a player and later as a successful coach, arrived with a warm smile that instantly put all the boys at ease.

The younger boys, particularly the u/7s, were a delightful highlight of the session. Their hilariously innocent questions brought laughter and joy to the room. 𝘎𝘢𝘳𝘺’𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵.

As the afternoon progressed, the tone shifted slightly as the senior players took their turn. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲, 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆, 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸.

Each question was met with generous insights from Gary, who shared personal anecdotes and valuable advice accrued through years of experience on the world stage.

Throughout the session, Gary’s passion for cricket was evident. It was inspiring to witness how he effortlessly connected with the boys, fostering an environment where learning and laughter thrived. 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲.

Earlier this evening, Union High School, Graaff-Reinet‘s Tony Burrell Union transformed into a hub of inspiration and learning as we gathered to hear from the legendary 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗞𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻.

The former South African cricket coach and batsman captivated us with his insightful session on “Parenting in Sport,” 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁.

Kirsten, with his warm demeanor and engaging storytelling, transported us into his world – one shaped not only by the highs and lows of his cricket career but also by the lessons he learned as a coach and mentor.

𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘥𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦; 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯.

Kirsten’s central message resonated deeply: “We’ve forgotten that a school is a place where you go to learn. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲.” This profound statement encourages us to shift our perspective from pushing for immediate results to fostering environments where our kids can thrive, learn and build confidence at their own pace.

He eloquently articulated that sport participation is about more than just winning; it’s a vehicle for building self-esteem and resilience in our children. “𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴’ 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦,” he emphasized. This mantra reaffirmed the idea that joy in sport should always come first, echoing in the hearts of all the parents present.

Throughout the evening, Kirsten called on us to embrace our roles as pillars of support for our child athletes. He encouraged us to educate ourselves about the sports our children engage in and to remain patient as they traverse their unique paths of growth and progress.

As we reflect on the evening, we would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who attended, especially Gary Kirsten for his insightful presentation.

A special 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗞 𝗬𝗢𝗨 goes to the Old Unionite Association and Mr William Copeman for their efforts in hosting this memorable even