Timeslive has reported on a sad story involving a promising schoolboy cricketer named Damean Kapp who appears to have turned into a type of commodity as the recruitment “arms race” picks up. After leaving his school Selborne in East London, Kapp tried without success to find a new permanent home first at Glenwood and later at Westville.
Link to article at Timeslive.co.za
http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2015/07/13/Schoolboy-stumped-over-sports-scholarship-deal
In 2014 Selborne’s star all-round sportsman Jerome Bossr moved to Glenwood which triggered a fallout between the two schools and may or may not have influenced the decision-making of both schools with regards to Kapp.
According to Kapp’s mother Tessa du Preez, her son was approached by a Glenwood cricket coach, who offered him a full scholarship and Glenwood flew him to Durban before he was sent home a week later. The mother also made mention that initially a top government schools agreement by which “poaching” between schools like Glenwood and Selborne was not allowed, was the reason for Glenwood not accepting her son. The mother then stated that once she had negotiated a consent of sorts from Selborne for her son to join Glenwood, he parted ways with the East London school but was still not accepted by Glenwood, resulting in him not completing Grade 11 in 2014.
A Glenwood official has stated that the cricket coach does not have authority to award bursaries or scholarships, he can only motivate bursary applications to management. The official also stated that “Glenwood has a policy of only considering a bursary after an application to attend Glenwood has been received, processed and the applicant has been accepted. At no stage did we receive or process an application for the boy. He was never accepted at Glenwood.” The article also states: ”but a few days after Kapp arrived in Durban he was told by Glenwood principal Trevor Kershaw that he could not be enrolled. Kershaw confirmed that Kapp had visited the school but denied offering him a scholarship.”
The media exposure seems to have placed Westville and their named marketing official Hennie Havemann in a compromising situation. The article states: “Hennie Havemann, denied that a scholarship had been offered, but The Times has seen a series of e-mails discussing the scholarship, his poor academic performance and his eligibility to play for the school’s first team.”
The “poor academic performance” isn’t backed up conclusively by Kapp’s actual marks either, which are not as bad as one might have expected and there even has to be questions about why the schoolboy was put on a bus to go home on the day he was meant to write an academic test at a school that generally places great emphasis on academics and based this particular decision on academic performance.
A few years ago Westville headmaster Trevor Hall led the charge to enforce the Headmaster’s Agreement regarding the participation of under-19 players in KZN when it was just a Gentlemen’s Agreement. Now that it’s been formalised, one would assume that Hall and his sports staff are very clued up on the agreement which clearly points out that a student like Kapp who will be an under-19 age-group sportsman in 2016, falls into the exact same category as Marne Coetzee, the Glenwood rugby recruit Hall made a stand to have excluded back in 2012.
So if Westville was fully aware that Kapp would only be eligible for the 2015 season when they recruited him at the start of the year, it is a reasonable opinion that their intention all along was to acquired him as a short term cricket mercenary to bolster their 1st XI, as opposed to them genuinely trying to help out the youngster given his difficult situation and then having a genuine change of heart regarding his longer term future at the school because of poor academics. Kapp was sent packing at the end of the first term, which is after the cricket season had ended.
In 2014 Glenwood’s name was engrossed in a similar type of incident when Johan King from Jan van Riebeeck in Cape Town joined them and played at the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival in place of their injured at the time flank Marco Palvie, before heading back to Jan van Riebeeck after the festival. The main difference in that cases is that according to Glenwood, it was King’s decision to leave after just a few days. Had King stayed he would also have been excluded from KZN inter-schools rugby in 2015 due to the KZN Headmasters’ Agreement.
Perhaps the Timeslive article should have focused a bit more on the mother’s role as well. Kapp is now at home and unfortunately not attending school.
Letter from the mother:
@McCulleys Workshop: Morning, yes and they wear the same tights
@GreenBlooded: (aka Tranny) You must hold onto your toothbrush a little harder when brushing that ar$e of yours. Agree that Westville pulled a fast one, that poor kid I don’t believe would in this position if Glenwood had not offered him that bursary. Mr “D” I don’t believe is at fault, as he has brought other cricketing kids into GW on bursaries. I think he was the Scapegoat. If the kid wasn’t from Selborne it would have been fine.
Hopper Morning, House and all the “rich” schools have teachers that coach, the Gov schools have teachers and coaches. So we get more bang for our buck.
@Bush: Couldn’t agree with you more. Westville are selfless, the Robin Hoods of KZN.
@Bush: (aka AntiGreen)
I nearly choked on my toothbrush when I read the bit about Westville trying to clean it up. That was a good one!! More like Westville got itself into a clearance-sale frenzy on a good sportsman and forgot to check the sell-by date before chucking it in the trolley. Then had to trump up some yarn about poor marks to get rid of him. Clean it up my ar$e.
@Bush: seriously! Gosh, that is quick justice. Not sure if it was bad enough for a dismissal, but I can’t comment on the details & if there are any other factors. Just remember Gov schools don’t have the same funds as a wealthy House to get the best coaches across all the teams.
Well Mr Donaldson is no longer at GW. Mr Chetty in charge of 1st Team Cricket at GW. Great move. It’s not the first time Mr D has “recruited” a player for Glenwood. He must be very confused about his dismissal or request to fly off into the Sunset. Well done Green Machine, you started this issue and Westville tried to clean it up. GW please, please, please learn to coach your lower teams. Then all of this BS will end. Looking forward to Burgers comments.
@GreenBlooded: I would have got the cricket coach to pay for the flight back.
@Green Hopper:
Kershaw didn’t invite him up. The cricket coach (who had no authority to do so) did. Kershaw did the right thing by putting him on the plane and sending him straight back – and presumably having some very harsh works with the cricket coach.
@Grasshopper: I disagree , GW are as much to blame, Kershaw should never have invited him, up , and has a meeting , he knew well in advance this boy was from Selbourne , and hence should have not entertained the notion of meeting or any travel
Having read the mothers letter now, Glenwood acted correctly by sending the boy back due to strained relationships with Selborne. Mr Donaldson needs to be given an official warning for making false promises. Westville on the other hand were despicable, they will do anything to protect their 100% pass rate and I mean anything….poor kid…
@Vleis: 2nd team are playing them this arvo I believe….
@Dixon’s: yes, and I think that Carte Blanche should show these Heads up
In reading this , I must say there is some serious concern , as I am sure if pushed she would and could produce the tickets emails , copies of what’s app,etc,
I would suggest some liability on the persons having made these representations, true she should have checked further, but when your son is driven all the way up to GW for a meeting with Kershaw to be turned away, when a simple call to say , hey listen he can’t join us would have sufficed, conceited ahole. IMHO. Firstly the irresponsible wasting of funds on flights etc, then what about the repercussions on the teacher making all the promises, what the hell happened to him, how was he reprimanded?? In business he would have been fired.
As for WBHS, surely when you invite and accepted a talented sportsman, you know his age???? Or don’t tell me that the Head and the rest are that fringing stupid. It will be on all his achievements. if she has this email, name and shame the signature on it .
I would suggest she look at the condition of the bursary and I would suggest she would or should have been given notice as to if he dint perform within a required period that they would be withdrawing the scholarship etc, but to withdraw with immediate effect when the email and the report reflect differing details, is unpalatable. And some one should be sued. The school treat these kids as commodities , I think and always have Hall is a coward, right back to 2012, and when if the school fees were going to be covered, I feel egg on his face and school full is a bs story and his attempt to cover is obvious cowardness . I agree with her last paragraph
if the mothers story is true regarding being offered a scholarship by someone with no authority to do so, that person should be fired immediately!!!
@beet: Thanks beet (and “mom”).
Just goes to show – there are many sides to every story! good luck Damean – we look forward to a favorable outcome and one that does not harm your academics or sporting prospects in the long term.
On request I have add a letter from the mother to the blog.
interesting , they was comment on Saturday at Affies, that a bus had stopped on the way up and a new recruit was loaded onto the Bus, and appeared in a College jersey for a game in a A side??? mmmmmmmmm, seeing things are spreading
@umbiloburger: Selborne, firstly on principle, and secondly after the way Glenwood quietly took him in to their school, would never have accepted Bossr back as they have values at their school. My question to you is would Glenwood have accepted JB had the “deal” been the opposite way around? I fear your answer might be yes!
@Grasshopper: I see that John Fisher beat Tygerberg by 28 to 26 today. Tygerberg are quite weak this year, but that is nevertheless not a bad result. They also beat a Wynberg team by about 30 points, but I’m not sure which team it was (2nds, 3rds, ??).
Anyway, given that Glenwood will be rusty, I suggest that you put out your 1st team when you play them. Can’t have thee poms think that our SBR is weak.
Woodhouse Grove 22 Cambridge High School(EL) 5
John Fisher are generally pretty decent if memory serves. That said, the strength of the schools touring from the UK varies significantly.
The weaker schools are hopeless, while the top schools can be competitive provided they bring their current 1st team – i.e. they’re six months older than our 1st teams. Even when the top teams bring their ‘stayers’ (i.e. six months younger than us) they generally get hammered.
@CyndiAtRugby: Glenwood have been playing vs John Fisher for over 20 years, great to see that relationship is still ongoing :-)
There are a number of UK schools touring SA at the moment. The John Fisher School plays Glenwood (not sure which teams) on Tuesday next week and Stamford High plays DRSU Invitational teams on Saturday.
@umbiloburger: I have corrected question no. 1. The original written statement from the mother is incorrect. The youngster was driven to Durban and he was put on a plane to go back home as your comment from last year states.
@Grasshopper: I don’t think that Woodhouse Grove are a strong school as they played schools that I haven’t even heard of the last time they came here in 2012 – e.g. Westering High, Haarlem School. On this tour, they lost to Harlequins rugby club in Pretoria, who are generally not a strong team, and then beat the Swaziland national u18 team quite easily.
I see that Millfield’s u16A beat Grey High’s much vaunted u16A team quite easily, or did they play Grey’s u16B?
@Pedantic: they must be a new strong school as they never featured when I was in the UK.
@Grasshopper:
There are some English touring teams playing at College tomorrow – Perins Community School I believe…….
@Grasshopper: Woodhouse Grove is the UK school that Staples went to.
It seems they had a couple games against Harlequins in Pretoria.
@star:
Ou Sterretjie – always the same with you. Playing up GW’s indiscretions and playing down (or downright denying) Westville’s. It’s like the phases of the Moon…..
Westville’s nose is not clean in the recruitment debate – been through this too many times. So waddaya say you stop throwing stones from your glass house?
Off topic, bumped into a pommie school side at OR Tambo, I think they were called Woodhouse. Does anyone know who they playing? Some big boys in the squad.
@Pedantic: The particular debate relates to the specifics of this case.ie did Westville recruit Mr Kapp. I think what ultimately transpired is that Westville tried to get him into a school in JHB where at least he would be able to play cricket. You must remember this is not just about the schools involved. Did Beet not try and do the same thing with a Westville scrumhalf recently? Now if that school accepted him would they be guilty of recruiting( irrespective of what deal was ultimately struck.) However I do feel the reason why these things happen are a result of a general policy of aggressive recruiting( which would include the GW tight 5). I am sure this situation would not happen to a Pretoria Boys High coach.
Therefore to isolate the GW coach’s actions in this scenario is definitely missing the bigger picture.
@star: So “this particular debate” includes the GW tight 5 ? Now I’m really confused
@star: there are others recruited just not mentioned. Hilton recruited Calvin Smith, Jayson Gouws & Cameron Wright, not much was made of that. Yet, Hilton turn around and point fingers. Glenwood are certainly the scapegoats in KZN…
@Grasshopper: Where did I say that Qoma was not recruited. That issue has been beaten to death with old GB. I am clearly referring to” this particular debate.”
@ Playa- I used the word accommodate to create an interface for the introduction. What transpired thereafter is the separate debate with the attendant pros and cons.
@star:
“Hennie Havemann, denied that a scholarship had been offered, but The Times has seen a series of e-mails discussing the scholarship, his poor academic performance and his eligibility to play for the school’s first team.”
An offer to accommodate in my view would be an offer that he can come as long as he is willing to pay the fees. Once things like scholarships and bursaries get thrown into the mix then I guess we can all make up our own minds as to what that is.Maybe he paid his own way for that one term, with the promise that he would secure a scholarship if his marks were satisfactory – which seemingly were not. I don’t know.
@star: so recruiting Qoma is ok? Again, it’s like being a little bit pregnant. You either recruit or you don’t and both schools have, full stop! Westville do recruit….
@beet: You refer to the need to highlight these recruitment practices with the heading” recruitment goes too far” . Recruitment is an active process which includes as its initial stage the search for sources from where the required persons will be available for said approach. The classic example is the GK tournament where I believe GW enlisted most of their tight 5 this year. In this context can you please explain how Westville should be part of this particular debate on recruitment. Were they sniffing around Selborne and when everything fell in a hole did they predate on the unfortunate situation? Rather my sources say that an approach was made to accommodate the student- how can that be recruiting ( gone too far). What transpired after that is a separate discussion and surely without knowing all the facts it would be foolish to speculate on the intentions. The student ending up playing one game for the Westville 1ST team and started in the 2nd team as part of due process. Certainly not parachuted in to bolster a weak first team. ( just ask the Kearsney first team
)
There is also a famous old saying that talks about nothing in isolation. Very few schools are innocent but as Grassy says ” why does GW always appear in these stories”. I mentioned the current GW tight 5 and we are all aware of JB issue which resulted in the Selborne standoff. Are we to presume that they are being overly sensitive? Was there also not a lock who returned home to Stofberg. Now a GW coach has overstepped the mark . ( again nothing in isolation). Surely if you adopt a particular position you should have the backbone to deal with undesirable outcomes. The mother is also fully responsible as she has the ultimate jurisdiction. However it does take 2 to tango.
@Grasshopper: @Spear @Andre T @Die Ken – I’m really confused here, did Hopper rant and rave about his Glenwood Babes poor form here, he smoked, he fired, he didn’t trust his green babe, neither should we, now she is forgiven. She obviously has benefits!
@Grasshopper: you’ve made me smile…for the right reason.
@Tang: Agreed, as I said in the beginning of this thread, Glenwood seemed to have done the right thing for a change :-)
Westville protects their 100% pass rate like it’s their virgin sister. Any threat to that will be rejected once used…..
@Playa: I have to say that is hysterical.
@Redblack White: I agree. I get that there may have been a miscommunication with the GW cricket coach, but there seemed to have been a happy ending with the kid ending up at Westville. I am not sure how constitutional/valid it is to dismiss a learner as a result of one term of bad marks – his first term at the school nogal.
@GreenBlooded: Hahaha! That’s the good one…different from the others before
@Playa:
I just hope one of them wasn’t the lady you were out at the flea market with while ou Gungets and I were drinking ourselves stukkend in the beer tent at Kearsney waiting for you to show up. That would just add insult to injury.
Very problematic for a school if kids duck in and out,usually leave under the cover of darkness [or very short notice] and with fees outstanding,EL schools are full now you sit with a vacant desk that some kid is pleading for,Teams have to be reshuffled and a week later mister hero returns,what now??? of the 8 kids i know of that have left Selborne in the last 10 years, on rugby bursaries [or cricket]4 have comeback and Kapp is floating,so it can’t be to kak at Selborne and with our new irrigation system the grass is green year round.I must add tho we need to catch a wake up big time.
@Pedantic: Voice of reason – exactly, it is not a GW thing at all. Like I said in an earlier post, if you have a bursary/scholarship lined up it is a written offer. You dont jump on a bus and then try and enrol at a school miles away, you would have all that tied up before you leave. So whether or not GW “lured” or “enticed” or winked or nudged is irrelevant.
For me the tragedy is that the boy was enrolled at Westville, then lost out due to poor marks after a term- thats the one I cant get – surely he would have had a transfer report from SC with last years marks – were they good enough for acceptance and did he then bomb so badly in one term???
As Rugbymal pointed out earlier, a pity that the boy was named, but there again, no ones fault – I presume mom took the story to the newspaper.
@GreenBlooded: Eish!
I may have drunk dialled once or twice
@Playa:
Why are there so many girls that cheat on you bru? Just asking…….
All of this boils down to money.Selborne GB made a policy decision that none of the kids that leave for greener playing fields will be taken back,after the DB case,end of story.
Only the promising cricket player and the GW cricket coach will exactly know what was discussed and what was promised…
Clearly from GW response (according to the article) the cricket coach acted without the knowledge and approval of GW management and according to me there lies the problem.
@umbiloburger: I don’t know what’s confusing you. I don think you bothered reading the article in the link above. Anyway, here are some quotes from the Timeslive article:
“Du Preez, in an e-mail to now-retired Selborne headmaster Sam Gunn, wrote that Glenwood had offered Kapp a bursary and asked him to approve her son’s move.”
Whether he deregistered before or after is null and void. What matters is that the intention to NOT come back to Selborne was made clear, and approved by the headmaster, and thereby scrapping him off the school roll.
Relations between Selborne and Glenwood had already broken down due to the JB issue, so do you honestly think that Mr Gunn was keen on picking up the phone to discuss this case with TK??? Whenever I have broken up with a girl who has cheated on me, not once have I called her again post the break up to interrogate her on why she’s still sleeping around even after we’ve broken up.
@Grasshopper – I would argue that Glenwood upheld the headmasters agreement and have acted properly in this case.
This article once again makes it clear that we need proper rules. regulations, procedures and corrective actions for transfers/ recruitment.
What is puzzling is why Westville offered the scholarship. I think Westville were misled and once they found out, they sought to end the scholarship.
The mother appears to have had no intention of leaving East London. In other words, the only reason the child wanted to change schools was for a better offer.
This could very well be a Raheem Sterling case – force an offer through.
How is this a Glenwood problem?
From what I see, Kapp attended Westville on a scholarship + boarding which was then cancelled after one term.
It would seem Westville fees + boarding are beyond the family’s financial means so he can no longer attend there.
I know of several students who have had their scholarships removed at Westville … some of them decided to stay and pay their way, others moved to other schools.
This is one of the explicit reasons that many Grade 8’s decide to take up private school scholarships as they are awarded for 5 years and only rescinded under extreme circumstances.
@Playa: Sorry but that doesn’t make any sense to me. A boy deregisters from SC who have just been in discussion over the JB matter with GW and SG makes no attempt to call TK to discuss this matter. Sorry but I don’t buy that at all. Had he deregistered before he had left, SG would have definitely called TK. There was no derigistering of any sort. Simple question about JB, not sure why the threat.
@Grasshopper – In my view this story doesn’t make Glenwood look bad at all. In fact, I would say quite the contrary.
Based on the anecdotal evidence, I would say the Glenwood coach probably asked the boy to take a look at Glenwood and then see what would transpire.
Some may take this as a verbal offer but I think it was more of a case of let us take a look and see.
The boy may have become infatuated with the idea of moving to Glenwood to follow in Bossr’s footsteps. Too many children think this is like the football transfer market and would be flattered to be recruited.
In my view there are two possible scenarios at play and potentially even a combination of the two:
1) The boy pushed his mother to move him to Glenwood and to try and secure a Bossr like scholarship.
2) The mother was struggling to pay the fees at Selborne and had seen Bossr move so decided it was worth a shot to try and secure a scholarship.
Glenwood have not behaved as though they reneged on a verbal agreement. In my view, a verbal agreement would have been closely followed by an application to the school. The absence of this indicates Glenwood had not entered into some kind of verbal agreement.
I think Glenwood have been dragged into this as parents and children mistakenly believe Glenwood will hand out scholarships at the drop of a hat. I believe the Glenwood coach had a discussion with the child and probably indicated Glenwood would be willing to give a scholarship if all went well.
@beet: Thanks Beet. I feel for any kid who has been dealt a bad deal. Every school should be reminded about one thing. Their core business is educating kids. Whether that be through the classroom, sports field or the drama department, it has to be the foundation of everything that happens in a school.
@umbiloburger: boet I’m trying to, have given benefit of the doubt, defended like crazy in the past but why does Glenwood always appear in these stories. Just stop recruitment and the school will no longer have the world out to get them….it’s really simple.
@umbiloburger: Answer to question 2:
The article states clearly that the boy and his mom had followed protocol to ‘deregister’ him from Selborne. So he was no longer a learner at the school. Coming back would entail him going through the process of applying and being interviewed like all other prospective students. Which they didn’t do. And only did it this year, and you will see max Norman’s response to the reason why they didn’t accept him as per article.
Before you bring up Brits. The diference is he hadn’t “officially deregistered” from Selborne. He would have just been marked absent for the week he spent at Boishaai. I wouldn’t speculate on whether JB would have been taken back or not if I were you.
@Grasshopper: GH, you can trust GW. They never entertained this boy. He was never flown to DBN, he was driven up by a relative. He never applied to attend Glenwood and from what I understand, he was away from Selborne for no longer than a week. Hardly long enough to be determined a deserter. They should have taken him back, but for a certain reason that we can only speculate on.
@Grasshopper: I dont think its about welcoming him back or not. Its about whats best for him now and also you can only welcome someone back if you know he wants to be back. Dont know the facts, just going on what the deputy HM said – he knows of no application….
@umbiloburger: please elaborate what was supposedly said about Glenwood at the Kearsney old boys dinner ….
@Redblack White: surely if a kid has attended a school then left, making a mistake in this case, that school should welcome him back with open arms. People do make mistakes….
@umbiloburger: I can understand that you are a bit irked by the fingers pointing again, but not sure why you are shooting the messenger here.
As far as answering your questions, dont know about Q1, but here is the answer on Q2 from the article that Beet was quoting:
“Selborne College’s deputy headmaster, Max Norman, said he was unaware of an application for Kapp to return.
“If an application were received now it would have to be considered on its merits. If it is correct that he has not attended school for all this time, he would have dropped well behind his age cohort and an alternative such as an FET college might be a better fit.””
How can any parent trust either of these two schools now! I sure as hell don’t. Where there is smoke there is fire! I’m a proud Glenwood old boy but one who attended pre buying era and that is the system I support. So until it becomes more transparent or goes back to that era I will not even consider the school for my kid & will advise others not to look there either…
@umbiloburger: That guest speaker would be me. A portion of that speech focused on this boy’s case above and I would like to know which comments were considered derogatory. That speech was not the foundation of this story. It is not fiction either. It is something real and sad that has happened and it stems from recruitment. The boy’s mother had recorded her version of events. I imagine that was probably the basis for the newspaper article. I had no involvement there.
I can’t provide the proof sort after in question 1. All I have to go by is the mother’s statement: “They flew him to Durban and a week later sent him back.” which I have placed in that context.” It might be easier for you to say/suggest the mother is lying. That would be more direct.
I will try and get clarity on Selborne situation. I could be mistaken but Selborne did not have an entrance application form plus the mother had a fall out with the school regarding the Glenwood move.
There aren’t leading stories but to answer the blog came into being after Hilton acquired Gouws and Wright. There has never been a post specifically dedicated to either one.
My mistake. You are right. You did not initiate the discussion on Kapp but you chose to include his circumstances in your responses.
Anyway knowing a little about you, I’m almost 100% sure that you in your personal capacity don’t condone what’s happened to this youngster. I’d like to think it goes against just about everything you stand for.
I think there is a lot more to this story than we know.
Without fully understanding the background it is hard to make any judgement call.
There are a few questions I would love to have answered:
1) Why leave Selborne? Selborne is a good cricket school and by all accounts he was in the Border cricket system so he had a future.
2) Would you put your child on a bus if there was not some kind of agreement in place. Why people believe it has to be in writing is perplexing. A verbal agreement in this case would have been binding (except there is no law governing the buying and selling of schoolboy talent).
At the heart of this story is some kind of financial problem. I believe the mother, having the child’s best interest at heart, has sought a scholarship so the child can remain at a top school.
If my assumption is correct, then this truly is the bad side of recruiting. The mother and child have been preyed upon by a system with no regulation and no consequences. No parent, would remove a child from a school without some form of agreement in place. It may have been an implied offer but I am willing to bet money there was some kind of verbal promise in place.
It is clear the child needed a scholarship or he would have returned to Selborne after being rejected by Glenwood.
Parents and children need to be aware that there is no procedure governing recruitment. It would be quite easy for a school to renege on the offer since there is no legal remedy in place. The mother and child have no recourse because in essence there is no firm agreement, just a loose offer.
I think I keep beating this drum but I feel the need for total transparency and a mechanism to regulate this type of transaction is long overdue.
The headmasters agreement is nothing but a swiss cheese of loopholes and BS.
Eish!!!!!!!
@beet: Sorry Beet, but there is a lot more to this story than what you have made out. Initiated, responded, two different words I think. I heard of a guest speaker making derogatory comments about GW at a Bothas Hill old boys function. That’s the foundation behind this story. I can’t remember if I was around when Hilton poached Wright and then Gouws, but was there a leading story about it on the blog?
By the way, you’ve answered question C. What about A&B?
@umbiloburger: I have no idea what you mean by “leading article”. They are all just posts listed one under the other on the main menu in date order. I can really only use colour and pictures to make one post stand out from the others but have not done so in this case.
This is one of those cross over posts like the ones on hockey, soccer, waterpolo and academics that have appeared in the past and it ties in with the recruitment debate that’s been a characteristic of this blog from day 1.
I’ve always said that a good deal of the value of the website comes from the comments of users. So I’ve copied and pasted your comment made last year which is the first time I found out about the cricketer:
“@Gungets Tuft: GT….you are right….dug a big hole for myself
I think my battery is going to die and i cant charge for 3 days!!!!!!
Are you guys aware that some cricketer arrived on their door step from East London? TK took him straight to Shaka airport and put him on the 1st plane back to East London. Cost him(TK) a small fortune. ”
Then you brought it up again earlier this year:
“@Bonthuis: I’m not sure. I don’t really care either. Hilton withdrew because of the men vs boys thing….Selborne withdrew because of another boy that they thought had gone to GW (not Bossr as that was resolved) but it has since surfaced that the boy is actually at Wesville playing 1stXI. Probably joined all the Hudson Park boys. Anyway I am all over this thing. How did the junior tea,s do against College? GW are up against them first up next term. ”
So long before this cricket related post above appeared, you initiated discussion on the topic not once but twice.
My intention is not to discredit Glenwood or Westville but it’s to highlight these recruitment practices and obviously those afflicated to the schools who conduct it, condone it or derive an income relating to it are not going to be happy.
Moving on if you could somehow wind back the clock in this particular case regarding the cricketer, is there anything you would have done differently to change the course of events?
@umbiloburger: Get over yourself. The crux of this article is not about rugby or cricket, it’s about schoolboy recruitment gone wrong
@QC86: I chatted to an Old Boy from Selborne and he informs me that the after school prospects are terrible in Border, hence the exodus. But rumor has it that there will be some more exodus from Border & Limpopo to Bloemfontein soon, particularly after Grank Khomo
@Grasshopper: I have 3 questions that I would like answered:
1. Can proof be presented on the apparent flight laid on by Glenwood? Surely there must be a booking confirmation or something.
2. When the boy returned to East London, why did Selborne not take him back? I mean surely they would have taken JB back had he returned….or not!
3. Why do we have a leading article on a School Boy RUGBY blog of a cricketing recruitment issue…..
I’m sorry but I see this as yet another attempt to discredit certain schools.
I really feel for this boy and the situation he was dumped in for whatever the reasons may be.
I personally think his name should not have been mentioned as this will just not help with his situation at all and all of the issues this might cause in his young life.
Good luck young man get up and prove a point to the world out there and make the best of what it appears to be a great career as a sportsman.
@QC86: well, go against what all don’t want and accept the kid or do the good thing and send him back? I reckon it’s not great but better than trying to get him in under the radar and then send him packing…
@Playa: Have to agree, the parent/(s) has/have ultimate responsibility here. Surely a bursary comes stock standard with all the paperwork. In the absence of signed offers/contracts etc. there is no deal.
I really feel for this youngster, and perhaps this is what leaves the whole recruitment debacle out there for debate. At such a young age the kid is very vulnerable to the hype and excitement, and in this case false hope and promises (whether verbal or implied)
Not a nice one at all – very puzzling that he was enrolled at ‘ville though if his marks were not up to scratch. Unless the marks deteriorated rapidly after he was enrolled – perhaps we will get the full story soon otherwise we will just be left to speculate.
Hope this youngster can get back behind a desk shortly, after all he needs education first and then the sport.
@Grasshopper: GW not looking so good in my book.GW dropped that kid like a hot scone when the SH one T hit the fan about Bossr.Then Hilton and Selborne pulled all their fixtures against GW and they panicked, leaving the boy standing on the school steps,suitcase and all.
@Vleis: Good question ,why are our boys so happy[willing] to leave????
@QC86: Off I got to to pluck my eyes out with a pencil
@Playa: JEES that first sentence must have hurt.The Troll must be swearing in his little pink office.
@Vleis: It pains me to say this, but Selborne is in fact a blerry good school
I don’t think the reasons for these kids leaving has anything to do with the school per se, but could just be an individual thing. The devil would be in the detail of what exactly they get offered at these schools.
Off the cuff, I know Selborne don’t offer guarantees into any provincial set up, they don’t offer pocket money and flight fares either. Those (and other unknown unknowns in those contracts) could be the Bradlows difference.
Glenwood actually look ok here, the coach just needs to be warned. Westville more tut tut to me…
Slightly off topic, but do any bloggers know why so many talented Selborne kids leave the school? I don’t know much about the school, but based on the opinions of a few mates who are old boys, plus what I’ve read (incl. this site), it seems like a fantastic school.
Sure, there is a very bad whiff about Glenwood in some of these recruitment stories. However, Westville are also in the mix re the story above and I can confirm that Bossr was being shopped around at many schools. If he did not land up at Glenwood, he would’ve landed up elsewhere…and he was on a full Jacques Kallis scholarship at Selborne, so I’m very confused??
Does it have anything to do with wanting to secure their sporting futures outside Border. If so, surely they can sign up with other Unions and then go there after school anyway, like Stander (of Queens) did?
LET THIS BE A WARNING TO ALL OFF OUR PARENTS,MAKE SURE BEFORE
YOU MOVE YOUR SONS. THE GRASS IS NOT ALWAYS GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE.
Really gutted for his kid.First and for most, Damean, get back to school, son, any school.
1. Mother takes all the blame!!! The boy should not have left EL without written confirmation of (a) his acceptance to Glenwood and (b) that he actually has received the said scholarship.
Never mind being blinded by the offer etc, but you cannot send your boy 700km away from home without those (or at least ‘a’) being satisfied.
2. The Westville issue seems to be a bit dodge. Denial of a bursary offer despite there being proof???
I can’t comment on the marks as I don’t even know what constitutes good or bad marks nowadays.
Hopefully we as parents can now finally learn that we are the sole custodians of ‘what is best for our kids’. Schools, unions, clubs, and what have you care about performance.Ms du Preez, you need to parent your son now more than ever!I am sorry to sound judgmental, it is not my intention.We are all humans, and we all make errors in judgment.How this story ends depends solely on you.
Disgusting, but make up your own mind as to where the finger points.
I really feel for this boy. The last paragraph beet has added seems to be the crux for me. Like so many people who fall for these emails and SMSs where “You have won the UK lottery of $1,000,000 based on FIFA World Cup draw”!
I heard a staggering stat that most of the victims of the 419 scams are not poor illiterates – but people like you and me who “Should know better” http://www.ultrascan-agi.com/public_html/html/pdf_files/Pre-Release-419_Advance_Fee_Fraud_Statistics_2013-July-10-2014-NOT-FINAL-1.pdf
I have a feeling that the boy involved, parents and advisors to the family probably felt that this was a very good offer – was in the best interests of the boy. However – while the statements made by Glenwood and Westville i’m sure were not blatantly misleading – I assume that the family did not get the actual commitments in writing (or see the contract) before he arrived in Durban.
I guess it is similar to a job interview – we do not resign our current job when going for an interview?
No personal judgement here – but I think we could all fall prey to these kinds of misunderstandings.
I really hope Kapp can get back into school and pursue his sporting dreams further.