INKQUBELA Primary School’s head of department, Mbeko Vincent Solo, believes that schools are the right foundation for sports developments.
Solo is one of the school’s most respected coaches. He started his teaching career at Inkqubela Primary School in Kwazakhele and played a phenomenal role in school sport in the area.
At Inkqubela Primary, Solo guided his school’s soccer team to a number of knockout competitions and league trophies over a number of seasons. He developed quality football players who played in the local football association, Zakhele Football Association, and in the Vodacom League.
These included Zolani Oniwe (Rainbow Stars) and Nyameko Adams, who played for the National First Division (NFD) side, Western Province United, in Cape Town.
Solo also played a fundamental role in athletics development in the Kwazakhele Primary Schools Athletics Zone.
Solo, together with other teachers at Inkqubela Primary School, helped their school win many trophies in athletics.
Solo also helped his school team perform outstandingly in the school cross country.
Some of his athletes were selected in the then Eastern Province Athletics regional team to participate at provincial and national level.
Solo believes that the school should make opportunities open for the learners. As such, he introduced drum majorettes at Inkqubela Primary School. His school was the first primary school to introduce the activity in the townships.
In 2004, Solo was redeployed to Imbasa Primary School. He took his school’s sports teams to greater heights than ever before. Imbasa Primary School won many knockout competitions and league trophies in soccer. He also introduced girls’ soccer to the school.
At one point, his boys and girls u/13 teams won the Spur Masidlale Schools Football League. His u/12 soccer team represented Nelson Mandela Bay in the Danone Nations Cup Provincial Championships many times.
He also guided Imbasa Primary School’s u/13 team to take part in the Milo Nestle Cup Provincial Championships in Komani in 2012. Again, Solo prepared his u/13 to win the Department of Education League regional league.
Solo has a SARU rugby coaching certificate, handball coaching certificate, soccer youth general level coaching certificate and athletics coaching certificates.
He was also awarded many sports certificates at Imbasa Primary School for his role in developing the school sport.
Solo said, “I strongly believe that schools are the right foundations to develop sport.
“Some learners do not perform well in their (academic) work. Therefore, the schools must make sure that these learners (have the opportunity to succeed on the sports field).”
