SuperSport Schools Podcast

From Springbok victory in Paris 2023 to Paris 2024. Alex chats to legendary South African sprinter, Akani Simbine to find out the role his school played in his development and how he runs a business while also competing as a professional athlete. BackSport is one of the biggest production suppliers to SuperSport Schools. The company employs athletes and has covered over 10 sports for SuperSport Sc...

Is Maritzburg College the key to a Springbok World Cup victory? Alex and Tim have their say in this week’s show. Alex also interviews Rayaan and PJ from the Bayhill Premier Cup in the Western Cape to find out why the tournament is so special and how it has benefitted youth football in SA. Tim nominates Mateo Horstead to the Class of '23 and we cross over to KZN where Sibonelo Zulu catches up with...

Schools have returned to summer sport for the final term of the year. This means that cricket teams have taken to pitches across the country. South Africa continues to produce incredible young cricketing talent. Kwena Maphaka is one of SA's most promising young stars. The youngest player ever in the SA U19 team, he's been to an U19 World Cup, played for SA Emerging and SA "A", and has been contrac...

Alex is joined by Tom Pullen from NGXV, SSS commentator Spoed Smith and SSS expert Hannes Nienaber to discuss the final Ultimate XV nominations for the year. Follow SuperSport Schools Rugby and NGXV on social media to vote. SuperSport Schools, brings you the sport you care about the most. The SuperSport Schools’ Podcast brought to you by Spur tells stories of youth and school sports. You can watch...

What does it take to become a top school runner in SA? Alex was at the SA Cross-Country Nationals in Gqeberha. He discusses some of the keys to becoming a top school runner and talks to Themba Madima, a SuperSport Schools Athletics Commentator. Experts from Eastern Province athletics share their training insight and explain why it's not the best idea to specialise early on in an athlete's journey....

Summer is on its way and summer sports are returning to schools across the country. Over the past weekend, U16 girls from several schools were in action at Durban Girls' College for the DGC U16 Water Polo Tournament. At the tournament, Alex caught up with Lee Keet, a teacher, former national player and current international water polo referee, to get some insight ahead of the season. They discuss...

This week is the Marius Schoeman 7s in Paarl and schools from across the country are taking part. In a country with one of the strongest senior sevens systems in the world, it's at events like this that the future stars are scouted. For this week's show, Alex is at the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport to chat with the event's namesake and current SA 7s High Performance Manager, Marius Schoeman. They...

During August, South Africa hosted the U18 International Tri-Nations series featuring South Africa U18, France U18, England U18 and a Western Province U18 XV side. This week, Alex and Tim chatted with Angus Savage from NGXV. Angus was part of the SuperSport Schools' commentary team during the series. The trio discuss the differences in school rugby between South Africa and England, contrasting the...

Basketball is one of the most popular sports in the world. But in South Africa, according to Val Fowler, it's still very much a "Cinderella Sport". Val Fowler is synonymous with basketball in South Africa. Through her education career, spanning three decades, she has not only nurtured the growth of basketball at Pietermaritzburg Girls' High School but has also been a profound influence and a sourc...

When is the time to grow girls' sports in South Africa? Is it when Banyana Banyana excels? Or perhaps, during the Netball World Cup? For Uraisha Haswell and Fanele Ndlovu it's always. In this episode, Alex is joined by the pair as they discuss their involvement in KZN Girls' Football. The group discuss what has been done to put girls' football on the map in KZN, the challenges they face, what stil...

Over the past year, our national women's teams have been thriving on the international stage. Most notably in football, cricket and netball. Many of these teams are amateur, without full sponsors and relying on athletes to self-fund their participation. However, their performances have sparked discussions around SA and a growth in girls' sports. In this week's special for Women's Day, Alex and Tim...

Netball is one of the biggest sports on the SuperSport Schools platform. This week, Alex interviews Zanele, a commentator for SuperSport Schools and the Netball World Cup, to discuss the significance of having the World Cup in Cape Town and its impact on the sport. Then, Carla, a player from Affies, shares her experiences from playing school netball and helps explain some of the finer details of t...

This week the team is at Chiltern Park Sports Club in KZN to discuss one of South Africa's top school football leagues. Alex and Tim are joined by Maritzburg College Captain, Mateo Horstead and SuperSport Schools football commentator, Sibonelo Zulu. The guests discuss how they got into football and how they're hoping to make careers out of the sport: Mateo as a pro player and Sibonelo as a comment...

The 2023 U18 Craven Week wrapped up in George two weeks ago. Western Province beat the Blue Bulls in the main match to round off a scintillating week of rugby. Alex and Tim chatted with players from several teams during the week to find out what it means to play on the biggest school rugby stage in SA. They discuss the preparation, school training, and unifying as a new team. Hannes also joins to...

The 2023 U18 SASHOC Nationals wrapped up in Bloemfontein just under two weeks ago. In this episode, Alex and Tim chat with players from the tournament to find out what goes into making it at the nationals, how good Tim would be as a goalie and whether it's more rewarding to save or score a goal. For the second time, Tim goes up against a team of two in the SSS Podcast Quiz. Find out if he can beat...

Alex and Tim are joined by Blitzboks legend and current Sharks Director of Rugby, Neil Powell to chat all things Craven Week. SuperSport Schools expert Hannes Nienaber also features and the group discuss Craven Week, what makes it so special, why it's important and what to expect from this week. Neil and Hannes also go head to head in the SuperSport Schools Podcast Quiz. This week it's very rugby...

Alex and Tim chat with hockey coaches Marcelle Keet and Mike Baker about the 2023 SASHOC Nationals. They touch on what it takes to make it, how the tournament works and why the hockey community is so special. The group also delve a bit deeper into the success of SA school hockey and what needs to be done to translate that success into the professional game and national teams. Finally, Tim faces th...

What was your favourite school sport moment of Term 2? Get ready for an electrifying episode as we wrap up the Term 2 school sport season! Join Alex as he dives into a rollercoaster ride of jaw-dropping moments captured by SuperSport Schools. Brace yourself for comebacks, trends and viral clips from across SA. But that's not all! Stay tuned as Alex unveils the thrilling festivals and events lined...

Alex is joined by Tom Pullen from NGXV, SSS commentator Spoed Smith and SSS expert Hannes Nienaber to discuss 30 more school rugby players showing promise this season. Over this episode and the next few weeks, the team will name 8 players per position. Then after Craven Week, it will be up to you to vote for your Ultimate School XV. At the end of this episode, 45 players have been named (3 in each...

Sport in South Africa is incredibly competitive. Elite sporting schools across the country give athletes an edge. But for many young athletes, these schools are simply out of reach. That's where organisations like the TAG Foundation come in. Alex chats to Johnnie Gerber from the foundation about what TAG does, how they maintain expectations, ensure their students have the best chance of success an...

📺🎧 https://linktr.ee/ssspod ✉️ podcast@supersportschools.com On which side of the scrum should the scrum-half stand? What is a brake foot? And, can you score a try while in touch? (Spoiler... you can 😉). Alex and Tim were at Noord-Suid 2023 and spoke to some players about the laws of rugby. Specifically, they discuss school variations and the proposed tackle height law. The Breakdown Rugby podc...

Few people (if any) in South Africa can match Hannes Nienaber's incredible knowledge of all things school sports. Creator of the School of Rugby website (now part of SuperSport Schools), Hannes is heading up the reporting and research at SuperSport Schools this year. Find out what it's like diving into the archives or who played wing fifty years ago for a small school in Upington that no longer ex...

We were at the 2023 Standard Bank St Mary's Festival to catch up with Taheera Augousti, a Matric student from Eunice who plays for the South African National Women's Hockey Team. Find out what it's like playing for "school and country", how Taheera does in the #SSSPod Quiz and why Alex ran into a hockey player who was sucking a dummy and wearing a bib🤔. SuperSport Schools, bringing you the sport...

Who are the 15 school rugby players to watch this season? It's a tough question to answer, and one that will differ in every corner of South Africa. But the team at NGXV publish their suggestion every year. So in this SSS Podcast Special brought to you by Spur, Alex is joined by Tom Pullen from NGXV to discuss the 15 players to watch going into the 2023 school rugby season. Our in-house SSS expert...

Every year matrics across the country apply to South African universities. Though some look abroad, especially to the United States. In this week's episode, brought to you by Spur, Alex and Tim chat with Luca, a student hoping to study in America next year through his football, and some of the team from BrUSA, who are hoping to get him there. We find out exactly how the collegiate system works, ho...