‘You can stay for free’- South Africa’s Hockey Team coach shares a heart-warming story involving England’s assistant coach
South Africa: (Image Source: Twitter)
The Commonwealth Games 2022 concluded on Tuesday with a thrilling closing ceremony. Over 4500 athletes from around the world took part in the event and 72 nations competed for 11 days. Australia emerged at the top of the tally with 178 medals, followed by England and Canada with 176 and 92 medals respectively.
South Africa also exhibited stellar performances in numerous sports. They finished at ninth position, having pocketed 27 medals, which include 7 Gold, 9 Silver, and 11 Bronze. The South Africa Hockey team showed great character during the tournament and also went on to play the Bronze medal match against England. They lost that game but won hearts with their performances despite facing a lot of issues prior to their arrival in Birmingham.
Recently, South Africa’s Hockey coach shared a heart-whelming story, which enforces the people to believe in humanity and service. Coach, Ian Shippey lauded England’s assistant coach, Kwuan Browne, for his effort to help Proteas’ Hockey team find a base in Birmingham.
It is pertinent to note that South Africa’s Hockey team didn’t have a base where they could train in the UK and there was no one sponsoring for them either. Amidst such trouble, England’s assistant coach came to the rescue and helped them get access to the Mill Hill School where that they can prepare for the tournament.
Here’s what the South Africa’s Hockey team coach wrote on his Instagram post:
“Connections: True story on the eve of the Bronze medal match between England and SA, this is one of the background stories that should be told before anyone stands on a podium. Two weeks before the Commonwealth Games, the SA Men’s Hockey team had not confirmed a venue for their training camp in the UK. Unbeknown to the team, the management held a crisis meeting as we endeavoured to resolve this dilemma. We had no sponsor and urgently needed a solution.” South Africa’s Hockey team coach narrated on his Instagram handle.”
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“We had to call people and ask if they would host us. One of our players suggested that we call Kwan Browne to ask him if he could help. It was 11:59 on the clock as it was two days before the end of the school year and we were looking to base at a school with access to a boarding house, a hockey field, and a gym. Kwan moved heaven and earth for us and asked Mill Hill School, where he is Director of Hockey if they could host us. He came back with the message.” he added.
“You can stay for free, please can you pay the cost price of the food.” The kindness of this gesture left us speechless. Only then did we discover that Kwan was also the assistant coach of England. He went the extra mile for the team who would contend against his England for the Bronze medal. These are the stories that need to be told. Tomorrow will be agony for one of the teams and ecstasy for the other. Mill Hill School and Kwan Browne thanks for keeping us in the race!” he concluded.
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