Impact Report - 2025 DRAFT-2 - Flipbook - Page 26
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VOICES FROM THE COURT
COACHED BY WOMEN, SIPHESHILE FINDS A
GAME PLAN FOR LIFE
At 19, Sipheshile Vacu credits two forces
with shaping his life: basketball and women
role models. Growing up in Umlazi
Township, he first encountered the sport
through his older sister, already a
PeacePlayers
participant.
City-Wide
tournaments, bringing together diverse
young people from across the Durban area,
transformed his worldview. "You can judge.
But you didn't see where he or she was
coming from."
His sister later made the transition from
participant to coach, and the guidance that
she and other women coaches offered
extended beyond the court. "My coach
always encouraged me that I must not only
play basketball, but also focus on my
future." Academic accountability was nonnegotiable: "You can't play without your
report [cards]."
Now coaching a PeacePlayers girls' team
himself, Siphe carries that legacy forward. "If
I didn't play basketball, I don’t know where I
would be right now."
