South African football great and U17 national team head coach Duncan Crowie has encouraged players ahead of this weekend’s Bayhill Premier Cup.
All eyes will be on Belhar where some of the country’s best youth players will gather for this year’s Bayhill Premier Cup.
The U19 tournament is a traditional feature of the Easter Weekend, when some of the country’s biggest clubs send their youth teams to compete against each other.
Preps for tomorrow's Bayhill Premier Cup Fixture ✅️⚽️#MatsatsantsaUnified pic.twitter.com/SmswItDVJE
— SuperSport United FC (@SuperSportFC) April 5, 2023
Crowie knows all about being a young star, because he was himself just 16 years old
when he made his breakthrough in the tough leagues of Federation football.
He went on to become the first player the first Bafana Bafana head coach Jeff Butler wrote down when he selected the first ever squad.
And Santos legend Crowie tells the Daily Voice: “You need to judge players against top opposition and at the Bayhill you will find strength versus strength most of the time.
“The teams that are going to play in the tournament, they are top teams from across the country. That’s when a player can be judged.
Spartans are all set for the Bayhill Premier Cup that kicks off tomorrow! 👊
— SuperSport United FC (@SuperSportFC) April 4, 2023
Matsatsantsa are in group D with Hungry Lions, Rygersdal FC and Hazendal AFC 📝
The young lads take on Hazendal AFC in their opener on Thursday April 6, on Field A at 13:45 ⚽️#MatsatsantsaUnifed pic.twitter.com/kM1sBz99Md
“Not only his playing skills but you can also check his mental attitude.
“There are a lot of people around the field, then you can see if he can make it as a professional because when you play professional football at some of the stadiums you play in front of a lot of people.
“We’ve seen many players crumble when there are a lot of people in the stands.”
A trained teacher by profession outside of football and also the head scout of the U18 Engen Knockout, the 59-year-old is in the perfect position to combine his passions which is football, teaching and mentoring young players.
He also has emphasised the importance of top tournaments as a major part of the development of players, adding: “It’’s not about the player that performs well technically and tactically, but the attitude is also important.
“How you deal with the situation and how you solve the problems on the field of play and then also dealing with the pressure off the field.
“As you know, at the Bayhill there are a lot of people that watch the games.
“How you deal with the support for you and support against you. There are many factors that you have to deal with.”
He added that while the players from the top academies are expected to perform at a certain level, he is always encouraged by how players from less prominent clubs grab their opportunities to showcase their abilities with all eyes watching.
He explains: “It doesn’t mean that because they are the big academies they will have it easy because the players from the other clubs will go out of their way to prove that they should be there.
“That’s the beauty of this tournament.
“It’s not only the elite players that show that they should be there, it’s just that they haven’t been spotted yet. At times it can be that player from the local teams that shows that he has those characteristics to make it to the next level.
“A favourite saying of mine is: hard work beats talent if talent doesn’t work hard.”
“We’ve all heard about players that were great junior players but never made it. Many times the downfall is their attitude.”
Bafana Bafana forward Mihlali Mayambela was one of those players for Gugulethu’s JL Zwane back in 2015.
He ended up leading them to the final and won the tournament’s best player award.
𝐐![CDATA[]]>𝐔![CDATA[]]>𝐀![CDATA[]]>𝐋![CDATA[]]>𝐈![CDATA[]]>𝐅![CDATA[]]>𝐈![CDATA[]]>𝐄![CDATA[]]>𝐃! ✅
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) March 28, 2023
Bafana Bafana are heading to the Africa Cup of Nations in 2024 following a 2-1 win over Liberia.#TotalEnergiesAFCONQ2023 pic.twitter.com/h2pDuiOhsd
Last week, he scored the winner in Bafana Bafana’s 2-1 win against Liberia that secured qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations that will be hosted in the Ivory Coast between January and February next year.
Knowing this, Crowie has not shut the door on players that impress, as he prepares to finalise the squad that will do duty at the U17 Afcon in Algeria.
Giving the Bayhill Cup hopefuls one last push, he says: “If there is enough time to register then there’s always a possibility.
“We’re looking for the best players and if we see something at the Bayhill, you never know.”
Safa national scout David Nyathi and performance analyst Sinesipho Mali will also be in attendance.