Swimming with the Fish (and the sharks)

 

South African soccer legend, Mark Fish, visited Gansbaai to see Grootbos Foundation’s Sports Development Programme. Mark’s arrival caused quite a bit of a stir for those of our team members who remember ‘the Feeesh’ in his glory days! 

Mark visited the Sports Development programme, met with our coaches and youth sports participants and shared leadership lessons and learnings. Mark’s passion is how to use a more flowing form of soccer (that Mark calls Fast Footie) to engage and integrate South African youths. Mark has his own foundation, the Mark Fish Foundation, an organisation which supports Mark Fish’s ‘theory of the ball’, a belief that sport can empower youth. 

‘Sport changes attitudes, builds skills and brings together people of all races and abilities.’

Our coaches and sports teams are looking forward to future collaboration plans.

While he was here, Mark Fish could not miss out on the opportunity to visit some of his more distant fishy relatives and joined a Marine Dynamics shark cage diving tour. Grootbos Foundation and Marine Dynamics share similar missions of conservation and research, though one works on land and the other in the ocean! 

Thank you Mr Fish for your inspiration and enthusiasm, we loved having you! 

Mark Fish was a member of South African’s National Team in 1996 when South Africa won the African Cup of Nations and has had a long history of playing in the Premier League.