Cycling Whole Life Coaching for @Risk African Kids

Ending 2023 

In the final quarter of the year, some of our older boys participated in two prestigious events, namely the Wine to Whales three-day stage race and the Origin of Trails two-day stage race. The Wine to Whales covered 192km of rugged off-road terrain and a total ascent of 4500m over the three days. This was a test of endurance and determination for our team of two riders, but they made light work of it. It was not without technical difficulty, though, since a broken chain cost them dearly in time, and they had to run a long distance to where the problem was fixed. On the Origin of Trails, our six riders had great fun and could enjoy the fun spirit of the event, which was the focus of this event. Due to the high profile of these events, there was no expectation for podium results in either of these events; rather, it was just to gain experience, exposure, and personal growth.

 The story of Ayola - a star was discovered

In 2017, a boy joined the cycling project. He was very quiet and well behaved, but almost unnoticeable. He became a very regular and ongoing participant in the cycling program. After school, he started studying a course in public management and continued to serve as a leader in the cycling project. In 2023, he started doing his practical work as an intern at Prochorus and spent much time mentoring the younger boys. In June he attended a three-week sports ministry multiply school which truly changed his life. He also has been very passionate about sharing his testimony with the children at the Prochorus projects where he serves, and he thrives in this responsibility at the cycling project. He is truly a great example to the children at Prochorus and his community.

Ayola's testimony in his own words

The past 6 months have been a huge transformation to my life, Spiritually, Physically, Emotionally and Environmentally. After finishing my last exams at College, I was blessed with the opportunity to attend a sports ministry leadership school called 'Ready Set Go Multiply School'. Here, I was equipped with strategies to make disciples through sports. This ministry school gave me a different perspective and new ideas on being a youth coach at Prochorus, not just being a youth coach but an athlete, equipping me with training ideas on balancing all aspects of life. I have been making really good progress as I have participated in some big Western Cape Mountain Biking events. I've also been doing effective coaching, and being more of a friend to our youth instead of just being their coach. I had an opportunity to strengthen my relationship with God, and in just 3 weeks, a huge difference happened in my life by partnering with the church and Prochorus Community Development.

 Ayola also shares how he went about presenting lessons to the children

We did the DBS (Discovery Bible Study) divided into 3 categories look back, look up and look forward, both on and off the bikes. Some DBS lessons took place in mentoring sessions also.

Following up on the Book of Hope lessons, we did lessons through 4 topics, namely: Sex, love, Identity and Friendship. We then first spoke of spiritual formation, which was a good topic to start with before doing the lessons in the Ubabalo Cycling Whole Life Coaching curriculum. In session 1, we touched on obeying authority, which was a good lesson on teaching the kids obedience to the authorities. It ended with demonstrating the road signs for cyclists, which are also regarded as important steps to learn obedience to authorities and safety measures.

The Second last term of school was more based on sexual purity, it was a very interesting topic as most of the kids never had such discussions with their parents. The topic would first be covered at youth and then the following week we will have a debrief on a mentoring session and sometimes on cycling sessions. Other sessions were about advising the riders in physical training and some off-bike topics were more on general talks which ended in Life Coaching/advising.

 Two Brothers

We are very excited about two brothers who joined the program this year. They are very talented athletes and are also very committed to their academic work. The boys won several awards in running events they attended through the project this year. They also thrive in their spiritual growth and remain hungry to learn more.

 Year-End Celebration

Since the Development Cycling Project forms part of the Prochorus Aftercare Centre in Jonkershoek, our riders could enjoy participating in the Talent Show and the Year-End Celebration while receiving Christmas gift boxes each.

The program for the year ended with quite a few highlights, and we are proud of the children's growth.

Joined by our former cycling coach with his family from Germany, Daniel Mannweiler assisted and eventually took over the coaching lessons for the holidays. He shared with the cycling project good training strategies and cycling lessons on riding and bike maintenance including safety measures regarding cycling. His family joined the training sessions, and he did not only bless the team with his cycling experience but also took the team to a bird park where they learned new things about the wildlife of birds, having eagle, owl, snake and spider encounters at Spier outside Stellenbosch. This was a good holiday for the team as Daniel had given them the opportunity to learn something about the cycling world. At the end of the holiday, Daniel gave his last blessing to the team, giving the whole team new helmets and providing the team with new cycling gear.

Thank you!

The beginning of a new season

The year started fairly easy for the team, but with plenty of very hot weather, so we made swimming a regular part of our riding. More kids are registering for the project every week and things fall back into the regular routine. We are excited about a year filled with opportunity, fun and lessons to be learnt. LET'S GO!