JASCA DE ABREU

VICTRIX LUDORUM 2020, Netball Player of the Year, athlete per excellence … Nobiel Kifuabala wears all these hats with humility and happiness.

During the June holidays, one of the star learners of St Michael’s School for Girls’, Nobiel Kifubala, was selected as an attacking player for the U.17A Free State netball team.This was a very difficult adjustment, a she has always been a defender.  She rose to the challenge. Her team eventually won the Interprovincial Tournament.

Nobiel’s passion, pain, purpose and philosophy all contribute to the accomplished young lady she is and when asked to elaborate on her four Ps, she replied that her passion was certainly sports and interacting with people, especially when the two are integrated. She views sport as a form of self-expression and a way of escaping from every-day life in order to connect with her true self.

P also stands for pain. In Grade 9 and 10, she lost motivation to pursue her dreams and reach her potential, even though she had been selected for provincial teams. She persevered and two years later she was a member of a team that won a gold medal at a national competition. She overcame the lack of motivation by going back to her roots. She says, ‘I was seven and in Grade One when I started participating in sport. So I told myself to do it for the little girl who started sport. “You are not just going to give up now,” I said.’

She believes her purpose is to help and serve others, and to spread love. At sporting events she focuses on encouraging everyone, be it a teammate or an opponent. This attests to her excellent sportsmanship. ‘Yes, sport is fun, but being able to speak to and reach people whilst doing what I love, is even better!’

Nobiel lives life with the guidance of the Lord. Her philosophy in life is summarised by two verses: Proverbs 3:5-6 and Philippians 4:13..

Nobiel also played in a national netball tournament in 2018. Her team was placed second in the country. She said it was definitely a high for the team, which gave them the motivation to go for gold this year. The team had intense training sessions prior to the tournament and trained throughout the June exams. This required extra hard work, determination and perseverance as she had to juggle matric mid-year exams as well as her busy training schedule. ‘In the end the win definitely made all the hard work worthwhile,’ she says.

Nobiel found security and comfort at St Michael’s. She expresses her gratitude and love for the school as it opened many doors for her and offered many opportunities to fuel her success. She dedicates her achievement to her family and friends who have shown an endless amount of support and always encouraged her to do her best. Nobiel’s inspiration is her late mother whom she describes as a powerful, kind woman of God, who embodied many characteristics that inspire her to be a better person. Nobiel’s wish is to make her mother proud in everything she does.

Nobiel is a hardworking, talented, humble young lady whose polite and disciplined manner is truly exemplary. Her advice to aspiring sportspersons is ‘Just keep going. Don’t get discouraged along the way. It won’t always be easy, but remember why you’re doing it and what your reason was for starting, and from there you’re just going to get better.’

Get to know Nobiel