Could you imagine being an athlete with the weight of a country on your shoulders at a World Cup but at the back of your mind, you’re stressed out about what subjects for the next school year.
That was going through Under-19 Proteas player Mieke van Voorst’s head just a couple weeks ago. The 15-year-old all-rounder returned home from Malaysia last week after their defeat in the T20 WC final against India.
It was back to school and back to reality for Van Voorst, who is now playing catch up with her academics but excited, nonetheless, to be back home.
“Being away for so long is a bit tiring when it comes to going back to school. But it was really fun to see all my friends and get to know my new teachers. I think all the work is a lot but we are trying to catch up as quickly as possible. I have Maths, English, Afrikaans, Tourism, Physics and (Computer Application Technology),” van Voorst said.
The U19 middle-order batter was among the youngest team members for the Proteas, who went through the WC undefeated until their loss in the final. Van Voorst said the tournament was a blast but a little more stressful than school is.
“The World Cup was a different kind of stress but I think if I had to rate it out of 10, it was a 7/10 and school was like a four or five. The World Cup was stressful in terms of performance and now school is stressful because I have to catch up.
“But otherwise, the World Cup was a really nice experience and I think going back to school, everyone acknowledges that but now it's just about getting up to date and starting to train for cricket again,” van Voorst told Independent Media.