{"id":61320,"date":"2024-12-03T13:13:12","date_gmt":"2024-12-03T11:13:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=61320"},"modified":"2024-12-03T13:13:12","modified_gmt":"2024-12-03T11:13:12","slug":"player-profile-gavin-genis-hoerskool-middelburg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=61320","title":{"rendered":"Player Profile – Gavin Genis (Ho\u00ebrskool Middelburg)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Gavin Genis celebrating one of his six wickets against Ho\u00ebrskool Waterkloof in the Fain Noordvaal Semi-Final. Photo: Tap Light Edits.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“My dad’s cricket bat was taller than I was when I first tried to pick it up. My older brother, Tiaan, seven years my senior, started playing cricket when he was nine and I had to stand ready every afternoon in the corridor when he wanted to practice his bowling.<\/p>\n

“The kicker was that I was never allowed to duck, sway, or cry. Otherwise, I wasn’t allowed to play anymore,” Gavin Genis<\/strong> recalled about where his love for the game of cricket started.<\/p>\n

That’s where the 16-year-old Ho\u00ebrskool Middelburg<\/strong> all-rounder began to learn about fighting under severe pressure.<\/p>\n

Genis, already a star for his side at a young age, enjoyed a fruitful 2024, but it was in the playoffs of the Fain Noordvaal<\/strong> Competition that his talents became known to a wider audience across South Africa.<\/p>\n

In almost unbelievable fashion Genis snapped up a staggering 17 wickets in only four matches, including a special return of 6\/51, his third consecutive five-wicket haul, in the semi-finals against a loaded Ho\u00ebrskool Waterkloof<\/strong> side.<\/p>\n

His cricket journey officially started at the age of eight, when Abr\u00e9 Vollgraaff<\/b>, then at Cambridge Academy<\/strong> in Witbank, and now the Head of Sport at Ho\u00ebrskool Eldoraigne<\/strong> in Centurion, invited him to attend the u11 regional trials.<\/p>\n

“Although I didn’t get picked that year, I already knew it was one of my goals. In my u9 and u10 years, I played for the u10 Mpumalanga Indoor side, and also made the u10 national side in both,” the all-rounder shared.<\/p>\n

He also attained his goal of playing for the u11 Mpumalanga side, representing the union for two years in succession in the age group, which showcased his burgeoning cricketing talent at a young age.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Genis, like other sports lovers, was halted through the Covid-19 years, but that didn’t dim the determined Middelburger’s drive. In the years following the pandemic, he went on to earn yet another provincial call-up, joining the u15 side at the annual Regional Week.<\/p>\n

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GAVIN GENIS, Ho\u00ebrskool Middelburg all-rounder in action against Nelspruit earlier this year. PHOTO: Nadia Kruger.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Following a very successful 2024, he was selected for the Mpumalanga u16 team, which will travel to Pretoria in December for the annual CSA u16 Boys<\/strong> Week<\/strong>. He also earned national indoor cricket colours again.<\/p>\n

“Jacques Else<\/strong> is one of the Middelburgers I look up to the most. Coaches Shaun Neethling<\/strong> and Conrad Viljoen<\/strong> have also played a significant role in my cricketing journey thus far,” Genis said when asked about the major influences on his young cricket career.<\/p>\n

When stepping over the rope and onto the field, the youngster aspires to be like current opening test batsman Aiden Markram. <\/strong>He’s the one Genis has looked up to since day one. However, the Protea isn’t the sole holder of the title of biggest role model. “My father, Barry Genis<\/strong>, has been another I’ve looked up to”, Genis explained.<\/p>\n

The all-rounder has produced many memorable moments during 2024, including during his side’s Mpumalanga League<\/strong> match against Ho\u00ebrskool Nelspruit,<\/strong> where he scored a masterful 128 and they won a tight contest by only eight runs to keep their unbeaten run alive. Another outstanding memory was created in the Fain Noordvaal semi-final against the Klofies.<\/p>\n

“We didn’t score close to enough runs and, after lunch, there was some nervous energy, which was to be expected, but somehow everything just clicked. Eduan Strydom<\/strong> and I just found a new rhythm with the ball in hand and we just went with it.<\/p>\n

“He eventually ended up taking four wickets and I snapped up six, my best figures ever thus far,” Genis said while fondly recalling his favourite moments as a Middies’ cricketer.<\/p>\n

Talented, with a love for the game, and with a drive to succeed, Genis has clear goals for the future. “My dream is to play for the Proteas one day, or just any form of professional cricket. I just want to play cricket, that’s all,” he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“My dad’s cricket bat was taller than I was when I first tried to pick it up. My older brother, Tiaan, seven years my senior, started playing cricket when he was nine and I had to stand ready every afternoon in the corridor when he wanted to practice his bowling. “The kicker was that I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":60472,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=61320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61320\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/60472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=61320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=61320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=61320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}