18-year-old Maphuti Hlako who qualified to represent South Africa’s under 18 team at an international softball tournament in Botswana, says behind the excitement lies anxiety about injuries, limited access to ongoing medical and mental health support and funding.

Hlako is due to travel by bus with the team on 19 August for the World Baseball Softball Confederation regional tournament, taking place from 20 to 22 August  in Gaborone, Botswana.

For the young athlete from Senwabarwana in Limpopo, the call-up also means pressure to perform at her best with limited access to medical and psychosocial support outside tournaments.

Hlako has also had to raise R5,000 to cover her travel, accommodation and meals.

Playing through injuries

Hlako says her main support comes from her mother, a single parent and security officer, and her siblings, coaches and close friends.

“It’s not easy to participate in sport while you don’t have access to medical and psychological support. We do this for the love of the game, but the risks [of injuries] are quite high,” she says.

“You only see a physiotherapist for the first time when you’re selected to the provincial squad,” says Hlako. 

“You only have that access during the tournament, and once it’s over you’re on your own to nurse the injuries you sustained.”

In March last year, Hlako injured her ankle during the National Provincial Championships in the Free State.

She says she was taken by private car to a public hospital in Bloemfontein, where she was treated by a general practitioner who gave her painkillers and a topical ointment.

“After the tournament, I had to ask my mother to buy me over-the-counter medicines to rehabilitate the affected area,” she says.

Hlako says first-aid kits are also not always available during training sessions with her local club, the Seshego Cannons.

“There is nothing readily available to rehabilitate the injuries,” she says.

“One has to rely on home remedies like lukewarm water with salt to ease the pain.”

She told Health-e News that she also injured her knee while competing at a Women’s Month tournament in Lebowakgomo in Polokwane in 2024.

“I endured excruciating pain throughout the one-day tournament without a physiotherapist. Some of these remedies provide temporary relief but the pains would resurface when least expected,” she says.

Anxiety ahead of Botswana

Her coach, Jankies Seakamela, is concerned about the mental pressure Hlako and other players will carry into the international tournament.

“I’m particularly concerned that Maphuti might go to this international tournament still overwhelmed by the fact that she almost didn’t manage to get funding for the trip,” he says.

“This has deeply affected her psychologically and this could affect her physically during the tournament.”

Mokgadi Moswatsi, team manager for the national women’s team, says teams generally travel with a physiotherapist and sports psychologist.

“When our teams participate in these tournaments, we have a physiotherapist to offer remedies for the duration of the tournament,” Moswatsi says.

“However, it is up to the players to take care of their injuries after the tournament since the federation doesn’t have a sufficient medical budget.”

Moswatsi says players are encouraged to approach the team’s psychologist when experiencing stress, but often don’t.

“Our players hardly approach the psychologist whenever they are under stress despite being encouraged to do so.”

Support often ends after competition

Sports psychologist Boitumelo Mamaine says mental-health resources in South African sport tend to focus on better-funded sports such as football, cricket and rugby.

Mamaine says athletes from disadvantaged backgrounds can also face pressures away from sport, including worries about food and shelter, and this competes with their ability to focus on their development as athletes.

According to Mamaine, athletes can benefit from psychological support before tournaments and during competition, but support afterwards is also important.

“Very rarely are post check-ins done because the focus tends to be before and during performance interventions,” Mamaine says.

“However this does not mean that athletes would not benefit from this because there are many post-tournament stressors such as loss that may need processing.”

Young women competing with limited resources

Women’s baseball and softball remain relatively new in South Africa.

The country’s first national women’s baseball teams were only established in 2023. This created new opportunities for girls and women to compete internationally.

But athletes and administrators say limited funding continues to affect access to ongoing medical and psychological support, as well as travel and equipment.

Hlako says making the national team is both a big opportunity and creates pressure for young athletes like herself who compete at international level without the support available to better-funded sports.