SPRINGDALE — Tiaan Kluever doesn’t come across as somebody with an interesting background.
Other than a hint of an accent and a unique spelling of his name, Kluever is not much different from any other Springdale Bulldogs football player.
But dig a little deeper and the senior offensive lineman does have an unusual story to tell.
For starters, Kluever was born near Johannesburg, South Africa, where he lived until the age of 7. Kluever left Johannesburg when his mother, Irma, who was going through a divorce, wanted afresh start.
“I really don’t remember much back then,” Kluever said. “I just remember being on a plane for a really long time. I didn’t even know where we were going.”
After a trip that spanned nearly 9,000 miles, both Kluever and his mother finally settled in Newport, located about 50 miles west of Jonesboro, when Irma found a job with a large health care service provider.
And for five years, while living in Newport, Kluever learned about things he wasn’t accustomed to in South Africa, with the biggest being the game of football.
“I know in South Africa, the game we play there is rugby, and I loved that game, played it all the time as a kid,” Kluever said. “But football, I had no idea what it was, how it was played or anything. Eventually, I caught on and I really liked it.”
At the age of 12, when Kluever was in the sixth grade, he and his mom made their last move to Springdale, where they’ve been ever since.
“When I tell people I’m from South Africa, they think I used to live in a hut or something,” said Kluever, who also speaks Afrikaans, which is a Dutch-derived language used by many in South Africa. “People don’t realize Johannesburg is a huge city, it’s a very urban area.”
Since moving to Springdale, Kluever has remained committed to football. He not only played in junior high, but has continued at Springdale where he’s played on both the defensive and offensive lines.
This season, which was Kluever’s first as a starter, he’s been the Red’Dogs’ center, a position he wasn’t familiar with in the spring. His development has been steady over the course of the season, said offensive coordinator Eli Drinkwitz.
Sports, Pages 9 on 11/10/2009
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