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TOP Zimbabwe athletics coach, Braid Nhubu’s star continues to shine as he is being consistently entrusted with the duty of training of athletes and attending prestigious high level international courses for coaches.
The media shy Nhubu (46) recently returned home after a three-month long stay in Canada where he was attending the Program for International Sports for Africa and the Caribbean (PAISAC) coaches’ workshop.
That he was being trained by some of the world’s top athletes coaches and internationally distinguished sport professors from the University of Montreal, it is expected to immensely benefit local athletes as well.PAISAC course was attended by Caribbean and African nations from sports such as athletics, table tennis, swimming and lawn tennis.
The eight countries were Zimbabwe and Seychelles, St Lucia, Botswana, Grenada, St Vincent, Seychelles and Lesotho.
The Tsanzaguru High School teacher has been to Europe, Asia and all over the African continent attending various competitions as a national teams coach.
The experience, exposure and knowledge gained by Nhubu and more importantly his return to the country is expected to benefit the nation especially upcoming athletes in both short and long distances as he has a track record of working with youngsters.
One of his products, Brian Mada recently won a scholarship to study and pursue athletics in the United States of America.
Some of his products have migrated to South African athletics clubs where they were lured by better remuneration and availability of competitions.
Nhubu, who was seconded by the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee to the PAISAC course, said a lot of proper talent identification and further development of athletics will help the country to position itself among the top performers at competitions such as the Olympics, All Africa Games, Athletics World Championships among others.
“It was a worthwhile experience. We learnt a lot that surely will assist our national associations in furthering the development of athletics.
We went through courses such as practical, physical preparation, personal interview and evaluation, anti doping, ethics and leadership, coaching and leading effectively, energetic files, anatomy and physiology of exercise, long term athlete development, among others.
“The courses were facilitated by top athletics coaches and professors of sport, some of the best you can come across. The courses were both in theory and practical. We were exposed to the applied scientific approach on the development of athletes’ abilities. The students were provided with ideas on how to apply the approaches in their contextual realities.
“The sessions were really key to coach education development and if well implemented, they will significantly uplift the performance of the beneficiaries. We also gained a lot with regards to strategies to make national sports federations and the national Olympic Committees to buy into the Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) plan which most sport successful nations adhere to.
“The main reason for PAISAC is to uplift sport in Africa and the Caribbean countries so that we do not add numbers at international competitions but win medals also,” he said.
Nhubu further said he was ready to share what he learnt in Canada with fellow coaches, athletes, schools, clubs and administrators.
He added that parents must also be involved in the affairs of the athletes to avoid conflicts and must made to understand how to manage a child who is into sport.
“Once one is discovered as an athlete that person must stick to that area and further develop, but here in schools athletics is only confirmed to the first term and in second those athletes are made to partake in ball games. This erodes all the efforts that were done earlier. Coaches must come up with a yearlong programme that is uninterrupted this is the best way to develop an athlete.
“Parents are also vital in developing the athlete. The parent, coach and the school must be in constant touch discussing the development of the athlete.
The coach must avail a diet plan to the parent and he/she must make sure it’s adhered to.
“There is a lot of sporting talent in Zimbabwe but maybe our approach has not been the best and from what I gained in Canada we need to improve,” said Nhubu.
Online Reporter