Veronica Gwaze
Zimpapers Sports Hub
TAPIWA CHIRENDA might be virtually unknown in many spaces, but his magic on the netball court is undeniable.
The 46-year-old former national coach transformed the Gems into a powerhouse, elevated the careers of several top local players and sparked the sudden rise of the Kenyan national team.
Under his tutelage, the country’s netball team moved from 38 to 17 on the World Netball Rankings within a space of three years.
Through his guidance, Kenya managed to upstage Zimbabwe for the first time in years, when beating them 63-57 in extra time in the recent Africa Cup to claim fifth place.
Chirenda’s Gems story began in 2012 in an all-too-familiar tale, alongside the late former Gems team manager, Ledwin Dondo.
The two took the team to Malawi and surprised many at the African Championships.
“I still remember my first assignment in Malawi after we had camped for less than a week,” he said.
“The late Pauline Jani’s performance is still fresh in my mind; she was practically unstoppable and I believe she actually made a name for me at that tournament.
“The team beat Botswana for the first time in years and from there we never looked back.”
Ironically, the former Chapungu (Manyame Falcons) gaffer is respected and consulted by several coaches around the continent.
He recalls how at times the team would camp for less than a week in difficult circumstances, but they would still go on to give an outstanding performance on the international stage.
“During those days, it was simply passion-driven: There was no money to speak of, with the players occasionally getting allowances which would maybe afford them to buy a pair of second-hand sneakers only,” said Chirenda.
“I was with the team for the first Diamond Challenge where we broke the Zambia jinx and during those times the players survived on the generosity of well-wishers.”
Mystery
Chirenda could as well be viewed as a netball mystery.
His journey, interestingly, did not even start on the netball court.
Growing up, Chirenda, who is 1.93 metres tall, was a basketball player who would later turn professional.
He would watch former Gems coach Lloyd Makunde and ex-Correctional Queens mentor Christopher Simeone coaching netball at Tafara Community Hall.
It inspired him to join the sport, but first he had to watch the duo more and silently take notes.
He taught himself the basics and studied extensively before getting into volunteering for a coaching job.
Despite being an amateur, he instantly bagged awards and Youth Games medals with Harare Province, a side that became his first coaching gig.
Without a formal coaching qualification, he went on to coach the Mabvuku High School Under-16 squad to their first-ever Tanganda national finals.
Realising he had a knack for coaching, in 2004, he acquired a ZINA netball coaching certificate.
The following year, he got his first formal professional netball coaching gig under Grain Marketing Board (GMB)’s Silo Queens.
His team, with mostly rookies, was unbeaten in Division One.
In 2006, he set a national record in the then-Netball Super League by finishing third.
“GMB dropped all professional sports and the players who were now all household names were taken up by other teams,” said Chirenda.
“Moving to Stanbic in 2007, I remember recruiting renowned defender Patience Chinhoyi, who was later snatched by Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service to play under the prison team.”
During his time at Stanbic, the Zimbabwe Republic Police engaged him to assemble the police outfit Mambas Queens.
In 2009, under his mentorship, Mambas Queens swept through Division One, after which he briefly moved to army side ZDF Queens and then joined Glow Petroleum Queens in 2010.
As the nation celebrated the Gems’ fine performance at their World Cup debut in Liverpool in 2019, finishing eighth in the global tournament, Chirenda smiled from a distance.
“When the Gems qualified for the global tournament, for me, it was a special moment,” he said.
“I had looked forward and dreamt of it for years and it did not matter that I was no longer part of the team.
“I was just content at seeing the impact of my work on the team. I watched all their World Cup matches and celebrated with no hard feelings at all.”
Since 2019, Chirenda has been in and out of the national team setup until earlier this year when he “resigned” from the Gems and took the head coach role in the Kenyan national team.
Chirenda got an offer to lead the Gems into the Qualifiers, but he opted to fly the Zimbabwean flag with Kenya instead.
At the start of the year, Chirenda had also joined Makate High Flyers and assembled a formidable side that has emerged as a dark horse in the Premier Netball League (PNL).
Chirenda has gradually become a tactician, who is known for launching surprise attacks. As if leading Kenya to their first win over Zimbabwe in years was not enough, Chirenda stopped ZDF’s fine run in the PNL and restricted Chapungu from an outright win that could have handed them championship easily.
Chirenda’s netball career has come full circle and perhaps it is time the netball community finally recognise him as the giant he is.
