AndrewVeronica Gwaze
It has been quite a radical change in fortune for the country’s senior netball team — the Gems —in the last few months.
Roughly this time last year, the Gems were months away from making their debut appearance at the Vitality Netball World Cup in the UK, but they now find themselves not only starved of action, but behind closed doors as they observe the 21-day lockdown, which ends on Sunday.
Still, the country’s netball fraternity has not taken the coronavirus — and the attendant measures taken to curb its spread — lying down.
Most of the Gems have taken to home training in a bid to stay in shape and stay sane.
Felistas Kwangwa, Correctional Queens Goal Defender and senior national team captain, is currently in Zvishavane where she is on attachment and on loan, having joined Platinum Queens for the season.
The veteran goal defender is no stranger to this predicament after she spent the better part of a decade alone and away from her family.
However, she now regards Zvishavane as a second home.
“I have not stopped working, but I am confined here in Zvishavane,” said the Gems’ skipper.
“I have been working on my speed and using my cones for drills.
“I am also doing my level best to watch my diet and ensure I do not gain too much weight,” she said.
The circumstances are quite different for Falcon Queens utility player Alice Murindagomo.
As a mother of two, Murindagomo is enjoying the quality time the break has afforded her with her husband and kids.
“We are staying safe in confinement due to Covid-19, and while it may hurt to be away from the court, it has afforded me some much-needed quality time with my family.
“My daily routine right now revolves around some light training in the morning, house chores, cooking and taking care of my family.
“Every precious moment I have with my family right now I will treasure for the rest of my life,” said Murindagomo.
The Falcon Queen player bagged the “Player of the Match” award during her last match, and she feels she needs to work hard, at home, to maintain that form.
Glow Petroleum and Gems goal attacker, Ursula Ndlovu, is in the same boat as Murindagomo, as the lockdown has given her time to spend with her daughter, Michelle.
The former Harare City Queens attacker is either on club or national duty and rarely gets time to visit her home in Bulawayo.
With the league suspended, the Glow Petroleum fuel attendant has been busy trying to make up for lost time.
“I just lost my grandmother, who used to stay with my daughter, and had to take over the role,” said Ndlovu.
“With this break, I am finally getting the time to grieve and console my daughter over the loss of my grandmother, and try make up for lost time and bond more with her,” she said.
Ndlovu recently joined Glow Petroleum Queens and is yet to make an impression in RANL.
The Gem says she is putting in the work at home to try and ensure that she impresses as a new face at RANL.
Harare City Netball Queens skipper, Nomatter Changata, wakes up early in the morning to jog, before dedicating at least two hours to drills and stretches.
This is how she has been trying to stay fit in anticipation of the resumption of the netball season.
The municipal side is the only big team that remained under Zimbabwe Netball Association-sponsored league after the rest jumped ship to RANL.
“Our league was yet to start when this Covid-19 outbreak came along, forcing our preparations to be put on hold.
“While at home. I dedicate two hours of training daily so as to stay sharp and jog every single day,” she said.
Online Reporter