God was with us: Gems coach

Curtworth Masango

THE song of victory is beautiful.

That was the case with the Zimbabwe senior national netball team.

Their return from South Africa, where they secured qualification for the 2023 Netball World Cup, was characterised by song and dance.

But the road to qualification wasn’t that simple.

It was a journey of resilience, commitment, hard work and dedication.

Ropafadzo Mutsauki was appointed head coach and replaced World Cup gaffer, Lloyd Makunde.

He made them run up and down the Kopje in Harare and put them through a mini-boot camp.

“Our preparations were very challenging and tough,” said Mutsauki.

“Our girls were not physically fit. 

“We had to work on that and we took them to the Kopje where they did hill runs and other physical exercises.

“When we started practicing, using the ball, it was now easier because everyone was physically fit. 

“It was now a matter of mental fitness and the team’s tactics,” he said.

In South Africa, Mutsauki said they worked on the psychological aspect, for their opening game, against Namibia.

Makunde is now one of Namibia’s assistant coaches and had knowledge of most of the Zimbabwean players.

“We had to prove that it is not all about one person, but the entire technical team.

“The South Africa game was more of a training match. 

“It was a good match and a learning curve for us.

“Against Malawi, we advised the girls to take a precautionary step to save some energy, try to win and, if we fail, then unleash our energy against Zambia. 

“The goal was to qualify and it worked out very well,” he said.

He said the game against Zambia was very difficult.

“We couldn’t sleep that night. One of our coaches, Madzibaba, wore his garment and prayed at midnight.

“We switched off our phones because messages were flooding, and we wanted to focus on the game.

“In the morning, when the team manager told us breakfast was ready, we all said we would go later.

“But, no one did, as we realised everyone was fasting. 

“We were happy that we put God first and our prayers were answered,” said Mutsauki.