Mash West to develop handball

From Collin Matiza in HAMBURG, Germany
ALFOS MHONDIWA, vice chairperson of the Mashonaland West Handball Association, has described the current tour of Hamburg by their Mashrhino Under-16 boys and girls team as an eye-opener which will help them to come up with a number of junior development programmes back home in Zimbabwe.

Seven boys and five girls from Mashonaland West Province in Zimbabwe are on a 16-day sporting and cultural exchange programme here at the invitation of the Hamburger Handball Association (Verband e.V).

The tour, which is being facilitated by the GeBe Foundation of Germany, has seen these Mashrhino Under-15 boys and girls team training as well as playing against several German junior handball teams dotted around Hamburg as part of their development programme.

And Mhondiwa, who is accompanying the Mashrhino team in this historic tour of Germany, said their stay in this European country has been like “manna from heaven” and has helped them to see where they are lagging behind in their junior development programme in Zimbabwe.

“First of all when we go back home to Zimbabwe, we would like to implement a number of things which we have seen and learnt here in Hamburg during the past week or so while our kids were training with these junior handball clubs from Hamburg.

“We would like to go and strengthen (the) existing handball clubs and establish new ones. There is also a need for continued training (programmes) with the kids throughout the year to solidify the training age.

“We would also like to come up or establish a league system in Mash West for the Under-12, 15 and 17 age-groups just like what they have here in Germany where players are identified, groomed and nurtured from a very young age of like say eight,” Mhondiwa said.

Norman Mkondiwa, who is also accompanying the Mashrhino team on this tour as their coach together with Poncio Mupondi, echoed the same sentiments, adding that there is also need to engage the corporate world in future for financial support of these junior league structures.

Mhondiwa and Mkondiwa also said the 12 Mashrhino players on this tour have benefited a lot during their training sessions with the German clubs for the past week.

“The kids have benefited on technical skill acquisition from the training sessions that they have had with four professional German clubs. We discovered that children are keen to learn and they learn much faster when they are training with their peers of higher level.

“They also benefited from competing in the Hanse Cup when we arrived here in Germany as they got the much-needed international exposure. They learnt new skills at this competition and accepted the role of roll substitution in handball.

“Our coaches also learnt modern coaching skills and (the) design of functional training programmes while our kids learnt about self-training regime from their peers,” Mhondiwa and Mkondiwa said.

The two Zimbabwean coaches are now scheduled to undergo a two-day advanced coaching course under the Hamburger Handball Association today and tomorrow while the Mashrhino players continue to train with several other junior clubs until their departure for Zimbabwe on Sunday.