Andrew
Veronica Gwaze
AT a time when he should be taking advantage of a United States Volleyball scholarship opportunity to focus on improving his family, Tinaishe Ndavadzocheva has a different vision altogether.
It’s just been a few months in the US, but the former Churchill High School star – who wishes to become a Sports Minister one day – is already investing towards his dream.
Ndavadzocheva signed a Florida University of Webber scholarship for the 2020-2021 academic year, to study Sport Business Management, and also play indoor and Beach Volleyball.
However, he could not travel in January 2020 as had been scheduled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Olympic hopeful finally travelled in August of the same year, and made an impressive beach volleyball debut later that month, bagging a silver medal.
“I am already eyeing the future, seeing myself as a (Sports) Minister one day, so preparations start now,” he said.
“My first task will be to push for well-funded command sports and arts in all communities, this will minimise a lot of the social problems like drug abuse that youths are experiencing.”
Together with other stakeholders, ‘Ndava’, as he is affectionately known, is constructing a beach volleyball court in Bindura.
Part of his vision is to spread the sport to all marginalised areas in the country, and give talented players an equal opportunity.
Plans are also afoot to engage the Harare City Council, with a view of converting Hillside Park into a Community Volleyball Center.
“I am inspired by Minister Kirsty Coventry, looking at how far she has gone because of sport, and I believe parents should start supporting their children in both sport and academics,” he said.
Ndava is currently enjoying a purple patch in his career.
Apart from settling in well, he already has several medals under his belt.
“It was amazing getting into a new environment, seeing new things, learning new cultures and also trying to figure out if what I saw in movies was true,” he said.
“I got here to a warm welcome, which helped me to quickly adjust and feel at home, on court there were different formations and signals but it was easy to catch up.
“I have played a number of beach volleyball tournaments, won medals and now indoor volleyball training has started in earnest.”
Some of his major takeaways from his US experience is that in that country, sport is taken seriously and the requisite structures are in place.
He is also aiming to play professional volleyball with the world’s biggest clubs, and to put Zimbabwe volleyball on the international map.
His former coach, Aaron Mutede, commended Ndava for setting a good example in the minority sport.
“We must use his example as a benchmark for future planning. The young boy from Masvingo to the glitter of Florida on two tickets, sport and academics speaks volumes about determination and hard work,” said Mutede.
“We are working on finding other talented players to study for scholarships for them to get a quality platform to hone their skills. In return, we hope to come up with four beach volleyball teams (two males, two females) in the future.
“We have opened a pipeline, soon three other boys will be joining Ndava and some girls coming on-board next year as we eye the next Olympics,” he said.
Online Reporter