Chronicle Editor
MANY have known Raerburn Ndebele as a football administrator at Highlanders and How Mine FC, but on his flip side he is a living legend in another sporting discipline.
A sure Hall of Famer in volleyball, Ndebele has seen it all as both a player and coach and now sits on the high flying Highlanders Volleyball Club advisory board. Perhaps the appointment is due recognition for a man who founded the club in 1989 with players who broke away from Sparrows Thabani and members of former Vikings Drama Club of Sobukhazi Secondary School in 1989. Ndebele was born in Gweru on 7 September 1968 in a family of six. He attended Hamsha Primary School in Mvuma before proceeding to Mambo High School in Gweru.
Ndebele developed an interest in football while at primary school playing as an attacking midfielder. He then joined Bata Power juniors and recalls playing alongside Jonah “Chivu Mdara” Murewa.
“I remember Onias Musana and Lucky Dube helping us out as juniors at Bata Power. I played as a midfielder, Jonah Murewa was a very good player,” said Ndebele.
Ndebele started playing volleyball at Mambo High School in 1984 and would during the holidays watch the sport at Tshaka Youth Centre in Bulawayo before finally joining the top side of that era Sparrows Thabani.
“I started playing volleyball at Mambo High School. We would play against schools like Thornhill, Chaplin and Ascot. During the holidays I would come to Bulawayo and play for Sparrows,” said Ndebele.
When he arrived at Sparrows, there were players like Themba Ndlovu, Sihlangu Dlodlo, Silas Nyabadza, Sairota Banda, Nicholas Mavunde while Sydney Dube and Clifford Makunike were just arriving and beginning to make a name for themselves. Dube and Makunike are the club’s most celebrated stars having played for the national team on more than a dozen times. Ndebele featured in the Sparrows Thabani side that played in the Matabeleland Volleyball Association B League in 1987-88.
At the beginning of 1989 a group of Sobukhazi boys formed Vikings Volleyball Club. A majority of the players Augustine Ngulube, Nzuwa Elvis Moyo, Justin Sibanda and Membe Phiri were members of a drama club by the same name.
When the club was accepted midway through the year at Highlanders Sports Association, they changed the name from Vikings to Highlanders Volleyball Club.
Ndebele left Sparrows with now Mutare businessman Francis Moyo and Ngulube. They were joined by Bonginkosi “Bobo” Ndebele from Gifford High School and Spartans’ coach Vulindlela Moyo from Hamilton High School. Moyo left the club to work in the Midlands in 1991 and that threw Ndebele into coaching. He persevered with his young and financially struggling outfit often losing in the first round of tournaments and finishing on the lower half of the log table. His patience with young players whose ages ranged from 16-24 would later pay dividends.
“It was not easy for us. We did not have a sponsor, we would at times train with one ball. With that ball at times a spike would be met by a bad receiver who sends the ball to the busy Luveve Road and we get a puncture after a car would have run over it. That would end our training session. But we laboured on because we were passionate about volleyball,” said Ndebele.
In 1992 Ndebele would send a warning to volleyball by reaching the semi-finals of the Mid-Season tournament at a time the honours were split between Sparrows Thabani and Unit Fairbridge. He eventually came of age in 1993 when with Vulindlela Moyo, Thembi Ngulube, Sikhumbuzo Gwala and Edson Sibanda came from behind to beat Sparrows Thabani in the Mid-Season tournament.
“We had stuck together for a while. We were boys hungry for recognition and respect. Going into the final we realised we had more energy than Sparrows and allowed them to tire first before taking the game to them with an all-round grasp of fundamentals of the game. We beat them 3-2 in one of the most entertaining finals I played. If that was a fluke win, then the 3-2 win in the national Anniversary Cup of that year in September proved to doubting Thomases that we were now in business.”
Ndebele won his first inter-provincial title as a player in a Matabeleland side that had Moyo, Clifford and Patrick Makunike, Sydney Dube, Nsikelelo “Malawi” Mlauzi, Herbert Mutisi, Patrick Ncube and Dumisani Vundla.
“Those were great volleyball players. They played for the love of the game at a time resources were scarce for clubs and provincial associations,” said Ndebele.
With his stock growing as a young coach, Ndebele was made assistant coach by the Zimbabwe Volleyball Association of the first Under-20 national team. He deputised Martin Dururu in 1994 when the country played host to the Zone Six Championships.
“That was the turning point of Zimbabwe volleyball. With players drawn from all over the country, the boys and girls went back to their respective schools, clubs and provinces and shared new attack formations they had learnt. We also discovered that we were lagging behind because we did not have adequate equipment. For instance, on balls we trained with one at our clubs yet other national teams the player to a ball ratio was over one,” said Ndebele, who now works as a mine administrator in Bubi District, Matabeleland North Province.
The 1994 Under-20 Zone Six Championships served as a trial run for the country which would play host to the 1995 All-Africa Games. The Under-20 national teams for boys and girls became the springboard for the Zimbabwe team as a majority of the players Soneni Mbambo, Zvondisi Magombo, Tsitsi Mazivisa, Dorothy Supiya, Ford Mutate, Peter Chitashu, Farai Masawi, Edson Sibanda, Fortune Ndlovu and Hatirarami Mutambikwa became the foundation of the senior national team.
“We got most of our players from the fine young crop we had in the Under-20s. We were able to add more experienced players like Patrick Ncube, Vulindlela Moyo, Ernest Mangava, Morgan Phiri, Patrick Ncube and Nsikelelo Mlauzi for the All-Africa Games,” said Ndebele.
Ndebele doubled as a coach and player into 2000. He played as a receiver and outside hitter. His favourite attack was the medium tempo outside ball on position four and was also dangerous when coming behind the setter for 10-2 and 10-3 attack formations.
Ndebele was also good in the tango attack where he would ghost from position two to four with Edson Sibanda having gone for the first tempo to take away blockers for him. On a good day Ndebele was a match winner. His real potential was never realised as he took to coaching at 23 years old and for the love of the game, often he opted out to allow youngsters to play. Ndebele says the All-Africa Games in 1995 were a learning curve for Zimbabwe. He said the country was not yet at a level to compete at that stage it hosted.
“We did not even have a uniform. Other countries had a warm-up kit, one for the game and casual wear after the matches. They had the right balls suitable for indoors,” said Ndebele.
After the All-Africa Games, Ndebele’s Highlanders lost Edson Sibanda to new high riding Bulawayo Raiders that was formed in 1995 by boys from Gifford High School who included Noel Munzabwa, a former correspondent of the Chronicle and Sunday News. Sibanda’s departure turned Ndebele to a centre blocker who was hitting the second tempo (3-2) attack. The next four seasons witnessed fierce competition between Bulawayo Raiders and Highlanders.
Ndebele with Qinisa Fuyana, Sikhumbuzo Gwala, Nkululeko Ncube, Thulani Maphosa, Mthabisi Ndlovu, Clive Masocha and Wellington Hwata became a very good side that took over the reigns after Raiders’ Gari Sibanda, Hudson Kaluwa, Michael Rusenza, Bart Phiri, Taurai Mlauzi and Msindo Ngwarati left for South Africa and Harare. He had a chance to train at Leizpig University in 1998.
“I trained in sports science and majored in volleyball coaching for six months,” said Ndebele. In 2009 Ndebele went to the United States of America to train as a football coach and was attached to Brookyliner FC, a Division One side. He says nowadays volleyball has improved and that there are more resources.
The introduction of the national league Ndebele says, is a very positive development for the game.
“It’s a good development. I was in Harare recently and I was impressed with the crowd attendances at volleyball matches. We used to have such crowds at Tshaka Youth Centre during our days,” said Ndebele.
In his time it was not surprising to get over 50 schools and clubs at tournaments. Ndebele has been How Mine FC chief executive officer and now works as a manager at Queens J Mine. He is married to volleyball legend Xoli Lubimbi.
Bongani Ndlovu