Shinya turns naysayers into believers

Veronica Gwaze

WHEN Tatenda Shinya was co-opted into the Zimbabwe Gems’ technical team earlier this year, it goes without saying that a few eyebrows were raised.

For many, the 32-year-old hardly had the experience required for such a job, while others doubted his commitment to the cause.

After all, this is a man who divides his time between coaching and umpiring, and has been known to hop from one job to another with abandon.

“The call-up came when I least expected,” said Shinya in an interview with The Sunday Mail Sport.

“I did not think that at my age I could be entrusted with national duty.

“I also knew what people thought about me, but I told myself that this was my opportunity to show them the real me and not the one they thought they knew.

“Leadership comes with responsibility.”

Shinya did more than just deliver, he managed to turn all the naysayers into believers.

He got his call-up earlier this year ahead of the Confederation of Southern African Netball Associations (COSANA) Games in Malawi in June.

He came in as assistant to Ropafadzo Mutsauki, who had just been elevated from the same post, replacing Lloyd Makunde.

What makes Shinya’s story even more remarkable is the fact that it only took him two assignments, rather than a couple of years, to turn the tide on naysayers.

At first, said the young gaffer, he thought that leading this particular team would be a herculean task, especially when considering the fact that a section of the current squad is either his age or older.

However, the camp environment changed all that.

“I don’t know how it happened, but the situation was just different,” added Shinya.

“They afforded me the same respect they gave the other coaches, and I was quick to understand my position and role on the team as well.”

Shinya’s coaching career started at Glen View High 1, where he would coach the school team.

After school, he would also coach the now-defunct Jazeera Netball Club of Dzivarasekwa, a team he helped gain promotion into the top-flight league at the time.

However, he felt he was still too young to coach in the top-flight, and so he left.

He joined Support Unit and helped them settle for silver in the Division One League.

Gradually gaining confidence on court, he then moved to Air force side Falcon Queens in 2013.

“I enjoyed my time there; they respected me and made me feel like I had achieved a lot in life,” he recalls.

With the wait for a permanent job seemingly taking longer than he expected, he decided to move on to Glow Petroleum Queens in Kwekwe the following year.

It was during this time that Shinya earned himself a reputation as the nomadic gaffer, as he had stints with Conmara Queens, Nehanda, Beta and Ngezi Platinum Queens, all in the space of four years.

“Glow felt like home, and I got to learn a lot about the Super League, which gave me more confidence to explore,” he said.

“Conmara had nothing to offer financially and life was tough there, but I did everything out of passion for the game,” reminisced Shinya.

Along the way, he also branched into umpiring.

“My heart was now into umpiring, so when I left Ngezi, I took it seriously.

“I acquired an Africa C certificate soon after.”

Shinya is now one of the most trusted umpires, and handles high-profile league fixtures on a regular basis.

“I had found my foot in umpiring when I got a life-changing call from Zimbabwe Netball Association,” he recalls.

“I made my debut in Malawi; it was a new experience and I learnt a lot.

“Then the 2023 World Cup Qualifiers meant everything to me. We needed to qualify for the global showcase and justify ourselves.

“It meant playing our cards right. I was scared but we did it.”

To make a powerful statement on the regional stage, Shinya did all the Gems post-match interviews.

“It made me realise that my head coach has faith in me.”