Online Reporter
Veronica Gwaze
Zimpapers Sports Hub
IN a tiny corner of Zimbabwe’s remote southeastern region, where sugarcane fields stretch for miles and life moves at a slower pace, a quiet revolution is taking place on a netball court.
And at the heart of it all is a woman who does not speak loudly, but whose work screams success.
Sibonginkosi Dube is not the type to chase headlines. She is not often photographed, and she rarely gives interviews.
But what she has built, brick by brick, player by player, has turned Chisumbanje into a cradle of Zimbabwean netball excellence. She is called the architect, and rightly so.
“I feel proud, realising that I have produced a number of players who are of national team calibre,” she says with calm conviction.
Indeed, of the 12 players who recently represented Zimbabwe at the Telkom Netball League in South Africa, seven came through Dube’s hands. That includes top-tier talents like Thandazile Ndlovu, Faith Mutero, Upenyu Muyambo, Nikki Mandeya, Thandekile Mahlangu, Androlla Munkuli and Nicole Muzanenhamo, all under the age of 25.
Mutero and Muyambo have been named Player of the Year. Muzanenhamo has claimed the honour twice, most recently with the 2023 People’s Choice Player of the Year accolade. Yet Dube keeps her celebrations low-key. While others toast, she is likely sketching a new drill or planning her next scouting trip.
“When I took the coaching role at GreenFuel, I promised the management that I would build a crowd-pulling team that would market the brand,” she says.
“The focus I had said would be predominantly youth, building players for the national team quietly in Chisumbanje, and I’m glad it has come to fruition.”
Dube’s coaching philosophy is simple: do not chase the flash; build with the firm.
She scouts quietly, methodically, often supported by her husband, travelling from province to province to watch unknown talents. But she does not sign players based solely on talent. She watches them over time, observing the qualities that do not show up in stats.
“I invest in potential, so when I identify a player, I take time to silently monitor them before signing,” she says.
“I sign players who show commitment, effort and discipline. I prefer effort and discipline over talent.”
It is this meticulous, almost scientific approach that sets her apart. Dube does not run a team; she runs a system. And it works. But she is more than a coach. At 40, Dube is a certified electrical technician and business owner.
Her fascination with both netball and engineering began at Mpindo Primary School in Tsholotsho, where she split her time between the netball court and visits to a local electrical company to observe technicians at work.
“I already had a picture of what I wanted my future to be like,” she recalls.
For nearly two decades, Dube straddled two demanding careers, coaching netball and working as an electrical technician for a beverages company.
Her engineering discipline often mirrored her approach to sport: structure, precision and problem-solving. But recently, her health forced a reckoning.
After a medical scare, doctors advised her to scale back. That meant stepping down from her 12-year corporate job and channelling her energy into her electrical enterprise and netball coaching.
“I now freelance as an electrical consultant and own an electrical enterprise, where I command a dedicated team of electricians,” she explains.
“I had to follow the doctors’ orders and ease myself of some workload, which is why I left my formal job. So, now I just go on sites for commissioning or project setup. I am grateful for the GreenFuel management who understand my situation and are supportive.”
Dube’s day begins at 5am with prayer, meditation and a 30-minute workout. By 7am, she is reviewing training notes and preparing drills.
Team training starts at 9am and includes both technical work and game simulations.
The week follows a strict regimen: Mondays are for running the club, Tuesdays are devoted to focusing on strength and conditioning, Wednesdays are for active recovery and team-building. Thursdays are for sharpening footwork and agility, while Fridays bring her signature “Netball Addict” sessions. Saturdays are for recovery, and Sundays, finally, for rest.
Even with a recent shift from the Premier Netball League to the Rainbow Netball League, Dube’s GreenFuel side remains a serious contender. They finished runners-up in 2022 and 2023, not bad for a side in the middle of a rebuild.
And that is what makes Dube’s story so uniquely compelling: she is always building. From the quiet corners of dusty courts to the bright lights of national competition, her vision remains steady.
Her success does not scream. It does not even knock.
It walks in, fully formed, like the players she grooms, prepared, polished and primed to win.
Online Reporter