Zambezi Netball outreach changes lives

Nkosilathi Sibanda

WHEN Nomvelo Ncube completed her Ordinary Level examinations in 2020, she had no other plan in life other than to help her grandmother with household chores.

What else can a 17-year-old girl do? The best for her was to wash dishes, feed the chickens and cook. But, hidden in her, is a talent that any netball coach would spend their last dime to have in the team. Ncube was a star player in her schooling days. She was a dependable all-rounder.

She is not the only talented player in the Victoria Falls community. Ncube shares her passion for netball with many of her former school mates.

Now that they are school leavers, there is no more play. That is the situation in most areas in Matabeleland North. Young talented athletes and players waste away because there are no sporting activities after school is done.

That has spelt doom to the future of athletes and few of them ever think of turning professional. It’s impossible, they imagine.

But, the day when Ncube and some friends went to watch a netball tournament that was organised by the Zambezi Netball Association, she had a change of heart.

She wanted to be part of it and somehow get a team to play for.

The Zambezi Netball Association runs the Victoria Falls Community Netball League that has eight teams. These teams include Kasambabezi Queens, Bangelo, Golden Stars, Grace Mission Eagles, Discovery, Shooting Stars, Gwanzura, and Corinthians.

After watching these teams play in the neighbourhood, Ncube was eventually drafted to the Shooting Stars team, where she is now a captain.

The Zambezi Netball Association has mooted an initiative to help identify talented players in nearby villages.

Through an outreach programme, the netball league regularly visits villages to expose young girls to the sport of netball. They do this guided by the fact that sport can change lives for the better.

Zambezi Netball Association technical advisor, Lasten Tshuma told Zimpapers Sports Hub that in the outreach programme they want to work with schools and individuals in communities who love sport.

We note how some young girls are into netball but they do not know where to play since there are no teams in the villages. We opted to start an outreach programme where we also encourage teams in our league to also identify and give a chance to talented players from nearby rural areas. In doing so, we are promoting the sport and also capacitating the girl child, said Tshuma.

He said they remain committed to help young girls from poor backgrounds to believe in themselves.

Ncube speaks well of how the netball outreach initiative changed her life.

“I began playing netball five years ago. We used to train at a small field in Chinotimba suburb with a team of nine members. By then we had no sports equipment and there was no team structure. 

“But with the coming in of the Victoria Falls Community League, all that changed as we now have proper teams. We can now play, she said.

Ncube’s  wish was for more girls to take part in netball so that they shy away from destructive behaviour.