The Sunday Mail
Veronica Gwaze
WE all have that one athlete who bowls us over.
However, have you ever imaged how their parents, particularly their mothers, feel each time they take to the field?
It really must be an emotional roller-coaster, especially when it comes to parents of sportpersons such as Warriors and Le Havre forward Tinotenda “Tino” Kadewere and retired Springboks and World Cup-winning prop Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira, who are on top of their game.
Tino’s eager mum
The footballer’s 53-year-old mother feels like she is part of the players on the field of play each time her son has a game.
Every single French Ligue 2 match involving Tino literally keeps Ms Mavis Kadewere on the edge.
The matches are not screened live and the Kadewere family depends on mobile sports news updates for scorelines and results.
“Observing your son rise to become a star makes every mother proud. I am never settled each time he has a game. I stay up late, getting updates of the match from my other sons. I will also be praying that the team wins,” revealed Ms Mavis at her Southlea Park home.
Highfield-based Pardon, one of Tino’s three brothers, says their mom “only calms down after the final whistle or when Tino scores”.
“She calls after every 10 minutes for updates when Tino is playing. Mum will be restless throughout the game.”
Kadewere was obsessed with football from a young age.
“During his primary school days, he would jokingly ask me to stop paying school fees for him since his only desire was to become a footballer but that always got me worried,” revealed Tino’s mother.
In 2015, her husband, Mr Onias Kadewere, passed on.
It was the same year that an opportunity for Tino to play in Europe also presented itself.
“I had just lost a husband and letting him go appeared more like I was losing a son also. His father’s death wish was for him to become the family breadwinner and I was thinking how he would manage that in the Diaspora?” she recounts.
“His brothers convinced me to let him travel to Europe. The distance is not separating us though. I am always with him in spirit and prayer. We bond well.”
The concerned mother is also still keeping her son on the straight and narrow.
“He is and has always been disciplined. I am happy he still takes advice from me. My duty as his mother remains that of guiding him. I always give him investment tips. I do not want his life to go upside down after he hangs up his boots. He does a lot for me but I want him to prioritise his investments,” she said.
Beast’s prayer warrior
The retired Springboks prop Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira’s mother, Ms Bertha Mtawarira, was never a rugby fan.
However, she has since grown to become an avid follower not only of her son, but of the sport.
Her most anxious moment was the night Beast inspired South Africa to a World Cup title in November last year.
She said she prayed and fasted for days prior to the match.
“I was in here (lounge) and had spoken to him earlier that day. He told me he was both nervous and excited. I encouraged him, watched the entire game. It was like I was helping him with the scrums, I would kneel and pray and at times shed tears,” she gushed.
“This was important to him as his last game and I wanted the tournament to be something we would celebrate for life.”
Rewind to the early days of his rugby career. Beast was initially a football player before his big body led him to rugby.
Her mother was, however, was not happy with the switch.
“I did not love rugby partly because he always came home with torn clothes and hurt, but one day he said, ‘Mama, this is what I love and with time you will love it too’,” narrated Bertha.
Beast’s mother warmed up to the sport in 2002 after her son enrolled at Peterhouse for his Advanced Levels on a rugby scholarship.
“In 2008, he got a Sharks Academy scholarship in South Africa. I had to make a tough decision, for I felt he was too young to be separated from me,” she said.
“He grew up in the church, so my advice was for him to put God first in everything, which is what has kept him going. I pray for him all the time and keenly follow every development in his life. I wish him all the best on his move to the United States of America.”
Ms Mtawarira chose a wife, Kuziva Makore, for his son and the couple is blessed with two children.
