The Sunday Mail
Veronica Gwaze
IT has been roughly a year, give or take a week or two, since Zimbabwe made the dream journey to the United Kingdom for the Vitality Netball World Cup in Liverpool, England.
A year since the Zimbabwe Gems warmed the hearts of the global netball world with their spellbinding performances, and a year for coach Lloyd Makunde to speak about that history-making experience last July.
Now, Makunde feels at ease to speak about that trip, which ended with the Gems making it into the world’s top eight.
The 44-year-old reckons the journey was not an easy one; as financial constraints and other logistical challenges made for tough preparations.
“After qualifying in Zambia in August 2018, we had to come back home and promptly resume preparations for the big tournament,” said the coach.
“The qualification alone came with a lot of pressure because it is those moments when you scrutinise your ability and ask yourself if you are going to be able to deliver.
“As the coach, I had to start planning, setting targets, programmes and stuff, but unfortunately we could not have the preparations that I wanted and wished for as a coach,” he said.
The Gems had to make do with limited resources, all the while, financial challenges rocked the camp and even threatened to taint their maiden trip to the global showcase.
Apart from camping at Mbare’s St Peters, where there are no proper boarding facilities, and the dilapidated Stodart Netball Complex for training; the team had to wait until December’s Diamond Challenge to regroup.
There, the Gems finished as bronze medallists, in what was Makunde’s first build-up exercise in preparation for the World Cup.
“When we went for the Diamond Challenge in South Africa, we virtually took a weakened team, but that was intentional and the goal was to give the younger players a feel of international netball,” said the gaffer.
“We needed to give them the exposure, before the World Cup, and have a wider pool to select from.
“Despite the criticism, I was content, I felt my plan as a coach had worked perfectly well.
“Other coaches and Gems’ fans expressed displeasure in my choice of players but for me it was not about local honours, my focus was already on the World Cup.”
As the World Cup approached, everything started to heat up.
In March, the team went for a series of friendly matches in Uganda before heading to South Africa for the final leg of preparations.
Makunde feels the games provided the much-needed yardstick to measure his charges’ strengths and weaknesses, before the global tournament.
Soon it was time to depart for Liverpool, where they had a couple of friendly games and training sessions before the tournament kicked off.
The gaffer recalls these as some of the scariest moments of his career, as then captain, Perpetua Siyachitema, suffered a slight knock on her shoulder.
The former skipper was the most experienced player in the squad and would provide the much-needed mid-court balance.
Much to his relief, her knock did not last long, as the Wing Attacker captained her charges to an impressive 30-score margin victory in their first game against Sri-Lanka, to boost the team’s confidence.
That set the pace for the entire tournament. However, the coach’s highlights of the tournament were yet to come.
The Gems roller coaster match against Northern Ireland saw them come out as two-score victors.
“At some point, I felt the umpires were the eighth player for Northern Ireland, but the Gems remained resilient to win by 2 goals.
“The team put up a fight that even surprised me.
“Another peak moment was when we played the then defending champions, Australia. To play against them has always been my dream.
“They took us as underdogs, gave us a second string team, but come second quarter they had to bring in their best players. We gave them a torrid time, and that marked a job well done for me.
“The World Cup for me was complete, I had done my part,” said the coach.
