The Sunday Mail
Online Reporter
FOR Munashe Moyo, the road to earning his spot in the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) Wolves management has been long and winding.
For close to a decade, the 30-year-old has gone from admiring the volleyball team from afar, lending his wisdom free of charge to finally getting the call.
It is for this reason that it came as no surprise when he grabbed the UZ Wolves men’s team manager post from Norest Matambanadzo early last year.
However, his debut had to be delayed as international sport was put on ice owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
And now, his moment of reckoning has come.
His first task will be taking the UZ Wolves to the African Volleyball Club Championships in Egypt between March 31 and April 7.
“When Matambanadzo resigned, he came and said he thought I would be the best fit for this post,” said Moyo.
“His exact words were that ‘we have been friends for a long time, I have seen the love and passion that you have for UZ’ and that was all I needed to hear,” said Moyo of his conversation with his predecessor.
Moyo – a former badminton and table tennis player – started his volleyball journey during his days at Mazowe High School.
He did possess the required skillset to stand out, and, sadly, did not make the cut.
In 2007, he moved to Chaplin High School, where he then rose and made it into the school and national youth teams.
However, the following year he transferred to Eaglesvale, where he was forced to shelve his fledgling passion because there was no volleyball for men at the school then.
“I had grown to love volleyball and having to abandon playing was tough.
“I had to do it anyway, as you know with our parents, it’s education first.”
He rediscovered his passion for the sport when he went to college at Harare Polytechnic in 2014.
Although no volleyball was being played at the institution, Moyo and a friend Dumisani Chipangura resurrected the sport.
The two would fork out money from their own pocket and pay part-time coaches just to build the team.
In 2015 the team participated at the Tertiary Sports Association of Zimbabwe (TSAZ) games, finishing fourth.
“It’s funny how we just sat down and decided we wanted to turn the team into a powerhouse,” he said.
“By 2016, the team had improved and started gaining traction as more talent came on board. In 2017, we came second at the TSAZ games and that gave us the zeal to push further. We did not mind paying the coaches from our own pockets, because it was all about passion.”
As all this happened, he often found himself in the UZ camp where he made friends with both the technical team and the players.
In 2019, the Polytechnic team scooped gold at the TSAZ games, before settling for silver in the ZITISU games against champions UZ Wolves.
Despite losing, Moyo reckons it was a huge step for them.
More importantly, it also cemented his love and respect for the university side.
“There is a lot that I would do with and for the team (UZ), and often would ask the coaches to keep it a secret.
“All I wanted was to see the team excel, so I was willing to do anything for them.”
Moyo would watch UZ play, and eventually his opinion and advice was not only welcome but sought-after.
While he acknowledges that managing such a big team is an uphill task, the youthful manager is confident he will deliver.
“When Matambanadzo came with the offer, I was surprised,” said Moyo.
“Without any hesitation, I just said yes. It is not an easy task, especially coming in at such a critical time when we have one of the biggest volleyball tournaments in the continent a few weeks from now. We are working hard to put everything in order.”
