The Sunday Mail
Sports Reporter
AFTER spending a considerable amount of time as part of the backroom staff, new Zimbabwe netball coach Ropafadzo Mutsauki is not intimidated by taking over the Gems.
Instead, he has already shifted his focus to the 2023 World Cup scheduled for South Africa. The Gems are expected to qualify for the tournament.
Mutsauki, who also coaches Premier Netball League outfit Harare City, had for years been Lloyd Makunde’s assistant.
The duo led the Gems to their first World Netball Cup in Liverpool in 2019, where the debutants left a lasting impression by finishing a creditable eighth.
His immediate task is to lead the team to the World Cup Qualifiers in South Africa in August.
He will be assisted by “new kid” Tatenda Shinya, an umpire and former Ngezi Platinum Queens coach.
With the Zimbabwe Netball Association organising a series of friendly matches against South Africa, Uganda and Malawi, Mutsauki, who is on a rebuilding exercise, is now working to strengthen the Gems.
He has no illusion about the task that lies ahead.
“The duties I had as assistant coach are pretty much the same as I have as head coach, save for the fact that right now there is a lot more that I am answerable for,” he said.
“During my days as an assistant, I had a special relationship with my boss. He gave me the freedom to be me and valued my views, assessment and suggestions.”
Mutsauki currently has 19 players in camp.
However, there are a series of camps expected to run until March 31 to give more players an opportunity to showcase their talent. “For now, we are training well and the team is shaping well. However, like we said from the start, camping will be done in batches, so we are still on the selection process as we explore each player’s potential.
“When we have a team, we will then shift focus to formations and strategies.
“Because we have introduced fresh blood, our play may change because we have few things to add and subtract … Each coach obviously has their own strategies that they believe gives them results,” he said.
The Gems coach attributed Zimbabwe’s fifth-place finish at last year’s Championships in Namibia to lack of strength and conditioning.
“Covid-19 issues also affected fitness levels, which would be low when camp starts.
“But for some, it is clear that they have been training very hard.
“I know it will be tough, but they are improving and I hope soon they will be where we want because with international games, we have to be at our best.”
He believes scheduled friendly matches could assist in giving his young players both the right physical shape and international exposure they badly need.
Winning the friendlies, he added, was not his top priority as he tries to identify and work on the team’s weaknesses.
“There are a lot of youngsters and we are happy because from the look of things, we are in the right direction.
“Inasmuch as we are preparing for the qualifiers, we are also looking at setting up a team for the future, and we are happy the association has given us more time, especially because we have not been active for long due to Covid-19.
“From the old horses, we need the experience, so it is all about tactfully incorporating the young talent to gain the experience we need in future.”
Luckily for Mutsauki, three-quarters of the team are not new to the international scene as they are graduates from the national Under-20 team.
