The Sunday Mail
Tinashe Kusema
Deputy Sports Editor
ENGLISH writer and philosopher Aldous Huxley once wrote: “the secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which means never losing your enthusiasm.”
No man in Zimbabwe basketball best characterises this trait or genius more than Roderick Takawira, and his love and passion for the sport.
It is the same drive that saw the seasoned gaffer and administrator walk away from a thriving football coaching career and begin his journey into basketball 23 years ago.
It was in 1997, when Cameo were born.
The club would later go on to become the launchpad for some of the country’s top and most promising modern-day players.
Among them are women players such as Abigail Gondo, Regina Chisale, Margaret Magwaro, Patience Chinhoyi, Tara Nyikavaranda, Gladys Phiri, Alex Maseko and Fadzai Mabasa.
Former Warriors international Nyasha Mushekwi is also a product of Cameo.
He, however, later on ventured into football.
But his colleagues, who include Farai Tumbare, Royce Takaendesa, Allen Tegunde, Everisto Pasipamire, Nixon Mawire, Tawanda and Taurai Chitsinde and Eric Banda, remained on the court, where they starred for both club and country.
“I will retire when I am dead,” boldly declared Takawira after his 61st birthday two Sundays ago.
But restrictions brought by measures to curb the Covid-19 pandemic were a damper on the birthday celebrations.
“Well, I didn’t do much on my birthday, after all it was on a Sunday, during lockdown, and I just spent the whole day at home watching the usual Netflix.
“It was low key. This Covid-19 environment has really messed everything up, as I see some of my players now have bellies bigger than mine.
“And given that the virus will probably be with us for some time, until someone finds a cure, it is going to get even more difficult.”
It was a bitter-sweet moment, as Takawira used the occasion to reflect on his journey and one of his greatest basketball creations on the domestic front — Cameo.
From being regular championship contenders, Cameo now find themselves staring at the prospect of relegation, as they were bottom on the log table — winless in 17 games — at the time that Covid-19 forced action to be suspended indefinitely.
“Basketball is a funny game . . . it gives back to those that put in the work, and I think ‘B’ League, should we get relegated, would be a good time to reflect and see how we can get ourselves organised again.
“We have done this before; we have gone back to the ‘B’ League and come back.”
Takawira views himself as the “best and worst thing to happen to Cameo’’.
“The name Cameo is actually borrowed from an organisation I used to be a member of, back in Bulawayo, and it was called club Cameo.
“It was a bunch of guys having fun, so I have sort of kept that Cameo thing, and to me it is just a symbol of having fun and enjoying yourself.
“The way the club started was a bit of an accident. I used to come and watch basketball games.
“The guys who used to run the club then quit to join other clubs, and this is when I came along.
“At the time — not many know this — I was quite the football coach, and the team I coached (Cimas FC) was in Division Two or Three.
“I then brought all my football experience to basketball.
“You could say I would go on to become the worst thing to happen to the club, as, much like in football, we could spend three weeks without touching the ball.
“We used to go to Kopje and run for days. Any team that beat us was better than us; we never lost because we ran out of steam,” he said.
Takawira began with a women’s team in 1997, which mostly comprised of some promising young girls.
“We started off with a girls’ team, where we went and poached almost the entire Harare Under-20 girls team, and to their credit, they held their own from the get-go.
“There were some good teams in Trackers and Varsity Leopards at the time, but the girls held their own and we actually won our first title in the second season. That then laid the foundation for the men’s team.”
Cameo would go on a tear in both categories, with the men’s three-peat teams of 2003-6 and 2012-16 now the stuff of legends.
At the heart of these team’s dominance was Takawira’s adherence to discipline and his unique football-centric style of coaching, something many of his former players have been more than happy to point out.
“As a Cameo player, one needed to have mental toughness, otherwise you wouldn’t last for a single training session,” said Gladys Phiri. “Every Tuesday and Thursday we would meet up at Kopje and run six rounds; the court training sessions were also tough.
“What I did notice, with time, was that coach Takawira was preparing us for specific games and tactics. I guess he also trained players with great character, who were probably ambitious and willing to go play and win trophies,” she said.
Another ex-player, Langton Moyo, who has evolved into a great coach, credits both Cameo and Takawira for rekindling his romance with the sport in 2000, after an injury prematurely ended his playing days.
“I joined Cameo in 2000 — having retired from Harare City after a career-ending and persistent ankle injury — at the invitation of coach Takawira.
“The passion for the game was rekindled and Roderick Takawira was way ahead of his time.
“He was a strict disciplinarian and meticulous planner, be it a trip, practice or a game. He was a firm believer in hard work, commitment and discipline, and I then became his understudy.
“I was first an assistant coach, then a head coach and we enjoyed plenty of notable success: close to a dozen league and national titles for both men and women, and a plethora of tournament wins and plenty other accolades.
“The Cameo women’s team is the only team in Zimbabwe to have beaten an Athletes In Action team (USA) with three NCAA Division 1 players, including one from Kentucky. The lessons and experiences I gained at Cameo were invaluable and were the cornerstone of my basketball career,” Moyo said.
