Discipline key to surviving lengthy lockdown
REIGNING Southern Region Division One League coach of the year Try Ncube says extreme discipline is key to players surving the pyschological and physical challenges presented by the lengthy period of inactivity due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Coronavirus cases have been rising rapidly in the country since the beginning of this month and government has hinted at tightening lockdown regulations which could spell further delay to the resumption of football.
While other sports are slowly resuming training, football is among activities deemed high risk and even training is prohibited.
Ncube, who joined Victoria Fallsbased Mosi Rovers at the beginning of the year after coaching Bulawayo City FC to the Division One league title and promotion to the Premier Soccer League, says players really miss being on the football pitch.
“I always try to be in contact with the players which l feel is very important at this moment. What is clear is that they all miss football a lot. With this situation, it really is tough to keep the players motivated because the break has been quite long. Players should be disciplined during this time,” said Ncube.
“The players are hopeful for a return to football soon, considering that some countries have started training. We are still trying to follow the programmes that we have in place, but that also is not easy. We try to follow them weekly, but all hinges on the availability of data.”
Many had seen postponement of the start of local leagues as a chance to realign with the Fifa calendar, but Ncube believes it would be a difficult task achieve that goal.
“Considering the state of our pitches, especially in the Southern Region Division One, it will be very difficult. Unless we get a two to three-month break from January to March. I think we tried it before and had big challenges as far as pitches are concerned.
“We are likely to have more abandoned matches during the rainy season. Imagine a team coming from Plumtree to Victoria Falls,for instance, then find a waterlogged pitch. However, everything is in the hands of the motherbody and owners of the teams. They can fine tune their logistics and we find ourselves playing, which would be a big boost for us, as we really miss training and playing. For now we will remain indoors because that is the best thing to do,” Ncube said. — @ innocentskizoe.