Shutto’s netball connection

as I got older I learnt to love and appreciate it. “The game gave me a life,” he recollects. Gladys was goal defender at St Mary’s Queens, a team that was formed and coached by current senior national team manager Ledwin Dondo soon after Independence.

The now-defunct club is still the best-ever assembled team in the country’s netball history, and holds an astonishing 13-year-long unbeaten run (1985-1998). During those days, there was no league to talk of and clubs mostly played inter-townships, social and sponsored cups, with Lyons, Sunbeam and UBM being the major promoters. While she plied her trade on the court, Shutto began his football journey on the dusty streets of the suburb.

The 45-year-old Stewart played street football, much to the chagrin of his mother.

With time, the two found common ground, and on his first day of training at Darryn T, Gladys came to watch her son launch his professional career.

“She tried to talk me out of soccer but I would not stop. By then I was old enough to know that I loved football.

“Yes, netball had given me and my siblings an education and decent life at home, but I found love in football.

“I used to brag on the streets that I was the son of the famous netballer, and, whenever I could, I would go and watch her play,” said Stewart.

In 1993, the first netball league was formed, comprising six teams — Highlanders, Hwange, Mhangura, Black Rhinos, Zimbabwe Republic Police and St Mary’s.

Having made a name for herself, Gladys was selected to be part of the first national team for the 5th All-Africa Games hosted by Zimbabwe in 1995. By then, Shutto had also made a name for himself and was part of the Zimbabwe Under-23 squad that won silver in those All-Africa Games after finishing runners-up to Egypt in the final.

It was a rare achievement for a mother and son to wear national colours in different disciplines at the same tournament.

“It never occurred to me that I would ever play for the national soccer team, let alone do it at the same time as my mother.

“We both took part at the All-Africa Games, went to Namibia together with the national teams and I remember this other time when I was playing at Rufaro while she was at Stodart Netball Complex.”

Netball coach, Dondo, still has fond memories of the late Gladys.

“We had sponsorship challenges those days, but the players were so rich in passion, discipline and a high level of maturity,” Dondo said.

“In 1989, together with Vitalis Takawira, Simon Chuma and Alois Godzi, we graduated from the juniors into the senior team and went on to win the championship that same year,”said Mangwiro.

Four years after his breakthrough into the Harare giants, Mangwiro was caught up in the factional fights at DeMbare and left to join a defecting group which had formed a rival team known as Dynamos United.

“At the height of the Dynamos squabbles, I decided to move alongside Peter Fanwell, Biggie Zuze and join Dynamos United, a breakaway faction.

“After the two parties reached an amicable solution, I decided to stay put at Dynamos United,” he said. Despite making the hard decision of staying with the Division One side, Mangwiro says he was disappointed by his failure to reach dizzy heights with the Glamour Boys. “Leaving Dynamos is one of my biggest regrets, I did not get to blossom as much as I would have wanted at the club.

“It was not because I was a fringe player, but the club had a lot of quality and I feel it was the right decision for me to pursue my career elsewhere,”he said.