Nyembesi keeps Gems happy
WHEN Zimbabwe senior netball team medic Nyembesi Kwava Mufandaedza was appointed in 2016, she had no idea what she was getting herself into.
The Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) rehabilitation technician, physio and occupational therapist was used to office work for much of her life.
She thought it would be a similar environment in netball.
The idea of spending weeks on end in camp or travelling across countries never crossed her mind.
Her first call-up was with the Young Gems when they travelled to Botswana.
“I was used to an office set-up whereby a patient came and I would write a card, recommend medication/therapy or use machines, so coming into camp at the time, it was not anything close to what I thought it would be.
“My first camp was three-weeks long, everything was new and life was just tough, but I had to adjust,” Mufandaedza said.
Her relationship with the players, she recalls, was uneasy.
She viewed them as patients and would make sure she kept her distance.
However, with time, she began to fit in and camp felt like home.
Resultantly, her relationship with the players also improved.
During that tournament, she had one of her worst experiences on the netball court.
“A player collapsed ... I had no equipment, so I panicked. I had no idea what I was going to do.
“I stood by the courtside shivering and had to be pushed onto the court to attend to the player.
“During that incident, I got lessons that then gave me confidence for the future and now I have no problem dealing with even the worst cases.”
Following the incident, Mufandaedza thought she would never get another call-up.
To her surprise, she got another call-up in 2018, and this time it was with the seniors after they had qualified for the World Cup.
During the three-month-long camp, in which they would regularly break, the Gems were rigorously preparing for the 2019 global netball showcase.
Life with the seniors was comparatively not tough.
“Some of the players I had met in the juniors’camp had now graduated into the seniors, which made life easier for me, and eventually it felt like I belonged there; it became a second home for me.
“After spending more time together, I ended up understanding each player’s medical history, and it made my job pleasurable.
“When we travelled to Liverpool, it was something huge for me and I had grown to love the team dearly.
“Now I feel like I belong to the Gems camp in such a way that when I go back to the office, it feels like I am visiting.”
She also recalls how it was tough to balance her duties and personal life in the beginning.
Mufandaedza is confident Zimbabwe will qualify for yet another dance with global netball powerhouses.
The Gems are in Pretoria, South Africa, for the qualifiers, which will run from August 20 to August 27.
Zimbabwe will have to grab one of the two available spots for the 2023 World Cup in Cape Town.
“I am optimistic of another qualification … the 2019 World Cup camp was tough as we had to make do with what we had; medically, we had no equipment.
“Now things have changed, we have some of the key equipment that we need for the team, so if a player has a problem, the treating procedure is easier, so we have nothing stopping us.”
Zimbabwe have been placed in Pool A alongside hosts South Africa, Namibia, Tanzania and Botswana.
Uganda, Malawi, Zambia, Eswatini and Kenya make up Pool B.
Head coach Ropafadzo Mutsauki is confident of making it past the group stages.
Despite having to face his former workmate Lloyd Makunde, who is now with rivals Namibia, he is unfazed.
“We will stick to our plan. We have been preparing for the qualifiers for some time and we are ready for showtime,” he said.
“We are in a fair pool and if we stick to our game, we will make it.
“In Malawi, we identified our strengths and weaknesses.
“We have areas that we need to watch out for, but generally we are all braced up.
“Combinations are building up, our midcourt has improved and we are strong as a team.
“Defensively, however, we should be wary of South Africa; they have always dominated the continent, but with fresh blood in our squad, it will be difficult for them to predict our play,” Mutsauki said.