BY MAGRETH RUZVIDZO
Rainbow Armature Netball League (RANL) clubs have resorted to individual training after activities were banned by government as it seeks to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
Some sport codes have been given special waivers to resume certain activities, but netball has not benefited from the reprieve.
As a way to try and keep their players fit ahead of the anticipated resumption of activities soon, clubs have given their players individual training programmes to follow at home.
Harare City coach Ropafadzo Mutsauki said they had not lost hope of being allowed to get back to group training and matches soon.
“For now, we have individual training programmes and so far, I can commend the commitment the players are showing and we hope that the games will be allowed to resume soon so that we can start training together again,” he said.
“We were training before the lockdown and everything was going according to plan. Of course, the girls were lacking fitness, but it’s something we were working hard to correct.”
Platinum Queens coach Simbarashe Mlambo stressed the importance of adhering to set programmes for players.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
“The girls have a mandate to submit videos of their workouts everyday, except for weekends. They do aerobics and hill runs on specific days. We communicate on our WhatsApp group, we encourage each other and post our videos,” he said.
“They also have a lot of games to watch as we give them specific players to look at. It’s a bit difficult considering data costs but so far so good.”
One of the players at the club, Sbekezelo Ncube, expressed disappointment over the delay in the start of the league, but said they had benefited a lot from the programmes they were going through.
“I’m very disappointed because we had started on a high note this season and we were expecting to start our games. But in order to maintain my fitness, I have been doing my workouts at home to keep fit. I do morning jogs, aerobics in the evening together with cardio exercises and this has helped me a lot,” Ncube said
Netball is fighting boardroom problems with the Zimbabwe Netball Association refusing to recognise the RANL as an independent league.
- Follow Magreth on Twitter @MagrethRuzvidzo
