As newcomers who started playing netball only last year in a village with no sports infrastructure, no one expected much from them. Their first encounter was a horrible experience as they were beaten badly, but they have built on that and are now a powerful team that poses a threat to the Mayor’s Cup contenders. This year’s Mayor’s Cup differs from previous years in that the netball teams include a mixture of both adults and u/13 players.
This means that the u/13 players who played in the development tournament held earlier in preparation for the Mayor’s Cup have an opportunity to be selected with the adult players as part of developing them as players. According to the municipality’s rules, each netball team should include four youth players under 21 years and three adults.
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However, some teams have been found to flaunt these rules by fielding more adults and fewer young people. This is a huge disadvantage for the Happy Girls netball team since it is composed of teenagers, mostly under 13 years of age. “The oldest player is 15 years old, yet despite being young, they managed to beat a team that was mixed with adult players 37-0,” explained coach Alina Maswanganyi who started coaching the team last year in Dzingidzingi village.
When asked how she planned to win the tournament with young players alone, Maswanganyi said she did not commit her players to winning the tournament because she knew it would be impossible to compete against older players. However, she plans to reach the top 8 to bag some of the prizes. “I’m aware that our opponents are experienced adult players, and it will be very difficult to beat them. Therefore, our goal is not to win the tournament but to reach the top 8.”
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Despite their success, Maswanganyi said her team was facing challenges in securing proper netball kits since many of her players come from poor families that cannot afford them. She asked for individuals who are willing to help to come forward. “Some of these children come from impoverished households that cannot afford to feed them, let alone buy them sports equipment. With some of them, I had to intervene and buy them shoes and socks so they could blend in with the other players,” she said.
