Strong Gunners
By: Leena Ndakevondjo
Photographs: Contributed
Mighty Gunners are the winners of the MTC Netball Premier League that concluded over the past weekend at the Patrick Iyambo college in Windhoek.
Gunners played a total of 22 games this season and drop no ball winning all their games, concluding the season on a high note defeating the Namibia Correctional Service Netball club 46: 36 on the final day of the season.
Hilma Ndapewa Dawid, coach of Mighty Gunners said the season went according to plan, their aim was to win the title and are happy that they managed to reach their goal.
“We are looking forward to turning the negatives into positives and to ensure that we strengthen the team further for us to come back stronger next season”, she said.
Dawid says they have learned a lot, their biggest lesson being that it is not easy to win the title, it took them a lot of hard work, commitment, sacrifices, and perseverance.
“I think the main mistake we did last season was that we scored less goals unlike this season, and the other mistake was that we didn’t work on our fitness much, but we managed to rope in a fitness trainer this season which made a big difference,” she added
Gunners did not encounter any severe injuries during the season, however they lost one of their best player, Tiny Tjozongoro who went abroad midway through the season.
Gunners managed to be champions due to the team effort that was in place, “our main aim was to win the title so we worked hard and we were guided by the 5P’s, which are PROPER PREPARATION PREVENTS POOR PERFORMANCE” Dawid said.
Gunners’ defender Ray Amukwaya stood out as the best player this season, “she was absolutely exceptional in défense, always on top of her game and was very consistent” as stated by her team players.
After the final game of the season, Gunners player Tutzi tjihero, expressed that it was a fantastic feeling to win this year’s league after setting a goal of winning, which they achieved.
“We have been consistent throughout the past two seasons, our superpower is that we put in a lot of work during this season to get stronger”, she added.
Gunners currently don’t have new players but will surely get new players going into the new season as they are looking forward to strengthening the team.
Dawid concluded that they won’t really do much to retain the title, “We will continue working hard, strengthen the team and rectify all the shortcomings” she said
