Height factor hinders Uganda's netball stars

LET'S TALK NETBALL

Uganda has a good share of dexterous and talented netball players, but that has not been good enough in enabling the country to increase the number of individuals going professional.

Peace Proscovia (Sunshine Lightning Coast in Australia) and England-based Mary Nuba (Loughborough Lightning) are currently the only professional players Uganda has conjured up since 2015 when the former joined Vitality Netball Super League outfit Loughbrough Lightning.

One would assume that since Uganda has been to quite a number of high-level tournaments like the World Cup, the Commonwealth Games, Africa Netball Cup and the FISU World University Games, they deserve more than just two professionals.

Scouts normally comb such tournaments for the raw talent, but as we have learnt, talent alone is not enough.

Peace Proscovia was the first Ugandan player to turn pro

Proscovia represented Uganda in the FISU Netball World University Games (2014) in Miami, where she first caught the eyes of the scouts. Nuba's chance came in 2018 in Kampala at the same tournament. Both have since gone professional, but their talented teammates with shorter stature have not progressed.

Clearly, the one advantage Proscovia and Nuba have in common is their height.

Nuba stands at 6 feet 7 inches while Proscovia is only three inches shorter. That over-the-top height is what the scouts are looking for and such players are very few in Uganda.

Just by looking at the She Cranes team from the 2015 World Cup in Sydney, they all played out of their skin although they just lacked that ingredient that could have sent them into the professional ranks.

"We would be having at least five to seven professionals, but the teams that take professional players look at the talent and height. Racheal Nanyonga, Ruth Meeme and Lillian Ajio were not going to come back but because of their height the teams in Australia could not take the risk," says Uganda Netball Federation (UNF) publicity secretary Wilberforce Mutete.

For Uganda, the talent and passion are very much there. The height advantage, not quite

In particular, Nanyonga, who paired Peace Proscovia as a goal attack, had showcased her shooting ability, even beating her partner in terms of shooting average, as she shot 93%.

Her diminutive 5-feet-6-inch frame worked against her, which denied her a chance to elevate to the next level. This is one major reason why the netball federation is fighting to ensure they also groom the right players.

"When you look at our squad now, you will know that we have tried to respond," says Mutete.

"Even if they do not know the game well, they can improve with practice. When we got Peace, she was still a raw talent. So a lot of work was done to see her get to the level which she is in now."

There has been an effort put in by the federation to look for the much taller girls and it was seen with the national team that represented Uganda at the Africa Netball Cup in South Africa last year.

"We are trying to recruit tall girls - it is the legacy we are working on. This is why we have tried to bring in more new talent to the She Cranes set up," adds Mutete.

Without a doubt, this effort cannot be left to only the federation. It it is a task clubs and schools should also take up if they are to improve not only the national team, but also the level of Ugandan netball in general.