The unstoppable goal shooter

RYDER GABATHUSE
Staff Writer | Friday December 3, 2010 00:00

 

Goal Shooters (GS) are allowed to be in the attacking third and the goal circle and nowhere else on the court.

The Botswana Netball Association (BONA) Spar netball league final match  between the Francistown-based TASC netball team and the Gaborone side Notwane aptly demonstrated the power of goal shooters. TASC won 59-34 through the goal-shooting prowess of Violet Moabi.

It was apparent on both sides of the netball court that the GS must have sharp shooting skills for a team to tick and amass the requisite goals. A good GS must have the ability to react quickly, dealing with passes and rebounds, which 30-year-old Moabi, consistently performed with aplomb over the weekend.

In the goal circle and attacking third, she pushed and shoved her opponents and disrupted their play while also scoring goals. Team-mates at TASC say that like wine, Moabi has of late been steadily showing signs of maturity in her play. Last Saturday, the towering Moabi had the steadiest pair of hands on the court and she literally enjoyed aerial advantage, which allowed her to score almost all the balls that came her way, to the chagrin of her opponents. She was a marvel to watch as she starred throughout the four quarters of the final and the entire tournament. It came as no surprise that her brilliant performance on the day won her the best goal shooter award.

But who is this Moabi?

She is a primary school teacher in Natale, a village located a few kilometres west of Francistown. She graduated with a diploma in primary education from the Francistown College of Education (FCE). She hails from a small village of  Mandunyane, south of Francistown.

She discovered her talent in netball while  in   Standard Five in Mandunyane in the 1990s. 'I was just playing the sport for the fun of it because we did not even have coaches then. But, I loved the sport so much,' explains the energetic Moabi. When she went Shashe River Secondary School in 1997, she got more involved in netball because she had a coach.

'It was around this time that I happened to be picked for trials at the TASC netball team where I made the grade and in this journey, I have been learning a lot of new tricks as I played with mature players,' she explains.

From primary school to date, Moabi's steady hands and agility have helped her to become a regular pick at her team and at national level. 'It is my height that has influenced my coaches to consistently select me for the position of GS because tall as I am, I always find myself in a suitable position to do the work for the team and of course score goals.'

To solidify her ambition of becoming an all-round player, Moabi has been playing as a goalkeeper. She says her outstanding performance is due to the mentoring she got from her former coach, Norman Web. 'He is the one who helped me fully identify the talent that I have. Netball is my favourite sport and it shall remain my number one no matter what.'

She spends most of her time at the netball courts. Moabi is a netball coach at her school in Natale. 'My school is doing very well. In the Tonota West area, we are the reigning champions.'

She has a dream of seeing netball getting the sponsorship that it deserves at both regional and national levels.She has been a national team player since 2004. Before joining the national team, she used to be nervy but she has settled in well. 'At the moment, I am the national team GS, thanks to all my coaches and support from team-mates.' She says a player has to have passion for sport and persevere in all the tasks given by the coaches and management to succeed. Moabi resides in Natale but trains with her Francistown-based team everyday. This needs some sacrifice. She says their trainer Samuel Letsatsi is thorough and that is why TASC players are in superb physical condition and have good tactical awareness.

'Last weekend, we were unstoppable and we were not comparable to any team as we were still raring to go when others were exhausted. We played as a unit as we had done a lot of ball work in practice.'

At TASC there is a team of male netballers that assist their female counterparts in training. 'It is this team that has helped us a lot in preparing for our games and we have been very strong as a result,' she says.

Moabi's life has been made easier by the exploits of team-mates, Ogone Gabaratane who plays Centre (C) and Boitumelo Knight in Wing Attack (WA). These are experienced players who know what to do with the ball.

Gabaratane was the best mid-player last weekend.

TASC manager, Benson Ntereke says that Moabi has matured in her game and she hardly misses training and takes everything seriously.

'At national team level, she continues to learn a lot from her colleagues from other teams. At TASC, the secret of success is that about 10 players have consistently played together as a unit for about five years now,' says Ntereke.

Former TASC coach, Web says: 'I have groomed Moabi as a netballer. Currently, nobody can stop her in Botswana, as she is very hot. She is in top form.'  The team's physical trainer, Letsatsi describes Moabi as a player who is always willing to learn new tricks. 'She is tall and most tall players are lazy, but in her case, she has consistently completed her tasks and she listens carefully and takes instructions seriously,' says Letsatsi.

He says that next year when the national netball team goes to Singapore for the World Cup, Moabi is going to give her opponents a hard time.  'She is tall and powerful and has passion for netball. She has potential to add value to the national team.'

Her captain, Motlhokwa Motsumi features in the national team as goal attacker whose main duty is to feed the goal shooter so that she can fire the ball into the net.

Whenever the defenders are marking the GS, then the GA will often have a shot from nearer the edge of the goal circle.

Motsumi has good passing and shooting skills and says Moabi adds great value to the team. 'Moabi is a very strong player as a GS. We have played together since 2000,' says Motsumi who has been TASC captain of the team for over 10 years.