Alumni Impumelelo 4

Proteas’ captain Bongiwe Msomi is the new head coach of UJ Netball

on Msomi to fill in. After some initial hesitation about her ability, Msomi soon adopted netball as her new passion. That was the start of a career that would take her around the world representing her country while also securing contracts to play professionally in both England and Australia. She played for Wasps Netball in the Vitality Netball Superleague in Australia this year, finishing second. She was captain of the Spar Proteas

do for others through the sport. I am really excited for what lies ahead,” says Msomi. Msomi believes that passion, leadership skills, valuable knowledge and experience, confidence, fairness, and time management make a good coach. She plans to use her experience as a netball player to improve the UJ Netball squad’s performances. “I have quite a fair experience that can help the UJ Netball team to do even better than it does now. Being the Spar Proteas captain and having been coached by Norma Plummer – and with all the international experiences – I believe that I have a lot to offer and win trophies with the Orange Team. This will be an exciting step not only for me, but also for the ladies I will be working with and for the University of Johannesburg,” Msomi says. She has worked with the UJ Team at a few training sessions and the women show great potential to give a competitive edge against other universities. “The ladies are keen to learn, we already have two teams that take part in the USSA [University Sport South Africa] competitions; that for me is a great sign. Additionally, the internal residence league and other netball events can help us identify our strength and quality players. We have exciting plans in place to ensure competitiveness and an ongoing development for UJ netball.

Bongiwe Msomi

team that finished in fourth position in this year’s World Netball Cup in Liverpool. She completed a national diploma in Sport Management in 2012 at the Durban University of Technology (DUT). Over the years, she has worked as an ambassador for the Girls’ Only Project, an initiative that empowers women and girls through sport. She also founded the Bongi Msomi Netball Project (BMNetball), which aims to create a more equal sporting landscape for women within South Africa and across the African continent by focusing on research, workshops and advocacy for women and girls in sport. Msomi made the transition from a player to coach effortlessly. “I have always been a netball player and a coach for as long as I can remember. I breathe and live sport; netball is a platform for me to exude my God-given talent. Now I have an awesome opportunity as the UJ netball coach to showcase what I can

​ Bongiwe Msomi, international netball player and captain of the national team, is the new head coach of the University of Johannesburg’s netball club. With a track record of more than 100 appearances for the senior netball team, nicknamed the Spar Proteas, and having represented South Africa at the highest level, Msomi brings a wealth of experience to guide UJ’s fortunes in this sporting code. She has been capped 104 times for the senior national team, played in three league seasons in England and one in Australia. Born and raised in the township of Hammarsdale near Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, Msomi completed her matric at Luthayi High School in 2005. It was by chance that the young Msomi got into the sport. She went to watch a netball practice and when they realised they were a player short, they called

“We will definitely not be a university netball team

adding numbers to the various competitions; we are going to be a competitive university and a well-respected brand in the netball code. Our culture and how we do things have to ooze excellence. We, like all the other universities, are capable of being the best and we will be,” says Msomi.

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ALUMNI IMPUMELELO

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