The making of NCS Netball Club coach Tuaire

• By Michael Uugwanga 

NAMIBIA Correctional Services (NCS) Netball Club has risen to the top of the MTC Namibian Netball Premier League (MTC NNPL) table, thanks to new coach Salomon ‘Teri’ Tuaire, who has restored the team’s winning mindset.

Tuaire was brought in as a replacement for former coach Manuel ‘Mansie’ Tjivera, who won the MTC NNPL in 2021, leaving after a conflict with the club’s hierarchy at the end of last season, which saw rival Mighty Gunners win the title last year. However, things have changed since the arrival of Tuaire as the team is now on track to win the title, sitting pretty on top of the table with 26 points, two points ahead of second-placed teams Namibian Navy and Otjozondjupa NamPol, both on 24 points, and reigning champions Mighty Gunners, whom they defeated 40–37 last Saturday, are in fourth place with 22 points, the same number of points as fifth-placed Wanderers.

This week, Confidente spoke with Tuaire about his coaching path, life as a coach at NCS, the pressures that come with the job, and his netball career.

“I got my experience at Tigers, where I was an assistant coach in the Khomas Netball League throughout the MTC NNPL’s inception. Tigers were a top-tier front-runner in the title race at the time. I played netball as a goal defence around 2010/2011 and began coaching in 2016. I am currently undergoing pre-level coaching because I could not complete my level one due to unforeseen circumstances, but I am in the process,” Tuaire explained. Coaching at a top club always comes with a lot of pressure and expectations, something he is well aware of. He is about to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor Tjivera, who won the league title in 2021, but it will not be an easy ask.

Tjivera is the country’s most successful coach in the contemporary period, having won multiple local titles, including the Khomas Netball League, most notably with the University of Namibia (UNAM) Main Campus Netball Club, known as the Jaguars, and the Debmarine Pent Series senior women’s team.

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