Former University of Namibia (Unam) and senior national netball star Nanguloshi Eve Kamutushi has seen it all in Namibian netball.
From club courts to continental battles, she has lived every chapter of the game.
Kamutushi, who also starred for Tigers before ending her club career at United, retired from the national team in 2023, but she never walked away from the game she loves.
Born and raised at Engava village, close to Engela in the Ohangwena region, Kamutushi barely played netball at primary school until she went to Ongha Secondary School.
She mentions her former teacher and sports coach Erwin Nawarab as the person who laid the foundations of her netball career.
“I first played as a centre before Mr Nawarab, who was also our netball coach, switched me to goal-attack. He made me carry a goalpost so that I could practice my shooting skills,” she says.
“I transformed into a deadly finisher. They say practice makes perfect and I was a living proof of that. I was scoring goals like they were going out of fashion.”
When Kamutushi came to the University of Namibia (Unam) for her tertiary education after completing Grade 12 at Ongha, she was an automatic choice for the Unam team.
The cup-winning Desert Jewels captain also clinched a Confederation of University and College Sport Association (Cucsa) Games gold trophy with the Tertiary Institutions Sports Association of Namibia (Tisan) team.
Namibia hosted the tournament when Tisan defeated Botswana 55-24 in the final in Windhoek during her playing days as a dazzling wing-attack.
“When I played for Unam and later Tigers and United as goal-attack at club level, the technical team of the national team converted me into a specialised wing-attack,” she notes.
“I guess my speed, hardworking nature and high level of awareness motivated their decision to change my position because they wanted me to get more involved in the game.”
She explains that she owes everything to her versatility because her coach at the time just decided before a match against South Africa to play her at wing-attack “because she wanted me to disrupt their rhythm and dominance in the middle of the court,” Kamutushi enthuses.
“We knew that we were taking a very huge risk to make such an impromptu decision against a high profile opposition like South Africa but I was coached to be ready.
“The plan worked out in the end because, although we couldn’t prevent them from winning, they didn’t get it easily. I was also coached to make a good catch out of a bad pass. Meaning to accept without complaining.”
Kamutushi says that she wants to be remembered as a hardworking player with a never-say-die attitude and a leader who led by example and a player who motivated her teammates with the way she played.
“When I joined the senior netball team for our first trip to Singapore, I was one of the youngest players in the team. I was a very fast and eager learner,” she says.
“The experience we gained through our participation in the Singapore tournaments throughout the years is invaluable and helped our growth in continental stature. It was tough at the beginning but we improved a lot.”
Kamutushi was captain when the Desert Jewels won the Debmarine Namibia Netball Pent Series in June 2018 in Windhoek under coach Manuel ‘Mansie’ Tjivera.
Namibia clinched their first Pent Series title, thanks to a hard fought 54-43 win over Zambia.
“I have also won a lot of individual accolades over the years, including player of the year, player’s player of the year as well as most valuable player of the year,” Kamutushi says.
“However, the highlight of my netball career is my appointment as assistant coach on the technical team of the Desert Jewels. I am the mid-court coach starting from 2023.”
Apart from playing netball, Kamutushi also did several other sports at secondary school including football, volleyball and athletics excelling in the long jump and javelin.
Despite the fact that she played netball at the highest level, Kamutushi regrets not having the same high level of coaching the players are receiving now.
“I regret not being exposed to the type of coaching the players are receiving now, both at club and at national team level. I know I could have been so much more,” she admits.
Now married since 2014 and a mother of three children, Kamutushi has slowed down a little on the playing of the game.
Kamutushi, who is a qualified coach, is now pouring her experience into the next generation.
She co-owns the Tanshi Netball Academy, a youth development project shaping future stars, while still serving as assistant coach of the Desert Jewels.
Despite her coaching aspirations, Kamutushi is the fundraising and project coordinator at the Unam Foundation.
She oversees fundraising activities and project implementation.
But is she happy with her achievements as both a netball player as well as a coach?
“Of course, I am very happy,” she declares. One thing that satisfies me a lot is the appreciation shown by the players who say I am their role model. Also, I see improvement in my fulfillment. I am on track where God wants me to be.”
Kamutushi says that there are too many people who influenced her playing.
“Of course my first netball coach Erwin Nawarab, who taught me everything about hard work and discipline and Nico Smith for teaching me mental toughness,” she says.
“Most importantly national team coach Julene Meyer who taught me all the areas of life, like what to eat, how to recover as a crucial part of play. Not forgetting high performance coach Dorette ‘Dot’ Badenhorst.”
Kamutushi says that she did not have a specific opponent whom she found difficult to play against because she outran them all but found it difficult to some styles of play: “A player who is tasked to shadow you. That person doesn’t concentrate on her own game but she is only concerned about neutralising you so that you cannot play your normal game.”
She points out that although she is always on the court coaching she misses the adrenaline rush before a match but it helps a lot being on the court.
Her advice to young netball players?
“Hard work wins when talent alone fails you. Be disciplined and consistency is a true winner,” she says. Your attitude is also very important. Work hard to achieve what you want. Namibian netball is in a good space.”
From winning trophies to building future champions – Eve is still winning.
