Handura, a man with passion

WINDHOEK – What started out as a way to pass time has today turned into a business for one Windhoek man who has made it his mission to teach others hockey.

While some children start playing hockey already at the age of 10 or even younger, local hockey player and coach Erwin Handura never knew of hockey until he was already at university at the age of 22. “I was hooked, the first time I touched a hockey stick,” Handura told Nampa.Handura said that he was nursing a soccer injury at the time (in 1993) when friends at the University of Namibia’s (Unam) Hockey Club asked him to help out in an important hockey fixture.Today, Handura is the player/coach of the best men’s hockey team in the country, the Unam Giants, and is also coaching the university’s women’s team.He is also the coach of the national women’s team as well as the Windhoek High School’s girls’ team.Handura is currently an executive member of the NHU responsible for development and has introduced hockey to all 13 regions in the country.The love for hockey has steered him into establishing the Hockey School of Excellence, a business responsible for developing the game and his company also trades in hockey equipment.An avid sportsman, he practised three different sports disciplines – soccer, hockey and long-distance running – but decided in 2002 to hang up his soccer boots.He still runs long distances but not competitively.Handura made the national team after only four years of playing hockey, in 1997, when he represented the country on senior level at the All Africa Games.With his soccer coaching experience he started to coach the University’s women’s team in 1996 and the men’s team, while still playing, in 1998.He has since improved his coaching experience, boasting a diploma in coaching obtained in 1997 from the National Coaching Institution of the University of Victoria, Canada.Handura completed a Level 4 High Performance Coaching Course in Hockey, also in Canada, and several other International Hockey Federation courses.With the coaching knowledge gained, Handura guided the Unam Giants to second place in the Premier League after Wanderers in 1999 but since 2000, the Giants have been dominant, both in field and indoor leagues.The African Hockey Federations also chose Namibia as the country with the best development programme in 1998.Under his guidance, Unam became the first club in Namibia to have two teams at the Africa Club Championships in 2003, when Ramblers, who won the women’s league, could not go.The Unam women’s team ended second after Ramblers in 2002.He also took the national Under-18 boys’ team to the Africa Cup of Nations in 1997 and 1998 and was assistant coach of the Under-21 men’s team against Botswana in 1997.Handura was appointed head coach of the senior women’s side in 1999.That year his team just lost out on a bronze medal to Kenya during the seventh All Africa Games, but in 2004, the national junior women’s team earned Namibia’s first medal in 12 years when they scooped bronze at the African Cup of Nations in Pretoria, South Africa.The same year, the NHU raked in four medals in the Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) Awards for best development programme, best junior team, best junior player (Magret Mengo) and best coach (Handura).In 2005, Handura steered the national senior women’s team to the country’s second bronze medal at the African Cup of Nations.Many of the players in the various national teams have come through the development programme that Handura has been spearheading for the NHU as well as through his Hockey School of Excellence.His team, Unam, forms the backbone of the senior national teams with at times eight to nine players on national duty.Since he took over the coaching of the WHS girls’ team, they have been winning non-stop.Asked if he would rather be representing the country as player or coach, Handura said he would rather coach because then he could do a lot more with players.However, he would still be available as player, if chosen.To date, Handura has conducted 50 coaching clinics and courses around the country.His first clinic was in Oshakati in 1995.”It is easy to introduce hockey but the problem really is to sustain the sport in some regions,” Handura noted.The game started to deteriorate after Standard Bank withdrew their 10-year sponsorship to the NHU development programme in 2000.Handura says it costs money to make the regional trips as well as to provide the schools with hockey equipment.The children’s spirits were lifted again in 2003 and 2004 when First National Bank sponsored the NHU Development Programme.But since then the numbers have fallen again, because the NHU does not have funds.Currently Handura is teaching children from five schools in Katutura and three schools from Khomasdal through the Hockey School of Excellence League for children under 12 and under 14 years of age.The Hockey cc League was established in 2005.OMINA suppliers, a company dealing in mining equipment, sponsored the league for 2006.Another company, Namibia Sports Dynamics, has also taken over the roll of developing hockey in the country and has been very successful so far.The Hockey School of Excellence also established the first hockey club in Rehoboth.Hockey cc Rehoboth is made up of eager players that have become a force in local hockey.They started in the Reserve League in 2004 and were promoted to the Premier League in 2005.Notable national team players who have come through Handura’s hands include Namibia’s only professional hockey player Magret Mengo, star national team player Syabonga Martins, Heini Swartbooi, Bently Suze, Maralyn Nanus, Theodora Amutjira and many others.Who knows how many awards are still in store for the NHU and the hard-working Handura.Nampa”I was hooked, the first time I touched a hockey stick,” Handura told Nampa.Handura said that he was nursing a soccer injury at the time (in 1993) when friends at the University of Namibia’s (Unam) Hockey Club asked him to help out in an important hockey fixture.Today, Handura is the player/coach of the best men’s hockey team in the country, the Unam Giants, and is also coaching the university’s women’s team.He is also the coach of the national women’s team as well as the Windhoek High School’s girls’ team.Handura is currently an executive member of the NHU responsible for development and has introduced hockey to all 13 regions in the country.The love for hockey has steered him into establishing the Hockey School of Excellence, a business responsible for developing the game and his company also trades in hockey equipment.An avid sportsman, he practised three different sports disciplines – soccer, hockey and long-distance running – but decided in 2002 to hang up his soccer boots.He still runs long distances but not competitively.Handura made the national team after only four years of playing hockey, in 1997, when he represented the country on senior level at the All Africa Games.With his soccer coaching experience he started to coach the University’s women’s team in 1996 and the men’s team, while still playing, in 1998.He has since improved his coaching experience, boasting a diploma in coaching obtained in 1997 from the National Coaching Institution of the University of Victoria, Canada.Handura completed a Level 4 High Performance Coaching Course in Hockey, also in Canada, and several other International Hockey Federation courses.With the coaching knowledge gained, Handura guided the Unam Giants to second place in the Premier League after Wanderers in 1999 but since 2000, the Giants have been dominant, both in field and indoor leagues.The African Hockey Federations also chose Namibia as the country with the best development programme in 1998.Under his guidance, Unam became the first club in Namibia to have two teams at the Africa Club Championships in 2003, when Ramblers, who won the women’s league, could not go.The Unam women’s team ended second after Ramblers in 2002.He also took the national Under-18 boys’ team to the Africa Cup of Nations in 1997 and 1998 and was assistant coach of the Under-21 men’s team against Botswana in 1997.Handura was appointed head coach of the senior women’s side in 1999.That year his team just lost out on a bronze medal to Kenya during the seventh All Africa Games, but in 2004, the national junior women’s team earned Namibia’s first medal in 12 years when they scooped bronze at the African Cup of Nations in Pretoria, South Africa.The same year, the NHU raked in four medals in the Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) Awards for best development programme, best junior team, best junior player (Magret Mengo) and best coach (Handura).In 2005, Handura steered the national senior women’s team to the country’s second bronze medal at the African Cup of Nations.Many of the players in the various national teams have come through the development programme that Handura has been spearheading for the NHU as well as through his Hockey School of Excellence.His team, Unam, forms the backbone of the senior national teams with at times eight to nine players on national duty.Since he took over the coaching of the WHS girls’ team, they have been winning non-stop.Asked if he would rather be representing the country as player or coach, Handura said he would rather coach because then he could do a lot more with players.However, he would still be available as player, if chosen.To date, Handura has conducted 50 coaching clinics and courses around the country.His first clinic was in Oshakati in 1995.”It is easy to introduce hockey but the problem really is to sustain the sport in some regions,” Handura noted.The game started to deteriorate after Standard Bank withdrew their 10-year sponsorship to the NHU development programme in 2000.Handura says it costs money to make the regional trips as well as to provide the schools with hockey equipment.The children’s spirits were lifted again in 2003 and 2004 when First National Bank sponsored the NHU Development Programme.But since then the numbers have fallen again, because the NHU does not have funds.Currently Handura is teaching children from five schools in Katutura and three schools from Khomasdal through the Hockey School of Excellence League for children under 12 and under 14 years of age.The Hockey cc League was established in 2005.OMINA suppliers, a company dealing in mining equipment, sponsored the league for 2006.Another company, Namibia Sports Dynamics, has also taken over the roll of developing hockey in the country and has been very successful so far.The Hockey School of Excellence also established the first hockey club in Rehoboth.Hockey cc Rehoboth is made up of eager players that have become a force in local hockey.They started in the Reserve League in 2004 and were promoted to the Premier League in 2005.Notable national team players who have come through Handura’s hands include Namibia’s only professional hockey player Magret Mengo, star national team player Syabonga Martins, Heini Swartbooi, Bently Suze, Maralyn Nanus, Theodora Amutjira and many others.Who knows how many awards are still in store for the NHU and the hard-working Handura.Nampa