It’s had in the circles sports in Uganda and East Africa at large for one to talk about the development of the game of Netball and you skip mentioning the famous, legendary Coach Fred Mugerwa Tabale who has put the She cranes in the lime light.
Mugerwa, the soft spoken man, before joining the sport of Netball, he was playing for the Handball and Hockey National teams respectively where he was one of the players between 1974 and 1989 when he retired.
Mugerwa a Netball legendary coach was born to the Kenyan Parents in 1957 that had migrated to Uganda in 1950 and settle in the present day Kibuli Makindye Division in Kampala who later shifted to Kamwikya also a suburb of Kampala Central Division.
His father was Tabale and the mother was Regina Tabale who were both casual workers in Kampala. He began his childhood education at St.Peter Nsambya for lower primary then he later joined Kiswa primary school and he missed sitting for PLE in 1971 due to lack of school fees. The following year he sat for the PLE exams.
In 1993 Mugerwa joined Modern SSS which was located at Nkuruma road from and he dropped out before completing senior one due to school fees challenges.
He joined Uganda. Police Force in 1974 at the age of 18 as a hockey player and retire as a policeman in 1990, after he acquired a job in Railway Corporation where he served as a welfare assistant. He also handled the Handball National team (She Pearls) and the second team of She Cranes in 1996 but was on and off.
Coach Mugerwa says that he would work in the morning period and in the afternoon he would concentrate on training the railway Netball team and here, he was promoted to the position of assistant sports officer till 2000 when the corporation was privatized and he was forced to retire.
He had by then become an instructor and also coached schools like Crescent High School up and St. Mary’s Kitende up to 2018 from where he retired.
Incidentally coach Mugerwa despite coaching and training Netball teams successfully at the different levels in the early 1970s and 1980s, he only attained a level I coaching certificate in 1985. He says he was using basketball skills because he also played the game while at police Training School. He acquired most of the Netball skills through reading books.
Although he was a multi- talented man, none of his children have got any interest in playing games. However he says he doesn’t regret joining the game of Netball because it has made him move a milestone in his life because he has travelled worldwide and has been able to acquire 2 permanent homes a car, besides educating his six children and he is now parenting his grandchildren.
David Isabirye a senior sports reporter describes that coach Mugerwa as a very precious asset in the game of Netball who coach with hands on.
He says that he is a fatherly coach and trainer who participants and shows what the play ought to do on the pick when giving drills
“Coach Mugerwa is beyond a mere Netball coach he is a counselor and an administrator and in professional sports he would be a manager.” Isabirye said.
Profile
He played handball and hockey for the national team. As a handball coach, he has handled Coffee, Uganda Railways, Police, Makerere University, Crescent High and Bukoyo SS as well as national women’s team. He won eight regional titles and nine league handball titles. As netball coach, he handled National Insurance Corporation (NIC), St. Mary’s SS Kitende , Uganda Railways, Police, Old Kampala, St Peter’s Nsambya SS, Crescent High, Mityana Central College, Kyebambe Girls, Kaboyo SS
He guided the She Cranes to 2013 Five Nations Cup, he guided She Cranes twice qualify for the 2015 and 2023 Netball World Cup.
Mugerwa is a Grade B handball and netball coach umpire as well.
By George Bukenya