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Nakamanya joins Volleyball Cranes’ head coach Shilla Omuriwe as some of the women who have evolved from playing and are now taking a career in active coaching.
Mariam Nakamanya was unveiled as assistant coach of the Uganda Lady Volleyball Cranes on Monday morning.
She will work with head coach Tony Lakony and Bart Muting in preparing the team for the Zone V All Africa Games Qualifiers set for later this year.
He appointment is yet another step in the direction of giving women the opportunity to excel in coaching volleyball at the top most level in Uganda.
She joins Volleyball Cranes’ head coach Shilla Omuriwe as some of the women who have evolved from playing and are now taking a career in active coaching.
And this is something Nakamanya has always dreamt of since her playing days.
“As a former player, yes I had coaching in mind,” she told Pulse Sports after her unveiling at the Old Kampala Arena.
“That’s why I persued the Level 1 Coaching Course when I was still very active on the national team,” she added.
Omuriwe and Memory Dube have taken it a notch higher by managing men’s teams. In fact, Omuriwe won the National Volleyball League title with KAVC in 2014 while Dube is leading the same team’s fight for this year’s championship.
Nakamanya has not exactly retired from the game and still plays for Espoir, a team with which she is also involved in management. Her role with the national team will be a stepping stone in her young coaching career.
“I hope to get lots of experience and share best practices in sports administration so that in the near future, I shall be able to head the ladies’ coaching squad.”
There are several other ladies who have done courses but are yet to get opportunities like these, and Nakamanya hopes her appointment will have more noticed and given a platform.
“I think it should really interest all women coaches since we have ladies that are FIVB Level 2 coaches who are almost retiring or already retired,” the former regular and beach volleyball Cranes star noted.
Having played top flight volleyball and also represented the national team, Nakamanya will relate well with the girls and look to share experiences with the younger ones.
As a player, Nakamanya featured for top sides like KCCA and Nkumba.
In Lakony, she has someone to learn a lot from.
The team starts training next week at the International School of Uganda and will be training every Tuesday for the next six weeks.
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