St. Noa eye period of dominance

In eight years of regional competition, St. Noa Girls' Secondary School - Zana have five titles across three disciplines to show, and are still counting. 

The latest two came in girls' basketball and football at the recently concluded Federation of East Africa Secondary School Sports Association (Feasssa) Games in Bukedea.

St. Noa first won the Feasssa trophy in 2022 but this year, they beat Butere Girls from Kenya 1-0 in the finals at Bukedea Comprehensive School to return to the top.

Their 2-1 semifinal win against one of the hosting sides, Amus College School, was equally pulsating. It came on the back of a 2-0 win over Tanzanite from Tanzania, a 1-0 win over Nyakach from Kenya, a 1-all draw with 2023 champions and eternal rivals Kawempe Muslim SS from Uganda and a 1-0 loss - after securing a semifinal berth - to Kenya's St. Joseph Kitale.

"The success was down to three principles; preparation, belief in each other and the support from the management of the school," coach Ibrahim Muyinda, said.

The Principal Herbert Walusimbi elected to start sending his school for school competitions in 2016 and they have not looked behind since.

Beefing up

On losing the Fresh Dairy Games girl's football final to Amus in Ntare last year, the striking line led by Sylvia Kabene was beefed up with Sumayiah Nalumu and Kamiyati Naigaga.

It says much about the ambition of the school that Nalumu even ditched a Fufa Women Super League (FWSL) side in Uganda Martyrs High School (UMHS) to settle at St. Noa.

It was not quick as they lost 1-0 to Kawempe in this year's Fresh Dairy final in May but the hunger and speed of their attack was evidently onto something. In fact the losses at the Uganda Secondary Schools Sports Association (USSSA) Nationals were only seen as a minor setback that could be sorted with time.

Three months later, time and the striking line delivered with Kabene finishing as top scorer with five goals in Bukedea, as she did in Nationals in Ndejje, and Nalumu named most valuable player of the tournament (MVP).

The football gold came moments after the basketball (5x5) one and Muyinda explained the "good pressure" that all St. Noa teams put on each other.

"Definitely, when you hear that one team is winning, you also want to emulate or do even better," Muyinda said.

Basketball coach Abel Omongin led them to a 81-49 win in the final over fellow pool A mates Marie Reine of Rwanda with the MVP gong going to Doreen Basiya and U-18 Junior Gazelles star Resty Nanangwe named top scorer. St. Noa won the pool contest 83-48, by the way.

They also beat Kenyan sides Butere 67-41, and Kaya Tiwa 62-46, plus Uganda's Buddo SS 60-38 in the pools then beat another Kenyan side Buru Buru 71-34 in the semis.

In 3x3 basketball, Mbinga from Tanzania were dispatched 9-4, Uganda's Seroma Christian High School 21-9, Kenya's Raila Education Centre 19-5 and Butere 14-5 in the pools and then local rivals St. Mary's College Kitende 20-15 in the semis.

Butere earned revenge by winning the final 17-15.

Reward

For their efforts, the basketball and football girls returned to school to a 32 inch Hisense Smart television set each while the netball side which is coached by Jonathan Ssegujja and also collected bronze received cash prizes. 

School sports is so competitive now that the motivation has to keep coming. The days of schools only offering scholarships and bursaries are way behind us.

In fact, Walusimbi believes that if they get the right government support, they can do even more in terms of putting up facilities that will nurture and attract more talent.
 
Push for facilities 

"The work that Bukedea and Amus to develop facilities did cannot be quantified but having this infrastructure in schools is very possible and necessary.

"We believe that if the government came in to subsidise, at least, the equipment that is going to be used in schools and give us an avenue to bring in materials that can be used to develop these facilities tax free, we can also have them here.  

These are student athletes and we have to balance between the academics and co-curricular activities. It is not easy, the investment is massive," Walusimbi said.

Of course as a former basketballer, his heart naturally bleeds for the game of hoops and nets and he took the chance to plead with districts to give plots of 100 by 100 ft. of land to establish courts.

"We would have children from communities, whether school-going or not comverge at those facilities to watch or play the game and in the end, we would benefit as a country," he says.

Last year, St.Noa were bronze medalists in girls' football at the ISF (International Schools Federations) Games in Morocco. And overall, Walusimbi says it's important to promote young talent for professional gains.

"Maybe their chance (for a better future) could come through sports. It is why we are big on talent identification and cooperating with parents, who in turn allow them to join the school teams.

"I am a sportsman too and that enables me to give an insight and evaluate the coaches," he adds.

The value

For the Feasssa edition this year, St. Noa had a contingent of 58 students across four disciplines. 

If they paid $6 (about Shs22,800) per head per day, it means they invested at least Shs13.2m to take part in the games, without considering any further unquantifiable logistics and motivation. If at least 30 of those got the TVs, then they invested a further Shs16.5m.

To top it up, the school fees at the school is about Shs1.6m per term. It is said they have 60 football playing girls on bursary, 45 in basketball and 30 in netball. That would put the sports scholarship value at Shs216m per term.

But they also have a sports welfare budget of Shs124m which includes medical catering for both injuries and normal illnesses, food supplements, sanitary products like pads, beddings, and coaches' salaries, among others.

The investment is clearly set to facilitate a period of dominance for St. Noa.

Feasssa Wins

Netball: 2018

Girls' football: 2022, 2024

Basketball 5×5: 2019, 2024

St. Noa Numbers

13 - Money St. Noa paid to Feasssa for this year's Games

58 - Number of students St. Noa sent to Feasssa Games

124 - Shs124m for the sports welfare budget

216 - Shs216m value of scholarships in fees for 135 student athletes