Carol Garoes: A disciplinarian with a mother’s heart

**A people’s person, a strict disciplinarian, but a caring coach who treated her players like her own daughters. **

That is how former Black Africa and national netball star Annie Kalomo describes Carol Garoes – her former coach at both club and national team level.

Kalomo, who took over as Black Africa coach in 1997 after Garoes was forced to leave her role due to the travelling demands of her job at the gender ministry, holds her mentor in high regard.

“Auntie Carol was a wonderful person and coach. She was very strict and believed in fitness, and secondly, she was a strong believer in discipline,” Kalomo says.

“She was a slave-driver in a good way because her tough training made Black Africa probably the fittest netball team in the league. We never lost a match due to fitness issues.”

Kalomo says she applied Garoes’ rigorous training regime and strict discipline in her own coaching.

“The other outstanding thing about auntie Carol was her love for her players. She built a very special bond with her players, something similar to the bond between a mother and her daughter,” Kalomo says.

“She was very protective of her players, and no one dared speak nonsense about them in her presence. You would have to deal with her personally, and one thing she despised was talking behind someone’s back.”

The former centre points out that Garoes put a lot of emphasis on fitness, to such a point that some of the players started to complain.

Kalomo says some of Garoes’ physical training impacted her immensely, so much that the organisers of the World Cup in England subjected her to a dope test – just because of her fitness level.

Helen Oliphant, who also played under Garoes at Black Africa and was a member of Namibia’s 1995 World Cup team, has a lot to say about her former mentor.

“Coach Carol taught me that the game is not won in the first half. She told me never to give up and always to give my all until the final whistle.

“That is the reason we were unbeatable at Black Africa, because no matter the scoreline, we would always fight until the final whistle,” Oliphant says.

Asked how different Garoes was from her previous coaches, the retired wing-attack says she learnt a lot.

“Each coach has their own style of coaching. It is the lessons that you take away from the court that matters. Because of her, I became a coach myself,” she says,

“The discipline she taught us on and off the netball courts, her guidance, and encouragement were the spark that made us play our best netball. She also had a different style of coaching, and that has shaped us.”

Asked how Garoes shaped her game, Oliphant says she learned to read the game, communicate and make quick decisions. Garoes also helped her understand the importance of her role and passes in attack.

“Coach Carol was a straightforward person. We as players knew what was expected from us,” Oliphant says. “She treated us all the same no matter which league you were playing. We all got the same attention, as she was like a mother to us all.”

Known for her firm, no-nonsense leadership, Garoes is widely credited with revolutionising netball into its current form.

Apart from coaching Black Africa to two consecutive Khomas Netball League titles, Garoes also coached the Namibian netball team at the World Cup in England.

After quitting coaching, she became president of the All Namibia Netball Association (ANNA), now known as Netball Namibia, where her clashes with the Namibia Sports Commission over a lack of funding are well-documented.

“The fight with sports commissions was a non-issue. The national netball team was in camp for a friendly international match against Ghana, but we had to call off the because of a lack of funds,” Garoes says.

“We also requested funds from the sports commission to give N$1 500 each to all the regional affiliates of ANNA. We were also refused those funds due to internal issues. Was I supposed to keep quiet and allow myself to be bullied?

“I didn’t only lead ANNA, I was also responsible for introducing netball for men in Namibia during my tenure as president of netball,” Garoes was quoted saying in the past.

From ANNA, the former tactician moved on to the presidency of the Namibia Women in Sport Association (Nawisa).

Nawisa is a national sporting federation in Namibia dedicated to managing, aiding, and supporting sportswomen, coaches, administrators, and decision-makers across all sporting disciplines.

“I was first secretary general of Nawisa, and I served in the same capacity on the continental organisation the African Women in Sport Association,” Garoes says.

Nawisa was led by former minister of home affairs and immigration Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana, who was both president and chairperson of the African Women in Sport Association at the time.

Age may have caught up with Garoes, but the veteran is still actively involved in planning and organising sporting matters.