Saturday 11 April 2020 08:01, UK
Peace Proscovia discusses building confidence, the challenge of netball in Australia, Dame Noeline Taurua's influence on her career and why it is vital to support those looking to take your place in the future.
When the former Loughborough Lightning shooter left England for a new chapter in Australia, she had established herself as one of the Vitality Netball Superleague's most cherished and loved players.
Proscovia's warm heart, beaming smile and her passion for netball went with her wherever she went, and on court she set the standard for other shooters to follow.
Between her arrival in 2015 and her departure prior to the 2019 season, she helped Loughborough progress to two Grand Finals and take a British Fast5 All-Stars Championship victory. Individual awards also followed as Proscovia excelled.
Widely regarded by many as one of the games' finest shooters, the 30-year-old's upbringing makes her rise to the top of the world game, even more incredible.
Proscovia, who is one of seven children from one of the poorest families in a small town in northern Uganda, has never been shy to tell her story.
In her own words, she decided to "fight for her destiny". She defied her father's initial anger at following her passion for netball, applied herself academically and created opportunities for herself.
"Talent has done amazing things for people," she said when sharing her background with Sky Sports in 2018.
"It has lifted people from nowhere to somewhere and a practical example is me. I've studied through netball. I've moved to countries that I would not have gone to, even just going to the capital city of Uganda.
"Nobody's background defines who they are," she noted. "My background has never defined who I am, if it was to define who I am then I would be a nobody."
Now, sitting in her front room in Australia, Proscovia like us all, is facing up to a new 'normal'. She is living alone and reached out to others through social media for support.
"Everything is okay," she told Sky Sports on Off The Court about her question on social media.
"I was just wondering what other people are doing? At the start, yes it was frustrating being isolated on your own and realising that the borders of your country have been closed.
"But, the answers from everyone made me feel that there were so many people out there for me. It was good to know that so many people care about me and I care about them too.
"I've been trying to take every day the way that it is, getting in touch with my team-mates and my coach which has been great. I'm studying for a postgraduate in Business Research, which needs a lot of time, so now I'm going to concentrate on my academia and fully commit myself to that alongside my other training programmes."
Prior to the global pandemic, Proscovia and Sunshine Coast Lightning were deep into pre-season training ahead of the start of the 2020 Suncorp Super Netball season.
With Silver Ferns captain Laura Langman, Phumza Maweni and Karla Pretorius in the ranks, Proscovia shared her apprehension at joining them and fulfilling her dream to play netball in Australia.
"The first time I got into the changing room I was actually given the Sunshine Coast Lightning dress to wear, it put a lot of pressure on me," she said.
"Based on what I was thought people were thinking about me and my performances, that put a lot of pressure on me.
"I wondered if I was going to embarrass myself in my first game for them or if I was going to make it better. Looking at the profiles of the girls that I was going to play against, it kind of freaked me out! But, sometimes you get afraid until you make the courageous move to just do it."
When it came to building this exceptional shooter's confidence in Australia, one person was absolutely instrumental and it was Sunshine Coast Lightning's former coach Taurua.
"Noeline is a people person and her approach to leadership is a participatory one. She is more into finding out what is good for the players instead of what she wants to impose on the players," Proscovia said.
"She doesn't impose something on you to do, but she relies on the information you give her to build and develop who you are. As long as you're open-minded with how she helps you to develop your game, that is the kind of person she is."
When I got here and realised the profiles of the players that I would be playing with - the world’s top players - I freaked out and that made me panic a bit. She guided me into it, took me into it slowly and that was how it worked out for me.
With Taurua at the helm, and now Kylee Byrne taking over, the franchise set the standards that they wanted to take into their matches on the training court, something Proscovia is thankful for.
"Our training is very competitive. The way in which we play in the really competitive matches is the way that we train. It's always about giving each other that tough challenge - we have to rise to that challenge.
"To me that's positive because if nothing challenges you, then it doesn't change you. You have to be challenged in order to change. So, I take it positively and I'm blessed to have that opportunity."
The opportunity that Proscovia has to learn and develop, is not one that she keeps to herself. Instead, she's focused on sharing her knowledge with others and in particular with other members of the Ugandan national side.
Mary Cholhok, who replaced her at Loughborough Lightning and also plays for Uganda, is someone who the 30-year-old mentors from afar and does everything possible to help develop. Proscovia is not a senior player who is precious about her knowledge.
"I'm so proud of is the fact that she has developed herself. She's a good listener and her good performances make me feel proud too because there's a guarantee that Uganda has a great future with her," Proscovia said.
"It has always been my dream to help shape someone who can take over from me in a way that means the sport can keep on developing in Uganda.
"I always say that the future doesn't belong to me now, it belongs to the other younger players. So, to me, it's not what I have achieved in my career that benefits me but what I have left in others. My impact upon others will make me proud, when I leave."
Leaving the court and hanging up her dress, Proscovia reassures, will not happen for "at least another 10 years" and her presence as part of Ugandan's national side during that time will be paramount.
After a seventh-place finish at the Netball World Cup in Liverpool last year, the She Cranes remain ambitious. And, for their exceptional shooter, the prospect of them becoming part of the sport's top teams could happen.
"All I can say is that where the country has reached in netball, and the rate at which netball is developing worldwide, in this era nothing is impossible. Everything is possible.
"To me, the future is bright because of so many young girls in Uganda… I can say they are threatening me [on court] because they are performing well. They're pushing me and also making me proud because they have really developed.
"But, with Uganda, in particular, it's actually the structure that's missing because the skills are there. I believe when they do create the structure it will make the sport grow."
An African league, perhaps situated in South Africa or East Africa, is something Proscovia will muse upon during this enforced time at home, between her Zoom training sessions with Sunshine Coast Lightning and her academic studies.
Proscovia has been through so much in her early life. For her to have made it to where she is now and achieved the success she has, is proof that her words saying 'anything is possible' are true.
The openness with which she speaks about needing to build her confidence again after moving to Australia, will comfort netball players all over the world as they realise they're not alone in feeling self-doubt or apprehension about their own ability.
The fortitude that Proscovia has shown throughout her life means that she's tackling isolating alone during these nerving times head-on and looking at it positively.
"The key right now, is to just take every single day the way that it is," the shooter reiterated.
"When we find ourselves stressed, we should always remember that there are so many positives that happened in life before this scenario came.
"What we should remember is that this quarantine is for the greater good of everyone. It may be painful, just like in sport the process to get where we want to be is sometimes painful.
"If we obey the rules given to us, we will get back again. As a player, we miss being out there representing everyone and making you happy. But just know, fingers crossed, we will come out and make you proud again."
