Uganda’s Shilla Omuriwe selected for Women in Sport High-performance programme

Shilla Omuriwe helped KCCA win their first league title in 17 years /UVF image

VOLLEYBALL Uganda’s Shilla Omuriwe selected for Women in Sport High-performance programme

Ndyamuhaki J Emanzi 07:46 - 31.05.2023

Omuriwe was selected alongside Iran’s Maedeh Borhani Esfahani and will have Canada’s national women’s team head coach Shannon Winzer as their sports-specific mentor.

Uganda Volleyball Cranes and KCCA Ladies Volleyball Club head coach Shilla Omuriwe has been chosen by FIVB to join Cohort 4 of the Women in Sport High-performance (WISH) pathway programme designed to empower female coaches.

WISH is a mentorship and training programme jointly supported by Olympic Solidarity and a number of International Federations and aims to help female coaches progress into high-performance coaching roles at national, continental and international competitions.

The 21-month programme gives participants access to leadership training, sport-specific training and mentoring led by their international federations and engagement with the National Olympic Committees (NOCs).

Omuriwe was selected alongside Iran’s Maedeh Borhani Esfahani and will have Canada’s national women’s team head coach Shannon Winzer as their sports-specific mentor.

The two will represent volleyball in Cohort 4 of the programme, following in the footsteps of Kenya’s Catherine Mabwi and Italy’s Federica Tonon, who participated in Cohort 1.

Omuriwe, who recently guided Uganda’s Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) women’s team to their first league title in 17 years, expressed her optimism that the WISH programme will be her ladder to coaching at a higher level.

“I am very grateful to the FIVB for giving me this opportunity. I’m eager to learn more about leadership, meet female coaches from all over the world and hear about their experiences,” Omuriwe said.

“I’ve always wanted to work in a more structured system that embraces technology in player development. I hope my journey will inspire women in Uganda and Africa that you can excel if you put work into your craft,” she added.

In 2021, Omuriwe became the first female coach to lead a men’s team at the CAVB African Nations Championship and helped her side finish fifth in Kigali, Rwanda.

Having also won the Uganda men’s National Volleyball League title with KAVC in 2014, Omuriwe has continued to make strides as one of the top coaches in Uganda and the region.