By Irene Best Nyapendi
A large number of Uganda Christian University (UCU) sports personalities exchanged their football and basketball jerseys for caps and gowns at UCU’s 23rd graduation ceremony – a reminder that education and athletics can go hand in hand.
Samuel Lukaire, the Sports Administrator at UCU, said the university develops talent by recruiting young players who have shown potential to grow in their sports discipline. Along with attending classes, the players are trained and exposed to competitive games as UCU also has hosted major national sports events, often selected as the venue because of the Mukono campus modern sports facilities. Among the competitions that have been hosted at the UCU main campus in Mukono are the Inter University Games Uganda in 2007 and 2013, the East African University Games in 2014, and the Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization in 2017.
UCU athletes share graduation thoughts
“The university engages in as many sports disciplines as are available in the university competitions,” Lukaire said, noting that they have teams for basketball, volleyball, rugby, football and netball. Other sports disciplines that UCU participates in are athletics, badminton, chess, wood ball, karate, taekwondo, handball, swimming and lawn tennis.
Some of the sports graduates at the October 28, 2022, ceremony, which also was an event marking 25 years of UCU’s existence, talked to our reporter.
“As players, we’ve been able to study, play, and eventually graduate.” Kukundakwe, a football center back, said, adding a reminder that for one to achieve success at university, they have to manage their time well. He thanks God for the successes registered as a player, including being on the team winning the University Football League in 2019 and the Association of Uganda University Sports games the same year. Kukundakwe is grateful to the university for meeting the costs of his tuition, meals, and accommodation throughout his stay at UCU.
“At UCU, much as you are on a sports scholarship, education is given priority,” Jurua, a footballer, said. He adds that the university’s emphasis on education helped him balance both studies and games.
Sera Precious Yaweh, Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication
While studying at UCU, Yaweh played for A1 Challenge, a basketball team in Uganda. She attributes her victory of completing studies and graduation to God. She says that she had to go to school during the day and attend training twice a week in Kampala, about 15 miles away from school. And, as a student, she dedicated most of her weekends to playing basketball for her team. Some of the games would be played late in the night, and, as a member of the team, she had to be available for them. With such a schedule, Yaweh says she had to sacrifice several hours of sleep to read books at night and participate in group discussions with her colleagues.
“It was not easy to balance books and football, but I pray we go out there and make history,” Lubega said. He also expressed gratitude to UCU and his family for all the assistance he got during his three years of study at the institution.
Gaganga was the captain of the UCU football team. Gaganga, who played in the midfield position, explains that it wasn’t hard for him to balance books and games because it’s something he has done since secondary school. He encourages fellow players to put as much effort in their academics as they do in sports because their profession will come to their rescue once they retire from professional sports.
Akon emerged as the best defensive player, rebounder, and most valuable player of the year, after her team won the 2022 National Basketball Association Women’s Championship. She attributes her achievement to being able to manage time well.
“While at university, I rarely got the time to relax and have fun,” said Akon, noting that her life rotated around the basketball court and class. Her greatest inspiration, she says, has been her family. During school, Akon says she discovered another side of her – laziness. However, she said the fact that she understood herself well enough gave her the opportunity to push herself beyond comfortable limits, in order to register success.
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