Ndidi Madu relishes huge Afrobasket accomplishment as assistant coach of Nigeria’s D’Tigress
The 30-year-old, who established herself as a star figure in the D’Tigress squad for six years, announced her shock retirement last year – 89 days to the start of the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2018 in Spain – to focus on investing in youth through coaching and her foundation. It is not a decision she regrets but her transition was not without challenges.
Three days after Nigeria’s hard-fought victory over hosts Senegal in a hostile atmosphere at the magnificent 15,000-seater Dakar Arena, Ndidi made this confession in a Facebook post: “My journey from being a player to a coach has not been easy. Over the last year I have applied for many coaching jobs and was turned down for lack of experience. Then in July after being disappointed many times I was given the opportunity to come to Nigeria and coach with the Women’s National Team.”
Q & A WITH NDIDI MADU
Congratulations on winning the AfroBasket as a coach, having done the same as a player in 2017. How does it feel to have achieved this in two years?
Thank you! It is an amazing feeling. I thank God for blessing me with this opportunity to coach with the National team. To be able to win a gold medal as a player and coach is a huge accomplishment for me.
Could you take us through your thoughts and feelings during the final against Senegal when there was a 54-54 tie with less than two minutes left to play?
In the final against Senegal, I was confident that we were going to win. When the game was tied 54-54, I did not get nervous because of the confidence I have in our team.
Still referring to that moment, is there any difference in facing such a situation as a player?
-Confidence to me is the key. As a player I have to be confident in myself and my teammates, as a coach I have to be confident in my team.
Your retirement came as a huge surprise to many with some persons feeling it came too early. Looking back now, are you completely satisfied with your decision or would you have preferred to win this year’s AfroBasket as a player?
-Yes. I am completely satisfied with my decision to retire. I thank God for giving me the strength to move forward. It was not an easy decision, but I thank God for His strength. Winning this year’s AfroBasket as a coach was amazing. I would not want it any other way.
What has post-retirement been like?
-Post-retirement has been fun. I have had time to focus on my Team Madu Foundation and coaching. It is different from what I have been used to the past six years, but I love it.
How did you get the assistant coaching role with Nigeria? And did getting the job make you feel lucky?
-I would not say that getting the coaching role with Nigeria makes me lucky. I am blessed. It is just a huge blessing to come back to the team as a coach and I thank God for giving me this great opportunity.
How have you been relating with the players in the team considering most of them were your teammates just a year ago?
-I relate very well with the players. I was in their shoes two years ago so I understand a lot about what they are going through and what they need as players. We all get along very well. I am just in a different role now, not as their teammate, but as their coach.
What are some of the lessons you have learned so far on the job?
-I have learned so many things. Working with Coach Otis, Coach Peter, and Coach Shola, they all taught me so much. How to run a practice, how to coach professional players, managing game-time situations and breaking down game film. Coach Otis is an awesome coach. I am very happy to be working with him. He works really hard with our coaching staff. I have learned so much from him. His knowledge of the game, the way he coaches and gets the team prepared to play is amazing.
Tell us about your overall experience in Senegal?
-Senegal was fun. I had a good experience in Senegal.
Looking back at your playing career, is there anything that you would have loved to achieve but didn’t?
-I accomplished all of the goals that I set for myself as a player.
What are your best and worst memories as a player?
-My best memory as a player was winning the 2017 AfroBasket in Bamako, Mali. My worst memory as a player was losing to Cameroon by one point in the 2015 AfroBasket in Yaounde, Cameroon.
NATIONAL TEAM DEBUT
Here is how she remembers her debut for the D’Tigress: “My debut for Nigeria was in 2013. I was invited to training camp and I made the team. Helen Ogunjimi who was the captain at the time, helped send my information to the coaches and staff. My first game was in Maputo, Mozambique. I was nervous and excited at the same time. To represent Nigeria was a huge honor for me.”
The CEO and Founder of Team Madu Foundation, “a nonprofit organization designed to mentor and develop youth in both academics and athletics”, also hopes to venture into media. She studied English and Mass Communications at the University of Florida between 2007 and 2012, during which she was a member of The University of Florida Women’s Basketball Team.
