Ahead of the 2020/21 Uganda Premier League season, former Lady Rugby Cranes (Uganda national women’s rugby team) 15s and 7s player and coach Helen Koyokoyo Buteme joined Express FC as a Strength and Conditioning (S&C) Coach.
According to Express FC website, the ex-women national rugby team skipper and coach has settled in and hit the ground running.
Buteme’s first task was initiating the players to her programs, some of whom were doing S&C sessions for the first time.
After an improved start to the league, Buteme says a good pre-season helped the boys be ready for the bumper schedule that saw the team play four games in two weeks.
“I have had to use ice bath sessions and self Mayo fasical release protocols on the players for recovery especially after long trips (Arua and Mbarara),” Buteme told the club website.
“With two games a week, it hasn’t been easy for the players to have sufficient recovery and at the same time prepare for the next game but we are fortunate that we had a good pre-season so they are in great shape,” Buteme added.
On how the players have adjusted to the S&C schedule, Buteme was quick to credit the boys for swiftly adjusting.
“I have been pleased by the fitness levels and strength exhibited by the players in the four games that we have played so far. That said it hasn’t been perfect though,” Buteme stated.
With the league set to return in February due to the 2021 CHAN tournament set to take place in January in Cameroon, Buteme is set to capitalize on the free time to improve on the S&C department.
“I am going to make use of this break to work on the conditioning weaknesses that I have identified in each players who picked up injuries so that by the time the league resumes next year we have a fully fit team,” Buteme added.
Buteme is a Leipzig University level B conditioning License holder. She has had stints with the Lady Rugby Cranes team as a player, main coach, S&C coach and the like. She also coaches top tier women’s rugby outfit, Black Pearls. She is co-founder of Rhino Hockey Club, a women’s team playing in the National Hockey League.
Ahead of league restart, Express FC sit sixth on the 16 team log on 8 points after four games played. The league is scheduled to return in February 2021 due to the CHAN tournament set to take place in Cameroon.
