This week, the Uganda Sports Press Association will recognize Neko Muduse-Ojala as a legend for his services to his chosen sport of volleyball.
As a child, I grew up hearing about his legendary exploits in the world of computer programming in Uganda. Those stories were the main influence to me becoming a software engineer when I grew up. It started out with fascination with the latest tech gear he always seemed to have in his house. Then I learned about the ability to actually make the technology work. I was hooked. But by this time uncle Neko was a big man. Too busy to teach me programming. But I hang around his office and from the folks who worked there I picked up a few things as they wrote payroll systems and word processors. When I got to University, I never had to fight to get a computer. Everyone wanted to have me in their group because I knew what we were doing. But I wanted to be as good a programmer as uncle Neko, so I went back to him when he had retired. He gave me 2 huge textbooks on C++ and COBOL. This was when I was now doing Java but those textbooks knocked the wind out of my sails. The top of the mountain seemed so far away. Until I got a job and started to write real software that did real world things. Finally, I was uncle Neko.
At least that is what I thought until I started paying attention to his volleyball. I was born when it was all KAVC and then somehow he walked away from KAVC and had started this new team called Nemostars. A friend of mine keeps asking me why anyone would walk away from a winning formula and I still have not convinced him with my answers. The story of uncle Neko and KAVC baffled me. From playing in, founding and coaching volleyball teams, uncle Neko had seen it all. He had done it over and over. And with KAVC being a big constant, it seemed like he was ready to bottle the formula. But he walked away and started again from scratch. Can winning get boring, perhaps?
I returned from a spell working abroad (#imisspune) to find that Nemostars were now in the top echelons of volleyball in Uganda and on the brink of making it to their 1st play offs. That was the beginning of the winning. The titles have kept coming and even included an invincible season where NO GAME WAS LOST. Trips to the continent and striking terror in the hearts of teams in the region.
A truly great inspiration to all geeks out there. Uncle Neko is the geek that was also a jock and I only managed the geek part. I am NOT uncle Neko.
Tiger Woods also once decided to reconstruct his golf swing at a time when the titles were rolling in. The Springboks insisted on a black quota when they were world champions and there were so few good black players.
The best answer for my friend who asks me why people disrupt a winning formula is that you jump higher when you crouch.
Have yourselves a good week.