FAMILY AFFAIRS: Masipa Mailula remains one of the vital cogs in provincial volleyball.
You probably never had of a big family in which every sibling in the household played a similar team sport and by coincidence they all fared pretty well.
But here in Botlokwa, the Mailula family at the close-knit village of Matseke has written an indelible history in the annals of volleyball, a Cinderella ballgame they say “it runs in the family.”
The family’s volleyball legacy currently rests on the shoulders of Masipa, who is one of the top coaches under the auspices Limpopo Volleyball Association (LVA).
Today, he stands head and shoulders above the rest as one of the few internationally-acclaimed coaches to be conferred a coaching license by Federation of International Volleyball.
In his glorious coaching career, Masipa has achieved a lot started from his stints with the provincial Under-18 and the senior provincial sides at the interprovincial tournaments.
His phenomenal right hand had also entrenched him in the history books of school sport while studying accounting subjects at Tidima High School.
Having grown up in a family unit steeped in volleyball traditions, Masipa played a thousand games of backyard volleyball while dreaming of playing for his country, especially in an international series.
After he cut his volleyball teeth in 1993, two years down the line he was already a vital cog in the Limpopo provincial volleyball machine.
While Masipa’s name is often mentioned with unmatched respect among his peers in the game, it will be disingenuous to overlook the brother who built this sporting legacy.
It was his elder brother, Klass who instilled a sense of love for volleyball in many youngsters and to this day, whenever volleyball matters are raised anywhere in the country, his name just pops out.
While big brother Klass was more devoted to school volleyball as a teacher and later principal, Masipa is more concerned on the provincial game.
The sixth-born of the nine siblings, Masipa was introduced to the game by Klass who insisted that everyone in the family worships at the altar of the volleyball court.
Klass took it upon himself to establish Botlokwa Evergreen Volleyball Club in the early 1990s and to this day, the club remains an iconic brand that continues to nurture talent for school sport, provincial and national teams.
“Brother Klass’s first love has always been volleyball and that’s why everyone in the family followed in his footsteps. It is because of him that the game became part of the family heritage. When we sat around the meal table, instead of indulging in the delicacies on the menu, volleyball would supersede every topic” Masipa explains.