Omony on giving back, time in Seychelles and reinvention

KAMPALA. Sunk in the comfy black leather seats at one of the lobbies at Kabira Country Club in Bukoto, Stephen Omony swipes away on his ritzy ipad.
At a beckon, his clean-shaven head tilts upward; an affable smile easing the atmosphere. His big, firm palm - on a handshake - guards you against mistaking him for a masseur.
The Falcons small forward, also recently named Star Times ambassador, was coordinating online his kids’ clinic program.
The Ugandan captain, who will lead the national team – the Silverbacks - to the AfroBasket in Tunisia later this year, is using the clinic - which targets children between seven and 18 years every weekend at Kabira - to give back to the sport.
“It is what I can give back to the game that has given me so much,” Omony, standing at 6’4, tells SCORE.
“My dream is to see that we bring new youngsters on board because when we the older players leave, the game has to continue. I love coaching the game and I love coaching kids.”
Two league titles with Falcons in 1998 and 1999 before embarking on a professional career in Seychelles, where he won four league trophies, is proof of how much the game has given Omony.
Even more intimately, it was during his seven-year stint in Seychelles that Omony, whose current partner he prefers keeping private, got his 10-year-old daughter. The girl is in Seychelles with the mum.
And having enjoyed a successful career spanning about 17 years, Omony - in his mid-30s, now gets to lead the country to Africa’s biggest football showpiece in Tunisia. But just how does he keep reinventing himself where some have failed “I’m not any special really,” he says, “Just small attributes separate us (human beings). Overtime you learn the tricks of how to get over life’s hurdles.
“As athletes, we need to be consistent; we need to always work hard. Work and development don’t stop. A comfort zone in life is the beginning of your failure. Discipline is also a key factor. You appreciate that times change and you must change with times to remain relevant.”
Sport and alcohol
Alcohol has claimed a lot of careers globally. And it did make an attempt at a young Omony while starting out.
“As a young man, I indulged in liquor,” he confesses, “When I would drink a lot early in my career late 90s, I could tell the difference on court than when I didn’t drink.
“Overtime demands of the game catch up with you, and in times when you must rescue the team you can’t. It grew to affect me but soon I learnt to limit my drinking.
“I remember in 1998/99 I went out partying with friends yet we had a game the following day. Coach Ssimbwa (John) stood his ground and didn’t play me. I was mad but today I understand he did it for my own good and for the team.”
Seychelles, family
Perhaps realizing early the dangers of indulging in liquor did shape Omony’s career. How else would he have succeeded professionally in Seychelles?
After leaving Blue Jackets for Falcons in 1997, Omony won his first league title with his new club in 1998 and qualified for the Zone V Club Championships in Lusaka.
It is here that Seychelles’ Premium Cobras first noticed him, but didn’t pursue it a move. He won his second league title with Falcons in 1999 and once again represented Uganda at the Kigali Zone V in 2000. “It’s here that another team from Seychelles called the PLS Hawks approached me,” he says, “They were very aggressive compared to the Cobras.
“They actually wanted me to agree a deal immediately but I told them that I first had to think about it.”
Then a first year student at Nkumba University, “I was young and it was tough to decide.” Eventually he left for Seychelles in December of 2001, first for a month, and then a final move in February 2012.
“Of course there were those little fights with mum over basketball but moving to Seychelles was solely my own decision.”
Omony discovered he had to learn to walk again on arrival to the island nation. “Technically, they were better than us (at the time). I actually started learning afresh.
“It wasn’t easy but I thank God I fit in very fast. Within the first three months I was part of the system.”
Omony, who says he is a farmer and businessman outside playing basketball, strongly believes Ugandan basketball needs to be taken to another level.
“We have a lot of talent but we don’t take it to the next level,” he says, “Ambrose (Tashobya, Fuba head) and his team have done certain things right. We have to continue on that track. “The problem is that we don’t refine our talent. Even those talented individual players do not appreciate that talent. Our priorities are not right.
“Our players should know that talent alone cannot get you through certain situations. Desire, discipline, dedication and passion do.”

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