Express FC appoint former Uganda 7s and 15s starlet as conditioning coach

Premier League (UPL) side Express FC have appointed former Uganda national rugby 7s and 15s star Hellen Buteme as the strength and conditioning coach.

Buteme is joining the Red Eagles in preparation for next season which is tentatively set to kick-off on October 17. She has arrived at the club with a contract that is set to expire at the end of the two years.

“Buteme joins in the capacity of the strength and conditioning coach and will be establishing and maintaining a strength and conditioning program which entails improving athletic performance and teaching fitness and movement skills,” Express announced.

The 2004, 2005 and 2008’s Most Valuable Player stated what attracted him to the club.

“When I met the club CEO [Isaac Mwesigwa] at the beginning of this year, he told me about his plans for Express,” Buteme said.

“Basically to bring back its glory days and seeing that I am also a strength and conditioning coach, he wanted me to join the technical bench and take over the conditioning needs for the team.

“It turned out to be a challenge that I couldn’t resist and so I will be making sure that the players are in the best possible shape to execute the coach’s game plans and ensuring that they are as injury-free as possible.

“I will be assisting the medical team with the rehabilitation of injured players and just basically making sure that the players are the best that they can possibly be.”

Buteme is a Leipzig University level B conditioning License holder and has started sharing the conditioning programme for players through the Whatsapp group.

Sporting activities are yet to resume in Uganda after it was suspended over five months ago due to the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I’ve had the opportunity to meet the rest of the technical team and we are all on the same page,” she said.

“I’ve started working with the players via Whatsapp but I can’t wait for the sports ban to be lifted so that I can work directly work with them. This is so exciting and I am happy to be on board with Express.”

Buteme played rugby for the 7s and 15s teams between 2005 and 2014 and after retirement, she was named S & C coach for the 7s and 15s.

She resigned as the 7s coach in 2019.