If you are a sports fan, then you perhaps have an idea about how professional players have to commit a lot of time and energy to their respective games.

Besides having to train hard every day to be at the top form, sports personalities are also obliged to be available for competitive matches, or some other activities of their clubs – since for them, sport is not just a hobby but a profession.

Against such odds, Rwanda has some pro sportsmen and women who are making a difference as they juggle sport and corporate careers. Basketball and volleyball players are some of those sports personalities that are sometimes spotted wearing suits serving in banks and insurance companies among other corporations.

Today, Weekend Sport looks at some of the players keeping tabs with both sport and corporate careers, challenges they face and advantages.

Star basketballer Sedar Segamba is one of the players working in the corporate world. The Patriots point-guard currently works at Agaciro Development Fund in the IT department. He says that playing in the national league on top of having a full-time job requires special discipline.

Sedar Sagamba plays for three-time champions Patriots and the national team, but also has a full-time as in the I.T department at Agaciro Development Fund. File.

From Monday to Friday, he has to attend both jobs, and tries not to disappoint. He goes to his I.T work at Agaciro at around 8am every weekday, leaves office at 6pm directly going to his team’s training at Petit Stade. He always carries his training kit with him in the morning so he doesn’t have to first go home in the evening to change and head to training.

"Playing is a passion and a gift that grows when you work hard, which is why as a player you are required to practice as often as possible. Balancing and doing it simultaneously with a corporate career requires commitment and a lot of discipline.”

"It is, without any doubt, demanding but also comes with a lot of advantages. For instance, because of good networks we gain through basketball, finding a job when you are qualified is not very hard. We also get to travel and experience different places all thanks to the sport.”

Sagamba holds a bachelor’s degree in information technology from Saint Lawrence University in Kampala, Uganda.

Lionel Hakizimana, another basketball star and former Rwanda international, is a loan officer at the Bank of Kigali. He says working in the bank and playing basketball has not been difficult for him. Though it may require a lot, he says it doesn’t bother him since he studied in a catholic school where he was trained to wake up early for training and adhere to the morning classes like others classmates.

"I was one of the players in my school who woke up early for training and it was never an excuse to report to classes late. Because of that discipline, I have been playing and attending to my professional work for the last seven years without any struggle.”

Hakizimana challenges young players that successfully pursuing their studies and excelling in basketball is possible. "We don’t play forever, academic qualifications and experience help a lot when ability to compete at the highest level starts to drop.”

In February this year, the star shooting guard joined APR basketball club on a two-year deal after winning the two back-to-back championships with Patriots.

Volleyball ace Aimable Mutuyimana, currently featuring for the UTB men’s volleyball club, also wears a different hat as ICT Director of the UTB University, and has managed both responsibilities well.

Aimable Mutuyimana plays for and works at UTB as the Director of ICT. File

"I grew up dreaming to be a volleyball player, but my mother only allowed me to play on condition that I excelled in class. That trained me to be a good multitasker, and I find it not so hard to plan well for both careers in volleyball and ICT work.”

Mutuyimana previously played for Rwanda Energy Group and had prior won two league titles with APR volleyball club. It is reported that the hard-hitting spiker will rejoin the army side at the end of the 2019/20 season.

Judith Hakizimana has also won it all in women’s volleyball while maintaining her office job. She serves as a procurement officer at the University of Tourism, Technology and Business Studies (UTB), and also plays for the university in the national league.

Judith Hakizimana represented Rwanda and Africa at the Beach Volleyball World Championships in Germany last year. Net.

The 34-year old has won league titles of the last nine seasons in a row, having won the first eight with Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) before inspiring UTB to their first championship on first attempt last year.

She says: "Volleyball keeps me fit and healthy, which enables me to perform my office duties. Striking a balance between playing and work has never been a problem for me.”