Junior Wafalme coach Omondi wants more focus on youth teams
Kenya’s U-18 boys’ volleyball team Assistant Coach Geoffrey Omondi has
called for increased attention to youth development from the Kenya Volleyball
Federation (KVF).
The Junior Wafalme finished fourth in the recently concluded African
Championships cum World Championships qualifiers in Tunisia, and Omondi admits
North African opponents are a leap ahead of Kenya due to their big focus on
youth structures.
Omondi believes that a greater
emphasis on age-group games could improve Kenya’s chances of qualifying for
world championships.
“I would like to request the Kenya
Volleyball Federation to always think about the juniors as that is where all
sports begin. From that level, if I look at the African competitions, we have
an easier chance of qualifying for the World Championships through the
age-group competitions,” he said.
Omondi, who doubles up as the Trailblazers men’s volleyball team Head Coach, believes a strong youth system will translate to strong senior national
teams.
“We should not only concentrate on
Malkia Strikers and the Wafalme Stars, we should look at the age groups. These teams will also be able to feed the Malkia Strikers and Wafalme Stars,” Omondi
asserted.
“The earlier we begin the better. The
more matches they get, the more experienced they will become and we will get a
better team at the end of the day,” he added.
Despite facing difficulties with
preparations and travel to the Tunisia, Omondi praised his team’s performance.
“We had a good run although we had
challenges with preparations and travelling. Despite that, the boys gave their
best and we were able to beat two teams out of five that were in the competition.
This mean that with more focus on our youth teams, we can compete favourably
against the best of the best in the continent,” observed Omondi.
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