Great players, great people, great community!

A great first day, we worked with local players from the town of Naiavasha. Boys of high school age, some fantastically creative and imaginative players. They worked extremely hard all day, eager to take on new ideas. The players are very instinctive, street footballers, flair in abundance, back heels, tricks, range of passing all great. I have seen more creativity in one day than I have in a very long time. coaching day 2The pitch was mostly dirt, the goals made of wood and the pitch marked out with lines dragged out by sticks. That didn’t matter though, the standard of play was so high, the players ability to receive and adjust to the ball when it was so lively coming into them was breathtaking. They were able to play of one touch in tight areas, add flicks and tricks and play with total freedom. I can’t help but think that we could learn a lot from these boys.

From the football aside, the very best part of my day was watching the young primary school children coming back from school, boys and girls no older than 4 or 5 walking next to the pitch on their way home. I asked Hesbon (the coach I am working with) about this and if it was safe, he replied “it is the communities responsibility to take care of the children and make sure they get home safe”. Perhaps this is something else we can all learn from?

A great day, which opened my eyes up to not only the quality of the players, but their passion and commitment to football. If you ask them a question about players or teams in the premier league they will have the answer and if you set them a challenge in training, they will work to achieve it.

Great players, great people, great community!

Day One in Nairobi

The fun of traveling to Nairobi…

After an 8 & 1/2 hour flight to Nairobi and what I can only describe as being the organized chaos of going through Customs and getting a Visa – $50 in cash, I was on my way to the baggage claim. We were then introduced to our drivers for the week, loaded our bags into the car and headed to our hotel for the night and some much needed rest.

Day One in Nairobi

Up early to complete a gym sesh before visiting the Orphaned Elephant Sanctuary. Baby elephants as young as a week old lived at the sanctuary having been saved just days earlier due to loosing their mother because of poachers and the Ivory Trade. This early separation from their mothers is even sadder when you consider the very interesting fact that elephants can stay with their mother for up to 10 years. To replicate their mothers and help develop the elephants socially, each elephant will have a carer that stays with them 24 hours a day, they even sleep in bunks in the elephants stables…now that is dedication for you to ensure that these magnificent creatures survive.

baby elephant

After leaving the sanctuary we drove through Nairobi which was slightly different than driving through any other city I have been too, and then onto Naiavasha. We took a boat tour on the lake and were lucky enough to see 6 families of Hippos, an incredible sight.

The day ended with a little frustration that we were not able to get the football equipment required to coach in Naiavasha, so we need to organize another trip back to Nairobi, hopefully tomorrow.

I’ll keep you posted…..

What I can say is that from the first 24 hours in Kenya, the country is beautiful, the people are fantastic and friendly!