Day 1 coaching

Coaching Journey Begins

Bright eyed and bushy tailed after a night’s rest and morning malaria tablet reminder we set off on our adventure. Anil, to my surprise, took over DJ duties as Gemma forgot to do her designated job. Thankfully for her, and us, Anil missed his one shot to impress the masses on route and she has remained in the hot seat. Reminder to all DJs to know your crowd before you step up for your set.

Shortly before our arrival at the first school the quest for waves was imminent. All were successful, bar Ed. His excuse being he was sat in the worst seat but how hard is it to really get a wave from the people of such a friendly nation…..

First stop: Kiugu-ini Comprehensive
Never have I ever seen so many kids so excited to get out of the class and get involved in cricket. Once all stations were set and Mark got the warm up done the team took full flight in their pairings, which were decided by peopels favoruite colour the night before. The first session brought some wise words from Anil “the smile of a child is priceless” and wow how true he was and what an experience it was seeing the first smile.

Second school: Muranga College
Way more chaotic and way more kids appeared than anyone expected. Poor Gemma and I got pinned in a corner, literally at one point, with what felt like all the 7 year olds in Kenya wanting to chase a ball for 90min. I can safely say that was the toughest session I have ever done. But I’m glad to have gone through it and to to learn how to makes use of what you have, which is big lesson to take forward.

Lunch came at just the right time and the quest to have a local choose my meals well on its way with Nico being my guide to all food Kenyan.

Third school: Makuyu Comprehensive
At this point in the day my name had changed from Dylan to Jesus, much to the amusement of the children. A clear hint to me its time for a haircut. The kids energy in this session was amazing and definitely lifted us and our levels after a tougher 2nd session. My highlight was seeing the teachers getting involved in the relay races and how it got such a great reception from the kids. Even whilst doing a bowling drill they put all there energy into it which made it such a positive experience for all the coaches.

Active recovery (swimming pool, how good!!!!):
The pool being a big focus point upon for our return to the hotel was very swiftly made use of. I can clearly say that, as hard as we tried, volleyball is not our sport as it took us about 20min to get a rally of 10, but we will give it another a go and come back stronger. But it was a great way to finish the day before evening activities.

I can say it was amazing to see Nico in action and the way he operates with the kids is truly remarkable.

Sessions delivered, smiles had and the beginning of a wonderful experience in full flow we are looking forward to tomorrow.

Dylan Swanepoel