It’s easy to get high in Kapchorwa. The road winds ever upwards from the plains of Kumi and Budekea, putting high stress on low gears on the bus. At over 6,000 feet he mountain views are intoxicating. The greenery is lush, the bananas bountiful. The children’s smiles are, as ever, radiant. The sense of community illustrated by the way disabled children and those with special needs were supported by their peers absolutely heart-warming. The determination of children with significant impairments to deal with them and join in complicated cricket activities with their friends life affirming.
So with a buzz we set off for our final days coaching- where has two weeks gone – to be faced with a moment of high tension when it appeared the ground was double booked – a local high school wanting to play a series of inter house football matches whilst two hundred hopeful primary school children excitedly waited for their first encounter with the even greater game of cricket.
Negotiations worthy of the United Nations followed before an amicable compromise was reached. We raced through two schools worth of children with the cricket basics of batting and fielding – alongside the Ugandan basics of smiles, shouts and screams of encouragement – rearranged for two others to return later and cleared the pitch for the football highlights.
So what to do with an unexpected three hour window? Get even higher of course. You don’t go far in Kapchorwa without being reminded it’s the source of elite long distance runners,none of whom are higher in esteem than Olympic gold medalist Joshua Cheptegei. He has founded one of the primary schools we coached yesterday, whilst his father is headmaster at Kapchorwa Primary, whose delightful pupils gave us a runaround this morning. So we ground the gears and drove even higher until we reached an altitude of 2,000+ metres and the Teyret National High Altitude Training Centre, a modern well appointed training and performance centre for elite athletes – so naturally we were welcomed in!
We passed n the 3km cross country track on the basis of time – we only had three hours after all – and set about a lap of the ultra modern running track. One or two of us managed a brisk walking pace, whilst the more adventurous tried the steeple chase jumps with the softest of landings on the forgiving track. Avid sports fans will be pleased to know that we donated a bat and ball to the manager of the accommodation complex should any long distance runners have a bit of recreation time between training bursts. Remember the balls flies a bit at this altitude so world record runners may one day hit world record Chris Gayle distance shots
Feeling the benefits from the intense work we had put in we returned to the natural high of coaching at the field we had left to the footballers. We were in time to witness a penalty shoot out in full drama. Not wanting to interrupt the equally natal high of the partisan supporters we set up cricket activities away from the action around the edge of the pitch. Catching and basic batting weee introduced to further classes of primary children whose cheers and giggles drowned out the winning penalty – so we still don’t know who won. A committed and inquisitive group of teachers joined us for some basic coach education. This took place behind one of the goals. Fortunately the deciding match on the tournament was pretty one sided so there were no stray shots at our end to put us off our bowling actions. The teachers added highlights to the day by picking up the skills, smiling and making enthusiastic enquiries about the game and how to package it for their children. We finished up with a demonstration game of cricket- which perfectly illustrated the point that there is no one way to play the game.
Coaching finished for the day there was still time for one last high. Who was the tall lean figure in front of us at the cash point? Yes Mr Cheptegei himself, who greeted our colleague Joseph, the local sports coordinator, like a long lost brother. I might be exaggerating when I sat we exchanged tales of our most memorable running moments – stitched up like a kipper being sent back on a quick single doesn’t translate that easily- but selfies and handshakes definitely were.
So there you are. A day in Kapchorwa.A day of highs and higher highs. That’s cricket Uganda style.
Mark
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