L. MathekaKenya beach commission set to implement junior league
Reading Time: 2min | Thu. 09.06.22. | 20:30
The league will feature Under-19 and Under-16 competitions for both boys and girls.
Plans are underway to have beach volleyball introduce a junior league with the possibility of the same implemented at school level to tap young talent.
School games have been put on hold since March 2020 when Kenya recorded her first Covid-19 case while schools were taking part in term one games.
Kenya Beach Volleyball commission secretary Sammy Mulinge who guided Kenya to its debut at the Olympics Games in Tokyo says plans are in advanced stages to see more youth introduced to the version of the sport.
"We need more players to be introduced to the sport at a young age so they can learn the basics then. Previously, we have relied on players making the switch later in their careers but we want to change that," offered Mulinge.
Conventional volleyball has been a mainstay at the school games and a majority of league and national team players trace their roots in the sport to their secondary school days.
Mulinge believes the recent exploits by the beach volleyball teams, which include taking part in the Olympics for the first time, several African events, and now the World Championships, for the second time, are good motivation for the young players to want to play the version of the sport.
"We have Gaudencia Makokha and Brackcides Agala currently playing in Rome at the World Championships which is a dream for any athlete to compete at the world stage.
While the senior team is making strides, collecting important points that will see them move up the global rankings, our youth teams are nowhere. The last team we fielded at the World Youth stage was in 2013 when Makokha and Naomi Too participated," explained Mulinge.
The league will feature Under-19 and Under-16 competitions for both boys and girls.
