Young City set lofty targets as KHF league heats up

Coach Fredrick Omole is a man on a mission as he looks to retain his side Young City in the Kenya Handball Federation (KHF) men's league in the coming season. 

The league is set to be split into two at the conclusion of the 2024/25 season, with the top 12 teams in the ongoing season forming the top tier league and the rest of the teams dropping down to a Division One league. 

Coach Omole's charges have been in the league for two seasons, and their hearing impairment notwithstanding, believe they have gained enough experience and are looking to finish in the coveted top 12. 

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"The last two seasons we focused mainly on gaining experience and now we feel ready to compete.

We have played six matches and won three which is a good start for my players given the numerous challenges our team faces, away from their hearing impairment. 

Getting all the players together in training is our biggest challenge. Regardless, our team has seen tremendous growth and improvement since joining the league.

Initially, it was to gain experience for our international competitions as we do not have a deaf league, but now we want to compete," Omole told Mozzart Sport after the side's 46-16 loss to Ulinzi HC. 

In their sixth game of the season, Omole's charges faced off with Nixon Oyaro's Ulinzi and with just 10 players on their roster, they stood no chance against the highly ranked soldiers. 

Dickson Manyange led Young City's charge, scoring five in the match with Solomon Kimalewa emerging as the top scorer with eight, two more than Billycliff Wanjala and Kevin Wasike.

"Facing teams like Ulinzi remains an uphill task for our team as they are more experienced and their skill level is higher.

Add that it was impossible to get a full squad for the match day and you get such a performance. However, we learn more from such matches so there is no pressure on my players.

This was good preparation for Sunday's clash where we target our fourth victory against The Citizens," the tactician added. 

For a team that barely won any matches in the first two seasons, Omole says a switch-up in targets was motivation enough for them to bag wins. 

"It has not come easy. We have had to change our attack while maintaining a high-level defense. We have been forced to dig deep on several occasions but that is what it takes to win at this level and we have to get better. To achieve our target we have to win," Omole opined.