NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 6 – National women’s volleyball coach Paul Bitok says there are noticeable improvements in the team, one week after they arrived in Brazil for a training camp.
Bitok said the players have maintained a positive attitude and are yearning to go for September’s World Championship, to be co-hosted by the Netherlands and Poland.
“We have been here for the last one week. This is our second week and so far, everything is working out well. The ladies have been working hard and already we can see an improvement in the playing system,” the former Kenya Commercial Bank coach said.
However, Malkia Strikers’ reception remains an area of concern for Bitok who is hopeful the same will be rectified by the time they face off against local sides for friendly matches.
“The only issue that remains is our reception, which needs a bit of more work. Luckily, we have these modern machines that will hopefully help us improve on this area. We will make the most of these facilities and then test ourselves in friendlies against the local sides,” he said.
The queens face an arduous task at the quadrennial showpiece, having been pooled in a tough Group A consisting of European champions Italy, hosts Netherlands, Cameroon, Puerto Rico and Belgium.
Malkia will be hoping to go one better than their last appearance in 2018 when they claimed a historic first-ever win at the tournament – a straight sets win over Kazakhstan.
However, they were no match for their other Pool D rivals, losing to eventual champions Serbia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico.
Bitok, who has also tutored the Rwandese national team, however, believes the past results will count for nothing so long as they are adequately prepared and confident.
“We are ready for this championship with this kind of adequate preparations. We urge all Kenyans to continue praying…just continue supporting us. Everything is going on well,” he said.
