NAIROBI, Kenya, August 2 – Kenya Commercial Bank rugby sevens team coach Andrew Amonde says he is enjoying his start to his coaching career although he admits it’s a challenging calling.
The former national Sevens team captain said he is taking his job one day at a time with a lot of lessons to harness on a daily basis.
“It’s a challenging job…it’s a job we take one day at a time because there are so many lessons we learn and also, understanding the kind of players that we have. There’s that response we are trying to build with them to just get how they feel and how they see the system,” Amonde said.
The former KCB player, who hang up his boots last year as Sevens player after an illustrious career, praised his charges for taking to his vision for the bankers.
“It has been positive for them so it is a plus to see the players buying into our system. It means that whatever we are doing is working. We are trying to push them and see how good they can be if they are given the opportunity to play,” he said.
Amonde has thus far enjoyed an impressive start to his coaching career, leading the bankers to the Dala Sevens title held in his hometown of Kisumu in July.
However, he tasted disappointment at the Driftwood Sevens in Mombasa after losing 17-12 to National Sevens Circuit defending champions Menengai Oilers in the semis — before defeating Strathmore Leos 29-12 in the third-place playoff.
Reflecting on the bankers’ performances, Amonde said they have rectified on the mistakes in Mombasa, ahead of other legs of the Sevens Circuit Series.
“We have been trying to correct the things that didn’t go well for us in Mombasa. There has been a lot of intense training just to get us to that physical level that we want them to play at and we are ready to go for the Prinsloo Sevens,” he said.
Amonde added: “The biggest thing going forward is how much do we retain the ball and how we perform on the set play…and to execute effectively when we have the ball in hand.”
At this weekend’s Prinsloo Sevens in Nakuru, the four-time National Sevens Circuit champions will be in Pool C against three-time champions Kenya Harlequins, Kenyatta University’s Blak Blad and Masinde Muliro University.
The bankers lie second on the Sevens Circuit log with 39 points, two behind leaders Kabras Sugar.
