NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 11 – National men’s volleyball head coach Gideon Tarus says he is optimistic he can guide the team to a third qualification of the Africa Games, as they prepare for the Zone Five qualifiers, scheduled for Egypt at the end of this month.
The Wafalme Stars have played at the Africa Games twice before, in 2007 when they finished fourth after reaching the semi-finals and losing to hosts Algeria in the bronze medal match and in 2011 in Maputo where they won bronze.
Having missed in the subsequent editions in 2015 and 2019, Tarus is keen to see the team back in Continental level, and says they look to be in good shape to do so.
“At the moment, apart from Egypt which is a bit strong, I think we are the best team in Zone Five. We are ready to go and fight in the Championships and our target is to win the title. It is a challenge because all teams are good and want to win but we want to make sure that we qualify,” the tactician said.
The finalists of the Championship will qualify for the Africa Games in Ghana, and Tarus says their minimum target is to get to the final and then challenge for the crown.
The sentiments are shared by skipper Brian Melly who says the team is focused on earning that ticket to Ghana.
“We expect good things in Egypt. We know we will face tough teams especially Egypt which is a powerhouse of volleyball in Africa. But we beat them at the Africa Championships so we believe we can do it again. Our target is to qualify,” said the GSU opposite hitter.
The team is on day four of training, having started training on Monday ahead of the January 20 departure for Cairo.
Coach Tarus says he is happy with the pace at which training has started and believes they can work well over the next few days in training to be sharp enough for the opening game on January 23.
“We picked a lot of lessons from the African Championship last year and we are working on the mistakes as well as strengthening what we thought we did well,” said the coach.
He adds; “Before, we had issues with reception and backcourt defense but we have improved a lot in this area especially with the young players coming up. Maybe now we need to ensure that we have stronger fighting spirit because that might be the difference.”
Kenya finished ninth at last year’s Africa Championships, after failing to earn a slot into the quarter finals.
Meanwhile, Tarus has included former Kenyan international Brackcedes Agala into his technical bench, with the former Malkia Strikers skipper coming in as Team Manager.
