Machakos town came alive as passion, pride and resilience, were on show during the Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) National Championship came to town.
The national championship is considered the highest level of competition in the country, pitting athletes from the eight different regions of Kenya. The event engages student athletes from all backgrounds, who are aways looking forward to compete in their various sports with a hope of representing the country at the East African games. The academy was represented by the girls’ basketball and hockey teams, track and field athletes, as well as swimmers.
The games started with pomp, overshadowing the heavy downpour that fell the previous day and almost slowed things down. The opening game for the girls’ basketball team (The Lady Steppers) was against Buruburu girls, the winners from Nairobi region. The court was of a new terrain to maneuver for our athletes, and a lot of learning ensued as they had to adapt quickly and fight valiantly. Later in the day, the girls’ hockey team (The Scarlets), took to the field in a similarly unfamiliar terrain and played their part. Adaptability and resilience, shone through for both teams, who put up a good fight in unfamiliar circumstances, and this set the tone for the remaining days.
Due to the scope of the event, swimmers and athletes had their events begin later in the week, so the extra time to acclimatize was quite valuable. First came the preliminaries then the finals in various sporting events. Faith Buchera made it to the finals of the 50M Breast stroke, and was also a member of the central region 200M relay team, winning bronze in both events. In Athletics, Bramwel Mathenge (110M Hurdles) , Clinton Lemashon (4 X 400M Relay), Rita Adhaimbo (4 x 400M Relay) and Loise Wambui (200M) made it to their respective finals, a fete not easy to achieve at this level of competition. Bramwel emerged as champion in his event, leaving the other behind by a significant distance.
The positivity in our camp was quite overwhelming, and despite the results, it was very evident that our athletes are very keen on continuous growth. A lot of credit must go to the coaches, who worked with these athletes to nurture these crucial life skills on top of developing good technique. The support in the wake of ‘disappointment’ and the fighting spirit to the last minute of the last game was one to talk about.
It takes a village to educate a person, and develop transformational leaders, so the leadership team and school community in general, are also appreciated their support of budding talent, and facilitating a good stay for our athletes. With continuous development, we can only get better.
