Nairobi Water Queens' Ochieng wins Coach of the month award

Nairobi Water women Handball team coach Jack Ochieng after he was awarded with the StarTimes/ SJAK Coach of the Month award for March at the Company Headquarters in Nairobi on May 30.[SJAK]

Jack Ochieng' has been named the StarTimes/Sports Journalist Association of Kenya (SJAK) Coach of the Month of March.

Ochieng guided Nairobi Water Queens to yet another Kenya Handball Federation (KHF) women's league title with zeal and vigor.

The Jack Ochieng-led Water Queens achieved the feat after they gunned down rivals Ulinzi Shark's 28-25 win in a highly charged match on Saturday, March 25.

To lay his hands on the coveted award, Ochieng' beat two other nominees including Carlos Kaytwa who led the Kabras Sugar rugby team to the Kenya Cup title, and National Cereals and Produce Board (NPBC) coach Brian Mathews.

In winning the award, Ochieng' took home prize money of Ksh. 100,000, a personalized trophy, and a StarTimes 55-inch smart television set courtesy of sponsors StarTimes Kenya.

Ochieng' becomes the fifth recipient of the coveted award after trailblazing Dennis Mwanja of the Kenya Lioness rugby in November, NCPB men's handball team's Brian Mathews in December, Strathmore women's hockey team head coach Meshack Senge in January and Butali Warriors hockey's coach Zachary Aura in February.

An elated Ochieng' remarked during the presentation of the award: "It's such a good feeling to emerge as the finest coach for the month of March. I dedicate the award to the ladies who fought bravely to rise to the occasion. The award goes to attest to our resilience and level headedness in play."

The Coach went on: "We did not anticipate such resilience from Ulinzi. But I am elated that the experience paid off at the eleventh hour and teamwork made the difference in this match. When we were chasing their score, we made changes to our defense and that helped us to prevail."

Nairobi Water women Handball team celebrate with their coach Jack Ochieng after he was awarded with the StarTimes/ SJAK Coach of the Month award for March at the Company Headquarters in Nairobi on May 30.[SJAK]

StarTimes Kenya's Head of Public Relations and Content Syndication Myke Mwai noted that coaches are on many occasions the unsung heroes of sport "hence the noble initiative of acknowledging their input and guidance.

"From our branding perspective and our obligations to the community, this award gives us a lot of fulfillment and we see positive impacts from sports which have over the years put the country on the world map," noted StarTimes Kenya's Head of Public Relations and Content Syndication Myke Mwai.

"We have previously partnered with SJAK to sponsor the Sports Personality of the Month award and I am glad that the coaches award goes a long way in bolstering competition among tacticians to do better and that has an impact on the level of competition among players," Mwai added.

SJAK president James Waindi urged coaches to raise the bar higher as their efforts are appreciated and contribute to overall improved performance by the national team.

"We are thankful to StarTimes for partnering with us since we started awarding sports personalities and coaches. We have come a long way in this journey and it is my happiness to see them remaining one of our key partners," Waindi noted.