Coaches are confident of a good show as games start today

St Mary's Yala head coach Kenneth Mukok advices his players during a past match.[Washington Onyango,Standard]

As the National Schools Games kicks off this morning at Nakuru High School, some coaches are confident of achieving a positive performance that should lead them to the East African Games in Arusha next week.

St Georges' High School, Kaloleni hockey coach David Masha has set his eyes on the regional championships but is taking a match at a time.

"We are focused on bigger things and it starts with the National Schools Championships and we are determined to advance to the next level of the school games," said Masha whose team are the boys' Coast hockey champions.

They are back in the national games for the second time in three years.

Menengai Sevens coach Evans Adenya Is also another coach who is set for bigger things.

Adenya is not ready to repeat the same mistakes that saw them lose the regional title to newcomers Nanyuki High School who won the final match from a sudden death try for them to become Rift Valley Schools Rugby Sevens champions at the same venue last week.

"We have put behind our experiences of last week and are ready for the next chapter of the national championships with a focus on Arusha Championships," he told Standard Sports.

And Nanyuki High School head coach Oliver Minishi is equally emphatic to do more damage to regular campaigners at the national championships than they did at the regional competition on their way to the Arusha Championships.

"After winning the regional title, we are focused to finish at a respectable position on our debut at this stage but we'll give it our best and possibly advance further," Minishi said after their 5-0 win against Menengai last week.

All four teams who reached the semifinals of the Rift Valley Games automatically qualified for the national championships as opposed to other disciplines since they are hosts and from the fact North Eastern are not represented.

Yesterday, Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) Secretary General David Ngugi was impressed with the turnout of referees who attended the inaugural planning meeting for practical training lessons for game officials ahead of the kick-off this morning.

"We are happy to be back after the Covid pandemic that prevented us from doing them for the past two years but I believe, we'll have lots of fireworks after missing it for that period," he said.

Ngugi assured teams and officials of fair officiating and urged all referees to practice fairness as their aim is to churn out the best talents for the Arusha Games.

"What is interesting is the arrival of nondescript teams at the games that surprised us as opposed to the regular perennial campaigners who had over the years dominated it but dropped at the regional games. The new development makes it even more competitive this time round," he said.

All ball games and a few indoor games commence this morning at Nakuru Boys and Girls High Schools while Menengai and Jomo Kenya Schools will host hockey matches.

Swimming will be held at Shah Lalji Nangpar Academy.

Teams from far-flung counties from the Coast and Northeastern regions arrived on Wednesday afternoon but those from Western, Nyanza, Central, Nairobi and Eastern regions were expected by yesterday evening.

The official opening ceremony will be held this morning at Nakuru Boys High School in the presence of KSSSA and Ministry of Education officials.

Athletics
Kenyan stars ready for World Cross showdown in Belgrade
By Ben Ahenda 9 hrs ago
Motorsport
Safari Rally 2024: Tanak urges Kenyan children to take up motorsports as a career
Rugby
SCHOOLS: From the classroom to the field, Kisumu Girls ready to lift national rugby trophy
Motorsport
Safari Rally 2024: Neuville clinches Kasarani stage as Hyundai makes intention known