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2006 Volleyball World
Championship
Kenyan coach plots how to beat
Costa Rica and Chinese Taipei
Nairobi, Kenya, September 16-: As national women volleyball team
training goes to the wire next week, Japanese coach Sadatoshi
Sugawara is plotting how to convincingly sweep past Costa Rica
and Chinese Taipei in the preliminaries so as to reach the
second round for the first time
ever at this year’s World Volleyball Championships in Japan.
Speaking at the teams’ training camp at Kenya Pipeline Company
residential estate in Karura, Sugawara said his main target is
to ensure that
Kenya is among the top four teams from their group which also
includes hosts Japan, Portugal, Korea and Poland.
“Having analysed video tapes of the teams in the group, I am
convinced that Kenya can convincingly beat Costa Rica and
Chinese Taipei so as to reach the second round after which we
shall plan after knowing our next opponents,” Sugawara said
adding that Poland was also one of the teams he was determined
to beat in the group.
The veteran volleyball coach who is being assisted by Kenya
Pipeline tactician David “Demosh” Lung’aho and Paul “Mbuzi”
Bitok who recently won the African Women Volleyball Club
Championships with Kenya Commercial Bank in Mauritius said
training has reached its final and crucial stages.
“The players are focused since they are presently 14 in camp and
I am set to drop two more next week so that Iremain with the
final 12 who will travel for the World Championships in Japan,”
said Sugawara.
He stated that as at now his options were wide open and it is
not automatic which player will play in which position because
as a coach he knows where each of the players can fit in and
performs best.
“I tell you these girls can now play against any top team in the
world since apart from working on areas which were previously
wanting, we have gone further and ensured that they are on
checked and controlled diet which has seen most of them shade
off extra fat in their body,” Sugawara said.
Indeed a look on the various charts on the wall of the gymnasium
shows each player’s daily performance graph, amount of fat lost,
speed, weight age and fitness. “This training camp has been
conducted in a professional manner hence the information you are
seeing on the wall,” said the veteran Japanese tactician.
Dorcas Ndasaba who was a member of the team at both 2000 Sydney
and 2004 Athens Olympic Games said thetraining has been tough
but each of the 14 players currently in camp is determined to
make final squad of 12 players set to be named just before they
leave for another three weeks training stint in Japan.
Team captain Lucy Chege said they were set and focused for the
task ahead while both Lung’aho and Bitok said Sugawara’s
experience has helped them prepare a strong team whereby
selecting the final 12 will be too close to call.
Players in camp were Janet Wanja (Setter), Dorcas Ndasaba
(Left), Edna Rotich (Centre), Judith Tarus (Libero), Jane Waw
(Setter), Diana Khisa (Centre), Lydia Maiyo (Left), Leonidas
Kamende (Centre), Mildred Odwako (Libero), Jackline Barasa
(Centre), Catherine Wanjiru (Left), Lucy Chege (Right), Doris
Palanga (Right), Brackcides Agala (Centre); COACHES: Sadatoshi
Sugawara, David Lung’aho, Paul Bitok.
By Jack Kwemba from Nairobi,
Kenya
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