August 29, 2016

A Coach in the Making

Alicent Awour was one of the very first Suba Lakers. She joined the club in 2009 when she was just 11 years old. She has always had natural talent, a positive attitude and a strong work ethic. After both her parents died by the time she was 8 years old, she went to live with one of her father’s other wives along with her 3 children. She is a bright girl and even at the age of 11 she knew that if she stayed in her home situation, she wouldn’t go far in life. She boldly approached the Club Officials and requested assistance to attend a different school. The club helped to relocate her to Mbita; just 20 minutes from her home, to live with a family and attend a better school. 


After finishing primary school, she attended Jera Secondary School; one of the leading football schools in the region. She helped her team reach the National Tournament in 2013 and in 2014 she was the team Captain. She sustained a major knee injury at Regionals in 2013. Thanks to a few key Suba Laker supporters she was able to have ACL surgery by the end of the year at CURE International Hospital where they have the Region's leading orthopedic doctors. Most of 2014 was a year of rehab for her, but she stuck with it and was able to play again her final year of school. In Nov 2015, Alicent finished secondary school. No small feat for a rural island girl. 

She is currently staying at home during her gap year as she awaits to join college. She is hoping to be accepted into Kenya's Medical Training Institute to study Nursing. Yet, she cannot be idle. She is driven and loves the game of football. She has recently been coaching the girls team for a secondary school near her home where she led the team to the finals at the sub-county tournament. Suba Laker officials were there to watch in awe as she coached, marshaled, and directed the girls from the sidelines. 

What a joy to watch this young lady, now 18 years old, use the skills she gained from Suba Lakers and take the initiative to train up a new generation. We are so proud of the woman she is becoming.

August 4, 2016

Secondary School BallGames 2016

Secondary School Ball Games are some exciting times for the Suba Lakers. The girls don't get to play together as a team, but instead they are each playing for their school teams. All of our girls attend schools which have some of the best football teams in our region. Naturally, most of the schools make it though their local play-offs to advance to the next level. The culmination of this is the Regional Tournament. By this point, only the best teams have advanced. 

This year 3 of the 4 teams in the Regional Tournament semi-final round were teams with Suba Lakers. These included Moi Girl Sindo, Jera Secondary School, and Nyakach Girls. Jera, who has dominated girls football in the region for many years, was matched against a tough Sindo team. Sindo won, 2-1. Nyakach took on Ekinyoro to win 1-0. 


The finals brought together Nyakach vs. Sindo. On the Nyakach team we have 5 Suba Lakers; Lilian Awour (GK), Winnie Ogola, Eunice Konguru, Florence Wangoi, Lencer Adoyo and Maurine Owiti. For Moi Girls Sindo the Suba Lakers are represented by Lydia Awino, Brenda Sharon, and Christine Achila. It was a tough match which ended 0-0 in regulation time. The Champion was determined by penalty kicks. With Suba Laker Lilian in the goal for Nyakach, she didn’t allow anything into her net. Nyakach won 1-0.

 

Sindo and Nyakach will both proceed to Nationals to be held in Kisumu. Two slots are permitted since Lake Region is the host for Nationals. This year we will have the largest showings of Suba Lakers at Secondary School Ball Games Nationals with 9 girls representing the club. We are so proud of these girls for their success on the field, but also for their character and leadership among their teams.