1st Day of Suba Lakers Holiday Classic

The Suba Lakers Holiday Classic Tournament kicked off on Thursday and will conclude on Friday.  At the beginning, Madam Lillian Ombori shared with all of the participants about the importance of choosing good friends and how negative peer pressure can impact your future.  She used demonstrations to show how good water can be polluted with just a drop of something bad.  It was a very good lesson that kept the players interested. 

In the first match of the day Suba Lakers drew 0-0 in a hotly contested match with Kisumu Leeds United.  In the second match there were fireworks with Rongo Constituency defeating Sindo Stars 6-1.  In the third match the Suba Lakers drew once again with Goretty girls, a young up and coming team from Mbita.  In the 4th match Rongo Constituency continued their winning ways by defeating Victoria Ladies FC from Kendu Bay 2-0 in a very rugged game.  In the 5th game Goretty girls fought hard against Kisumu Leeds United to even the score at 1-1 on a goal by Christine Jael before a late winner from Leeds.  In the final match of the day Victoria Ladies FC defeated Sindo stars 5-0.

So in Pool A, Kisumu Leeds United topped the group with the Suba Lakers coming in second.  In Pool B, Rongo Contstituency topped the group, followed by Victoria Ladies FC.

The semifinals will kick off on Friday morning at 8:00 with Leeds United facing Victoria Ladies, followed by Suba Lakers taking on Rongo Constituency.  The finals will begin by 1:00 pm.    

The teams are playing for these awards:

No.1      Trophy, Ksh. 10,000, t-shirts, one certificate.

No.2      Trophy, Ksh. 7,000, one certificate.

No.3      Trophy, Ksh. 3,000, one certificate.

*All other participating teams will be provided with a certificate for participation

Back from Kitale

The Suba Lakers returned from Kitale on December 13th.  It was a great experience spending 4 days in a new place, meeting new people, hearing new ideas and playing against strong competition.  The players liked the place very much, except for the cold weather.  For young girls that have grown up at sea level on the equator where the temperature is consistent year round, the high elevation "cold" weather was a bit of a shock to their system.  It was hot during the day, but cooled down to around 50 degrees F at night. 

The first two mornings the players participated in group sessions with the girls from other teams where they discussed how to keep their dreams alive.  They shared challenges they face and how to overcome them so they can build a better future.  During the discussion times and even during the nights, the girls formed strong bonds with the other teams from various parts of the country that were there. 

On the field the team couldn't take advantage of their leads to finish off the games.  In the first match we opened with a goal from Dorothy Adhiambo in the first ten minutes and controlled possession against SEP from Oyugis.  Unfortunately we had a let down in the 2nd half and allowed them to equalize, finishing in a 1-1 draw.  On the 2nd day we played the hosts TYSA, a very strong team.  Again we jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a goal from Irine Achieng.  Within a minute TYSA scored to keep the game even.  The 2nd half was back and forth until TYSA scored a second goal to win 2-1.  In the last group game we domintated against KYFA, winning 2-0 on goals from Dorothy Adhiambo and Irine Achieng.  Unfortunately we finished 1 point behind the other two teams and missed out on playing in the finals.

We were thankful for the opportunity to travel to Kitale and make new friends while being exposed to a new area of the country.  

Holiday Classic

The Suba Lakers Holiday Classic Girls Football Tournament is still on schedule for 15th and 16th December at Mbita High School.  So far teams from Kisumu, Kendu Bay, Rongo and Sindo have confirmed their participation along with two of our own teams. 

Wasichana Tunaweza

The senior team is leaving today for Kitale to participate in the Wasichana Tunaweza Tournament (Girls, We are Able).  TYSA is hosting the event as they celebrate 10 years of youth football.  The morning times will be filled with encouragement for the girls to stay in school and work hard academically to acheive their dreams.  Guest speakers will be sharing with them and they will also have time for discussions in large groups and small groups.  An ongoing tournament will take place in the afternoons with the finals coming on December 12th.  None of us have ever been to Kitale before so we are excited about the opportunity to see a new place. 

Special Clinic

This week we hosted internationally renowned coach Bob Oyugi in Mbita.  Bob has been one of the main men in Kenyan football for the last 25 years.  He has spent time coaching some of the biggest clubs and national teams and has travelled to every continent of the world attending coaches trainings and conducting clinics and camps.  He has been certified as an trainer of coaches in several countries and is also a representative of the National teams, National Youth Talent Academy and UNICEF.  Even though he has been to every continent and the U.S. over 20 times, he has never been to Mbita before this week.   

Bob worked with 60 of our players during his three days in Mbita and at the same time conducted a coaches training for over 25 local coaches from all over the sub-branch.  He was also assessing our players to see if some of them could be invited to the Under 17 trials in Nairobi next month.  It didn't take him long to see that we have some of the best young girls in the country.  He left Mbita very impressed at what he saw. 

It was a very successful week as the club was able to help the players and all of these local coaches with this opportunity.  We hope that as an ambassador of Kenyan football, Bob will be going back to Nairobi with a good report of what we are doing in Mbita so that other partners may be able to join us in developing girls youth football in the country. 

Holiday Classic Girls Tournament

The Suba Lakers will be hosting an open age Holiday Classic girls tournament on 15^th and 16^th December at Mbita High School.  The purpose of it is to encourage young girls to develop their football talent.  They are expecting 10-16 teams from around the Western Region of Kenya for the two day tournament. 

Awards

No.1      Trophy, Ksh. 10,000, t-shirts, one certificate.

No.2      Trophy, Ksh. 7,000, one certificate.

No.3      Trophy, Ksh. 3,000, one certificate.

*All other participating teams will be provided with a certificate for participation.

Top Scorer, MVP and Best Goal-keeper will be given a football jersey and sh. 500. 

For more information, you can contact the numbers listed below. 

Joe Peterson                                                     Paul Onundo

0734 596 606 or 0713 790 430                       0712 767 092 or 0751 008 819

rockylj@hotmail.com

National Trials

One of our Suba Laker Girls received an invitation to attend the Under 19 National Ladies Team Trials in Nairobi this weekend.  Caren Akeyo travelled eight hours to reach Kenya's capital city for the first time in her life.  Seventy players from across the country were invited for the tryouts.  The twenty five players selected will represent the country during a tournament in Lesotho which is near South Africa.  The players camped at a very nice hotel called Sabina Country Inn which is where the National Youth Talent Academy is currently calling home.  They conducted the tryouts at Nyayo National Stadium. 

After the first day Coach Florence Adhiambo made cuts and sent twenty players back home.  Caren survived the first cut but wasn't so fortunate on Sunday.  She didn't make the final cut, but the coaches were impressed with her ability and asked her to come back in two weeks for the under 17 tryouts they will be having as they prepare a team to compete in The Netherlands in December.  Caren is only 16, but shined while competing against some of the best players in the country.