Shrewd Bitok dares to dream at World Championships

Opportunity only knocks once and the shrewd operator that is Paul Bitok has already smelled it.

The 48-year-old Malkia Strikers coach plans to end his 17-year coaching career at the FIVB World Championships slated for September 23 to October 15 in Netherlands and Poland.

He plans to move to administration and is eyeing Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) Deputy President seat in the June polls.

And he wants to do it in style by becoming the first coach to guide Kenya to the second round of a global competition.

Emboldened by the virtual draw that was done Thursday night at FIVB headquarters in Switzerland, Bitok has hatched a plan to permanently ink his name in the history books of Kenyan volleyball.

The plan is anchored on three facets namely early preparations, quality friendly matches and a balanced squad of youth and experienced players.

Malkia Strikers are placed in Pool ‘A’ alongside eternal rivals Cameroon, hosts Netherlands, European champions Italy, Puerto Rico and Belgium.

“It’s the first time we are getting such a fair group so we must take advantage to ensure we qualify for the second round. We need to start early preparations, at least three months before the Championship to stand a good chance of making the second round,” began Bitok before turning to another page of his plan.

Friendly matches

A man manager par excellence, Bitok believes that early preparations alone will not improve their performance and has called on KVF and Ministry of Sports to organise for friendly matches against established sides from Europe.

“We had very good training ahead of the Olympics thanks to the Brazilian coaches (seconded to Kenya by FIVB) but our main undoing was lack of friendly matches. We played well but there was something that was lacking in crucial moments of our matches.  

“That is the difference that friendly matches bring to the team. We need to play against top European countries to assess our level of preparedness before the Championship,” Bitok told Nation Sport on Friday.

In a candid assessment of the group, Bitok conceded that Italy, Netherlands and Belgium were beyond Kenya’s reach but noted that Cameroon and Puerto Rico are beatable. The top four teams from every group will proceed to the second round.

“We have to beat Cameroon and Puerto Rico. Cameroon beat us last time (2021 Africa Nations Championship) but the team was fatigued with the tournament coming soon after (Tokyo) Olympics. We have a better team and with good preparations we can beat them.

“Puerto Rico are almost the same level as Kenya. However, they are no pushovers since they have been very consistent in qualifying for the World Championships. Our preparations will decide how we play against them but they are beatable,” observed Bitok who revealed the kind draw will significantly alter his selection criteria.

Wacu return

The absence of veteran setter Jane Wacu was greatly felt in Rwanda where Esther Mutinda and Joy Lusenaka stepped in. However, Bitok insists that Wacu remains in his plans for the World Championships despite talks of her retirement after Tokyo Olympics.

“The setting department is key and Wacu still remains in our plans. Initially, I had thought of calling up a youthful side to build a team for the Paris 2024 Olympics but now that we have a chance to make history (by reaching the second round), we have to get a good blend of youth and experience,” said Bitok.

“We will definitely consider Wacu since she only requested to be left out of Africa Championships due to personal reasons but she hasn’t retired. We will also have another young setter to learn from her as we manage the transition,” he added.

Record African champions Malkia Strikers will be making their seventh appearance at this year’s World Championships where defending champions Serbia, Olympic champions USA, European champions Italy and Brazil are among the favourites.

Full draw

Pool A: Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Puerto Rico, Cameroon, Kenya

Pool B: Poland, Turkey, Dominican Republic, Korea, Thailand, Croatia

Pool C: USA, Serbia, Germany, Bulgaria, Canada, Kazakhstan

Pool D: Brazil, China, Japan, Colombia, Argentina, Czech Republic