Former giants bring new hope for Central in schools games

The Central region will be hoping the return of former giants will spearhead their search for glory in next week's National Secondary Schools Term Two Games in Kakamega County.

In boys' volleyball, former national champions Tetu High School from Nyeri will lead the region's charge.

The 2004 national champions have been frequent guests at the national levels, where they have struggling to recapture their glory for close to two decades.

"It has been a while since we were at this level, but we are prepared and psychologically set to give our best," said Joseph Mugo, the school director and team manager.

On the girls' front, Karima Girls High School from Nyandarua are making a return to the nationals for the second consecutive year.

They hope to improve their performance from last year when they were elbowed out of the national games at the group stage.

"We have tried to avoid the mistakes we made last year by ensuring that the team has depth.  The girls are more resilient and we have invested in more attackers than before," said Peter Muigai, the coach.

The regional queens have left a trail of impressive performance, having been unbeaten from zonal levels all the way to the regional, where they stamped their authority against the fancied Mpesa Foundation Academy with a 3-1 victory  in the final.

In football, Kirangari Boys Secondary School from Kiambu County stormed back into the nationals after being away for 23 years.

Coach Kennedy Kabachi is optimistic of leaving a mark at the nationals, saying that the win at the regional level was a morale booster for the boys.

"Prevailing to this level is inspiration enough to propel us to any heights. The glory is ours," said Kabachi.

Njabini Girls High School will be seeking to break the jinx of not going beyond the semi-finals in football.

Njabini coach Samuel Mugo said that they have enough lessons from 2017 and 2018 when they were edged out in the semis.

"The team has jelled well and they communicate well. I have a good midfielder (Alice Auma) who coordinates well with my two strikers Tatiana Njambi and Alice Wangari. They are focused," said Mugo.

In netball, Kinale Girls Secondary School hope to succeed national defending champions Kobala Secondary School, who were edged out at the regional levels.

"In 2022, we were shown the door at the group stage, but we learned our lessons. The girls are in top form and in a good fighting spirit," said KInale coach Brown Mavale.

Central Region Secondary School Sports Association chairman Peter Kariuki said: "We are noting a major shift in terms of perception from all the stakeholders because the quality of the games has improved. These are the new trends in the world where talents are given equal attention and resources just like any other career."

Football

Boys: Kirangari

Girls: Njabini

Volleyball

Boys: Tetu High

Girls: Karima Girls High School

Netball: Kinale Secondary School

Rugby 7s: Alliance High Scho