Malkia Strikers head coach Japheth Munala wants the technical bench beefed up to enhance performance analysis in future championships.
Once again Malkia failed to win a single set at the Paris Olympic Games, finishing bottom.
Munala admitted that the lack of a sufficient technical bench was a significant hurdle in their progress. “The fact that we were lean in the technical bench put us in a very compromising situation,” he said.
Malkia Strikers had just three officials on the technical bench compared to countries like Japan and Brazil, who had up to 15 members of the technical bench members.
Besides Munala, the other two officials were assistant coach Josp Baraza, and fitness trainer Janet Wanja.
Munala highlighted the absence of a statistician as a key drawback for the team. He said: “The main setback was the lack of a statistician to guide the coach.”
Munala also emphasised the need to nurture young players and scout new talent.
“ We would like to grow the current team and add a few talent as we look forward to the next major event, ” he noted.
He blamed their dismal performance on the lack of speed both in the attack and backcourt.
“The speed on attack as well as backcourt is what we lacked and this killed us in the game.”
He said engaging in friendlies with volleyball powerhouses would solve some of the problems they had in Paris.
He said some of the basics need to be incalculated in the players from the grassroots level including strengthening net defence.
“We need to instil net defence in our players from the entry-level, which is the primary years,” he stated.
Upon returning from Paris, Munala immediately focused on scouting potential new talent at school games, saying, “This helps inform my decision when it comes to scouting fresh talent for the future.”
As for his future with the team, Munala was non-committal. “In terms of what’s next, I may not reveal as I do not know if I will be with the team,” he reflected.
Munala said: "For now, we need to regroup and focus on building towards the next Olympic cycle with the hope of achieving better results in four years."
Before the Paris Games, Malkia featured in the Challenger Cup in the Philippines (June 30- July 7) before heading to the Miramas Olympic Camp in France on July 13.
Despite the exhausting schedule, Munala praised the team for their resilience despite most of their players making Olympic and national team debuts.
The Paris Olympics marked the fourth appearance for the Malkia Strikers, having previously featured in 2000 Sydney, 2004 Athens and the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
