• Kamanzi hopes that the project will remain ingrained in the club even in the future.
• After playing six matches so far, Wazalendo have won four, lost one and drawn one to rank third on the standings behind champions and leaders Butali Warriors and Western Jaguars.
Wazalendo coach Fidelis Kimanzi has cited the player development program at the club as a key element in their rapid rise in the Kenya Hockey Premier League.
The South B based club has caught the attention of many with managers and pundits alike tipping them for the domestic crown after a dazzling start and Kimanzi feels it is all down to a well-laid structure in nurturing the talent within the club.
After playing six matches so far, Wazalendo have won four, lost one and drawn one to rank third on the standings behind champions and leaders Butali Warriors and Western Jaguars.
“We have laid down a long term player-development program within the club where players transition from our feeder team, Wazalendo Youth, to the main team. This has brought competition within the club and players are pushing themselves to get play time in the Premier League,” said Kimanzi.
“We are a self-supporting club with three teams in the KHU league and it’s no mean feat because even the sponsored teams have failed to achieve that. We have partnered with primary schools such as Mariakani, Kongoni and St Catherine from where we recruit players as young as four."
"We also have some secondary school boys from Parklands and Lenana. We teach them the basics as well as creating an environment for them to learn by watching the senior players.”
Kamanzi hopes that the project will remain ingrained in the club even in the future.
He said: “We have developed a good framework and we are hopeful this will last for a very long time. We have the next 10 years covered in terms of player development. It is a compliment to be called title challengers but at the end of the day, we have our target — to keep on improving and building a competitive team by fine-tuning players’ skills and technical understanding of the game.”