• Bitok, also her coach at the national level, is effusive in his assessment of the former Kwanthanze Girls’ attacker.
• That was the first indication of Chumba’s stubborn streak that would hold her in good stead in her career in volleyball.
Image: COURTESY
On the rooftop of an apartment building in Ruiru, Chepchumba is hard at work.
The KCB hard-hitter has used her ingenuity to ensure she remains fit following the government ban on public gatherings and advocacy on social distance, a move aimed at stemming the spread of coronavirus.
The regulations mean that Chumba, as she is fondly nicknamed, cannot train alongside her teammates, both at KCB and the national team, Malkia Strikers.
Improvised cones for leg work, dumbbells, skip ropes and rollers are her equipment of choice as she trains in routines, she records on video for onward forwarding to the club’s technical director, Paul Bitok and fitness and conditioning trainer Philadelphia Orlando.
In addition, she integrates sessions from online trainers to ensure she is in top shape. This personal endeavour and drive is one of the reasons Chumba is growing into an important player for both club and country.
Bitok, also her coach at the national level, is effusive in his assessment of the former Kwanthanze Girls’ attacker. “She is a great player. She will be the best of all former volleyball stars. At just 21, she scored 72 points in our last competition in Cameroon (Olympic qualifiers) followed by Mercy Moim at 58,” purred Bitok.
“Initially, she never used to do strength training but I have just introduced her. You will not believe the power she has now,” he added.
It’s hard to imagine that just six years ago, Chumba had not even played competitive volleyball. By her own admission, she had not considered the game at all and instead, she was seeking to be a football goalkeeper.
“From my primary school days (Kitale Primary), I was a footballer. During a regional game against Cardinal Otunga, I performed impressively in our run. Little did I know that I had attracted the interest of Tartar High School principal. He offered me a scholarship after consultation with my parents and after my KCPE exams, I joined them,” recalls Chumba.
A career in football looked the most likely path for the tall, lanky girl. With her new school, a soccer powerhouse in West Pokot, Chumba was immediately included in the school team despite being in Form One, in 2014.
A chance meeting with her neighbour, Lydia Lelei would later change the course of her career path.
“During holidays, I met Lydia and she was wowed by my height. She was then a student at Kwanthanze and she said with my height, I could be a good volleyballer. I told her I knew nothing about the game. But she was adamant and told her coach Justin Kigwari about me,” Chumba narrates with a laugh.
Kigwari was keen to see this girl Lydia, a leading volleyballer at the school, was talking about. It only needed one meeting for him to be convinced that the tall, slim girl was a diamond in the rough. A meeting with Chumba’s parents was quickly arranged.
“Initially, Kosirai School in Nandi County had inquired about me but I could not tolerate the weather there. My father was adamant that I could not survive the Machakos climate and insisted I remain in Tartar and continue playing football,” recounts the 21-year-old.
“My mother wanted me to make the switch. Deep down, I had the desire to try out volleyball despite knowing little about the game. I convinced my father to let me make the switch and he eventually relented.”
That was the first indication of Chumba’s stubborn streak that would hold her in good stead in her career in volleyball.
Accompanied by her mother, the eldest child in the family ventured into a journey unknown. She trained with the team for a week and her coaches were impressed by how fast she had adapted and learnt the game. An opportunity to show off her skills to the school principal came weeks later and Chumba did not disappoint.
“The principal came to watch a match involving the seniors. Afterwards, the juniors turn came. At the very start, the ball was set up by a teammate and I spiked it so hard, leaving the principal convinced they had a potential player in their ranks,” narrates Chumba.
Within four months, Chumba had learnt the ropes well enough to be included in the zonal and sub-county games squad, where Kwanthanze easily progressed. A final meeting with Soweto High School saw them win to reach the finals, where they lost 2015 final to Kosirai.
“Despite the defeat, we still qualified for the East Africa Secondary School Games that were held in Rwanda. Only 14 players were to make the travelling team. I was nervous wondering whether I would make the final team. Twelve players had already been selected and four of us were fighting for the remaining two slots,” says Chumba. “To my surprise, the players insisted that I be included. I shed tears of joy, amazed by the belief my teammates had in me. I promised myself to repay their faith.”
Though Kwanthanze lost to eventual winners Rwanda, Chumba, who barely featured was motivated. She knew she had to work hard and improve her game so that, in future, she could be part of the team out there on the court dictating proceedings and not just cooling her heels on the bench.
“Our previous teams had won trophies nationally and in the region. I was determined to emulate them. In 2016, we fell to Soweto (3-2) in the regional finals. I blamed myself for the defeat as I had an opportunity to take the game to 14 ups with a chance to serve out the game but I hit the ball in the first court and they beat us,” she says.
Chumba would get a chance to redeem herself and Kwanthanze the following year. They romped through the early stages to reach the national finals. However, ill luck struck at the most inopportune time as she felt unwell on the eve of the semi-final ‘revenge duel’ and she was admitted to hospital. Her pleasantly stubborn nature would rare its head again.
“I was bedridden in the ward but I feigned recovery. We were trailing 20-17 in the first set. I called for substitution and though I felt unwell, every time I went to attack, I persevered. Eventually, we emerged victorious in straight sets,” says Chumba.
Kwanthanze went on to win the final against Cheptil to hand her a first national title. She won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. Kwanthanze went on to claim the East African title. Her impressive performances in the regional games had caught the eyes of David Lung’aho, Kenya Prisons women’s coach. She would join them in 2018 immediately after finishing high school.
“Prisons players used to come to train in our school and Blackie (Brackcides Agala) was a mentor and close friend. Several teams had shown interest in my services but I settled for Prisons, where we had been promised jobs,” she recalls.
At Prisons, she stayed with Agala before renting a house alongside Lauryn Chebet, whom she schooled with at Kwanthanze, and Joy Lusenaka.
Ever the free spirit, Chumba was on the move after just one season with Lung’aho’s charges. A switch to local rivals Kenya Pipeline ensued the next year. She thereafter earned a call up to the national team where she made the team to the World Cup in Japan. She helped Pipeline finish third at the African Club Championships, clinching the best attacker award.
Her inclusion in the World Cup squad was an important feather in the six-foot star’s cap. The call up left her even more determined to ensure she kept that slot in the squad. “An opportunity to play with my heroes was enough motivation for me to work harder and maintain my place in the team,” she says.
“The senior players’ work ethic is something to emulate. They encourage us all the time. Their desire is to ensure the women volleyball continues to fly high.”
Chumba was part of the Malkia Strikers team to the African Games in Rabat, Morocco, where Kenya won gold, beating perennial rivals Cameroon.
In the build-up to the tournament in Cameroon, Chumba had an ankle injury but Bitok still found it necessary to include her in the travelling party.
At the Olympic qualifiers, hosts Cameroon were Kenya’s stumbling block in their quest to represent the continent at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. For the umpteenth time, she was being held back by injury in the final match of a round-robin tournament. To ease the pain, she constantly had to sink her leg into an icebox on the bench. She eventually rose from the bench to set Kenya on their way to an important victory, a ticket to Japan.
“It was a moment of joy for all of us. We had senior players who, despite their talent had never qualified for Olympics and we were determined to do it for them. By the grace of God, we did it,” says Chumba.
The avid music lover hopes to star for her club in the KVF league until the end of her three-year contract. She also hopes to pursue pro-volleyball in Europe or go for a scholarship in the USA.
She also desires to one day become a sports fitness instructor and maybe start a volleyball academy and a children’s home.