National assistant team coach Barbara Simiyu is convinced they can revive the national women’s team glory with a little bit of push and hard work.
Simiyu, who plays for record champions Blazers, said the first responsibility of the technical bench will be to get the right combinations of players who have the hunger to succeed at the highest level when the team resumes training.
The Blazers icon was elevated to the role alongside fellow club player Jacqueline Mwangi, who is the head coach and Glennis Namasake who will be an assistant in a new look technical bench. Simiyu is a former Kenya International who retired in 2013.
The versatile midfielder, who boasts of nine Premier League titles since joining Blazers in 2010, said they will incorporate players from outside Nairobi as they target success with both the senior and junior sides. She said their aim is to replicate the success witnessed in 2006.
“We want to lay down a marker once players return to training. We need to find the right fit of players who are versatile. Kenya beat continental giants South Africa in 2006 and this is the kind of performance we would like to replicate. We will also sit down with the Kenya Hockey Union to discuss how best we can utilise players outside Nairobi,” she said.
The senior side will feature in the Africa Cup of Nation’s qualifiers while the Under-21 face a herculean task of booking the remaining slot of the Junior World Cup qualifiers early next year.
According to Simiyu, Kenyan players have better endurance and will maximise on it fully to bring the best out of them. “We want to bring more technical thinking to the team and change the mentality. Our players can withstand all conditions and we only need to push them hard during training,” said the 32-year-old teacher at Hillcrest International School.
In the meantime, Simiyu revealed that her 2012 continental club success with then Telkom squad, remains her all-time unforgettable experience.
“Playing for the first time and winning the ACCC trophy in Zimbabwe will forever be etched in my memory because it was a new challenge altogether,” said Simiyu, who played for United States International University-USIU-A Spartans between 2006-2010.
