• Strathmore who boast of three national league titles all under Senge, have their top players almost at every club in the top tier.
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Image: /FILE
Losing best players on yearly basis to their competitors in the men's hockey Premier League is a bitter pill to swallow for Strathmore Gladiators, coach Meshack Senge has said.
Senge, who doubles up as the Scorpions (women's team) has spent more than a decade with the students, after joining them in 2009.
Gladiators, who boast of three national league titles — all under Senge — have top players in almost all the clubs in the top tier. Butali are the biggest beneficiaries with five first team players.
Senge observed that losing matches especially to his former players gives him sleepless nights.
"It feels sad being beaten by your former players. But you can see your footprints in how they play. That is the beauty of impacting the lives of athletes positively," he said.
The loss of players has left Senge gnashing his teeth due to the Herculean task it leaves him with in rebuilding.
"The hardest task for any coach is re-assembling a team since you are not quite sure of the quality of players coming on board. Our recruitment from schools further complicates matters. Most of these players have no basic and technical know-how of the game. That means sometimes starting from scratch," said Senge.
"We are forced to go for desire and motivation. Our recruitment is purely based on academics and sometimes best athletes aren't great academicians. The university calendar is also a big problem for us but we have always adjusted to accommodate it."
Gladiators needed to adjust their playing style to start posting better results after a deep in form. They are currently on a three-match unbeaten run after hitting an all-time low of going six matches without a win.
Senge said his demanding style of pressing their opponents had left his players exhausted and change in tack was inevitable.
"We started well, and had a system that worked well for us — going by the results. All over a sudden, things changed and the players struggled to recapture their best form."
"We had to re-tweak, play with a lower press and things are looking up once again," he said.
Senge has previously guided the women's team to five runner up places in the league. Scorpions are on course to their maiden league title.