Last year’s Most Valuable Player in the women’s hockey league, Beatrice Mbugua is keen to improve her flexibility and balance to match her all-round displays.
The ball-carrying USIU-Spartans defender was the runner up in the inaugural HockeyKE Player of the Year Awards held last December at Karen International School.
Mbugua has been with Spartans since 2013 and was a lynchpin in defence for the Willis Okeyo-coached team, who finished second in the league.
The Kerugoya Girls alumnus skippered the team in the 2017-2018 season before handing over the armband to Harriet Omidi. She was also the 2017 best female captain at USIU, a year before she was named the MVP.
“I have been in the game for a while and I am keen to improve my flexibility and balance to avoid compromising the integrity of my joints and muscles thus reducing the risk of injuries. I need to enhance my technical training which includes accuracy in passing, lunge tackling and scooping. This will go along way in enriching my fitness levels and further boosting my speed,” said the Kenyan International who has been capped 29 times.
She continued: “I am neither a speedster in my team nor the best shooter but my mental grittiness, emotional intelligence and my dependability in team, makes me stand out. So being recognised made me realise there is more to being an outstanding player. You have to be all rounded and be the pivot of the team as well.”
Mbugua has been on sports scholarship all through her high school and university education. She was sponsored by Unicef at Kerugoya and received a sports scholarship at USIU. She has won countless Kenya Universities Sports Association (KUSA) titles.
“We don’t compare ourselves to any team. We compare our current performance with our previous performances. We aim at bridging the gaps in the team, strengthening our weak points because a team is as strong as its weakest point. As a team, we aim at bringing out the best version in each player and that makes it easy for the ship to sail as one unit and eventually clinch the titles.”
