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KISUMU DAY
HOCKEY
KISUMU DAY
HOCKEY How Booker re-ignited the spark
ooker Odhiambo Agutu recalls the time he- and a few of his comrades at Ambira High School rattled a snake. Visitors in the annual Obare Cup held at Kisumu Boys High School, his team had done the unthinkable and beat hosts Boys 1-0 in the final. No one had done that before- no one in fact, was ever supposed to do that. You may not understand but 1992 is the year Kisumu Boys are returning to the national fold to reclaim their early 80’s Hockey glory. 1992 is the year they are on their way to winning a second successive national title. Then some upstart team shows up and beats them right in their backyard. Booker and his company couldn’t have imagined what was to follow next.
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When the actual Hockey season begun that yearcoincidentally hosted Booker’s Ambira Boys High School, Kisumu Boys showed up for the provincial games and when they met the hosts in the final, fired in three in the first half then added two-just for good measure- in the second half. The Red Brigade they were called, and you were never supposed to rattle Kisumu Boys Hockey. Of course they went ahead and lifted that year’s national title, and followed it up with
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three more to make it five in a row and nine overall by 1995. In 1996, an underdog would rise unchecked right behind the Red Brigade’s shoulder and clinch the 1997 title. Kisumu Day Hockey’s first- and onlynational title to date. Coached by Booker, Kisumu Day Hockey team went to the 2017 East Africa games as second runnersup in the country but came back first placed in the region. They are the current East African champs and are keen on returning Kisumu County to the national hockey scene. Booker, talks of a topsy-turvy 2017 campaign having been just a year old at the school when he took them to the East Africa games in Gulu, Uganda. ‘’I have to make do with what I found here in Day when I joined. So losing in the counties in 2016 showed me a team that could be built. Mr. Muga Gordon the former principal allowed us to have residential camps just to train the boys and that really helped us a lot. It’s never easy to build such a team
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under one year. We were in camp whenever other students went home for holidays and it did pay off,’’ says the man who has himself played in the national hockey team. Day finally claimed a 1-0 win over Kisumu Boys in the 2017 counties semi-finals to set up a date with another hockey bigwig in the region Maseno High School. Booker’s charges prevailed in another 1-0 victory, but would tag Maseno along when they went for the Lake Region Finals held in Kisii. A barren stalemate against St Mary’s Yala threatened to end their fairy tale run but an all-round Day team dominated the Saints in the tiebreaker flicks. Next up was, yes- Maseno again. They had shown up in the final, and stood between Booker’s team and the national slot. A tense final, both had to settle for a 1-1 result in regular time and hope that the tie-breaker flicks would be kind to them. Another masterclass 3-1 dominance say Kisumu Day return to the national games. The results clearly point to a team that was yet to assert their 4 Kisumu Day Hockey
dominance in the sport, occasional stalemates in regular time had never been the mark of a powerhouse- and Booker knew this. ‘’We knew our shortcomings as a team, that’s is why after every showpiece be it Zonals, Counties or regionals, we would head right back to training and continue sharpening. If you are looking at answers on how we went to the East Africa games as number 3 in the country but came back as number 1, that is why. We never stopped learning,’’ reveals Booker. Day lost their first match in their nationals return but would recover from that Dr Ribeiro Parklands loss to dismiss Musingu High and Shimo La Tewa 2-1 and 3-1 respectively. They were yet to meet their toughest challenge yet. St Anthony’s Kitale were a team that had asserted their dominance in recent school hockey seasons and meeting Booker’s Day was supposed to be a cakewalk, and it was. A broken midfield was the cause a 5-1 drubbing by the Saints in the semi-final. He however admits to
his opponents’ superiority, one that sent him to the drawing board should he qualify for the East Africa games. He could if he wanted, but first his side had to beat Parklands in the 3rd place play-offs- the very team that had handed them their first defeat of
the season. As if more proof of why you should never give Booker’s team a second chance, the boys held on to a barren draw against a very good Parklands side. It was the tie-breaker flicks, and we all know what happens here. Day reigned supreme- and booked an East Africa slot as third best in the country. As per tradition, the defending country presents three teams- one more than others- in the East Africa games and in the hockey scene, Kenya has always presented three teams because the trophy always, somehow, finds itself home. Booker however warns of a rising power that may upset the odds in few years to come. ‘’Uganda have bagged second position twice. That is scary because Hockey has always been a Kenyan sport and we always sweep the entire podium. Take St Charles Kasasa for example, they beat Kenyan champions St. Anthony in the games. Of course Kisumu Day beat them when we met but the simple fact that they beat our
champions speaks a lot,’’ a worried Booker opines. Only six teams were to play in the East Africa games and a round robin format was the best option. A match every day- Day were in heaven. First up were Upper Hill, second place in the Kenya nationals and Day- the underdogs held on for a barren draw. Then an unfamiliar opposition in the way of St Mary’s Kisubi came and got a clean hiding of five goals to nothing. An unlikely 1-0 win over St Anthony’s Kitale meant that Booker now had the regional title in his sight even if he had not been named among the favorites to lift it. Kisumu Day’s odds were further boosted by St Anthony’s 1-0 loss to St. Charles Kasasa. This then meant that they only needed a draw against St Charles to be crowned East African champions for the first time.
Day- Yudhe among locals and hockey enthusiasts in Kisumu, were not takin any chances against St Charles Kasasa and hit them 1-0 come back as the number one hockey team in the region. Day’s 2017 conquests spell a long awaited return to the national fold of ‘hockey schools’ in Kisumu. Boys may have their time in the 80’sand maybe unwillingly passed the baton to another unwilling force. It’s difficult to explain the disconnect in the two eras, but Booker has a valid point when he rues the decline of Asian influence to the sport in the City. ‘’Kisumu Boys are not ten time national champions for nothing. They earned it. We used to have interestates hockey tournaments and the best players would head straight to Kisumu Boys. They already had a Kisumu Day Hockey 5
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hockey culture massively instilled by the Asians schooling there and so getting the best kids from primary schools was easy. Nowadays you’ll rarely see an Asian in Boys, most of the left to Kisumu Senior School where hockey as a sport is not in the best state. It was impossible to beat the Red Brigade and I still remember one Yassin from my final year at Ambira. He was a torment to any team,’’ recalls the coach- a pang of nostalgia hitting him. Kisumu Boys- for all their efforts in the 80’s and 90’s only pride in having players ply their trade in the national league currently. Day on the other hand, already have a few of their own in clubs. Edwin Agoro, Victor Juma, Hawkings Okoth and Byron Sadia were in Uganda last year as part of Booker’s team and currently play for Kisumu Youngsters. In his current 2018 squad, Joshua Omondi, Emmanuel Juma and Maxwell Mawira also double up as professional players for Kisumu Youngsters. It is prudent that you’ve wanted to know where Booker has been all along. Just a year with Day and he is a regional champ, surely he must have had some conquests elsewhere. Yes he has. Kisumu County currently holds both the East African Hockey Boys and Hockey Girls titles. Sinyolo Girls however, are not getting started like their male counterparts are. They have been there five times- and won it five times. While Coach Booker taught at Mariwa Secondary School, he would help Sinyolo coach Aloys Owino with the girls. Safe to say he has a hand- even if small- in Sinyolo’s success in the sport.
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