Establishing Centers of Sporting Excellence

It is not a secret that identifying young talent at a young age  and exposing them to the best training, the best coaches and excellent facilities is the way to produce world class sportsmen and women. Developed Nations such and Australia in particular have perfected this technique. It explains why Australia have performed extremely well in the last two Olympics finishing second only to the USA and winning more medals per capita than any other Nation.

In Australia and other countries, talented youth are identified at ages 12 to 15 and put in schools that specialize in educating students while maximizing their potential in sports.

Kenya too can emulate this example.

Where to locate them

The best  way forward is to establish at least four centers of excellence. They should be strategically located as follows: One in or around Nairobi to cater for Nairobi and Central province, One in Eldoret to cater for Rift Valley province and one in Mombasa to cater for Coast, Eastern and North Eastern provinces. One in Kisumu to cater for Nyanza and Western provinces. These centers should then play against each other regularly to further increase competition.

Recruit the very best

Students who excel at Primary school sports as well as form 1 and form 2 should be given free scholarships to attend school at these centers of excellence. In addition, students who show potential should be given opportunities to prove themselves via tryouts. For example girl who happens to be tall, agile, fast and who loves sports will likely make an excellent volleyball player if given an opportunity. Agility drills such as those that measure vertical leap, lateral movement, quickness can be used to seperate the cream from the best. The instructors at these centers of excellence should be trained in these methods of identifying talent.

By recruiting the very best you ensure that these students improve by playing and competing against students who are equally talented and who also have exceptional skills. This is a key factor in keeping them motivated and keeping their skills sharp. In the 1980s, Kakamega high school produced several footballers who later became international calibre players. They did this by recruiting the very best football talent in western province and putting them under the tutelage of Chris Makhoha who was at the time one of Kenya's best coaches and also happened to be the Physics teacher at the school. The result was that Kakamega high produced several refined players who later made a mark on the international scene. Among them was Mickey Weche, Mike Amwayi and the Musuku brothers, Ben and Dan. St Patricks Iten produced several talented runners in the 1970s and 80s many of who became world class runners including olympic gold medalist like Peter Ronoh. The intense competition created by pooling together such talents makes the athletes work harder. The success of St Patricks Iten in producing so many world class runners was due to the efforts of Fr Brolm O'Connell, an Irish Priest He took up a teaching post at St Patricks in 1976, when there was no electricity or running water or anything. He was living in a little shack, and gradually St. Patrick's was built up and developed. Fr O'connel recruited talented youngsters and trained them, turning many of them into world beaters.

Expose them to the best coaching and Training

To begin with, sports masters at these schools should be thoroughly trained required to take regular refresher courses in sports Science. Topics discussed should include using physical fitness, tactics, psychology, motivation and how to deal with juveniles. Training should be highly specialized and up to date.

These games masters and teachers should be trained in methods to identify talented youngsters with potential. For example, youngster who can run fast and also has a high vertical leap would likely make a good high hurdler. A youngster who shows natural aggression would likely make a good wrestler or rugby player.

With proper training from an early ages, athletes can learn the proper techniques rather than apply obsolete ones such as the "belly flop" technique applied by this high jumper during the games trials at Kasarani. Worse still he is barefoot whereas other athletes use shoes specifically designed for the high jump.