Age-defying GSU captain wants to conquer Africa

Volleyball has witnessed many transformations that have turned out to be successful and instant hits. Dmitry Muserskiy’s conversion from an opposite to a middle blocker has worked wonders with the 7ft 2’ Russian winning many accolades; the latest being the Best Middle Blocker Award in the 2018 FIVB Nations League.

Locally, the transformation of Prisons Kenya’s Saul “Omunyange” Wafula from an outside hitter to a revered middle blocker in the country stands out. If that move from then Prisons coach Gideon Chenje was genius then David “Tonje” Kirwa’s volleyball career is one to marvel at.

From Paul Boit High School, National Social Security Fund (NSSF), Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), Kenya Pipeline Mombasa, Telkom and General Service Unit (GSU), Kirwa has played three positions comfortably - middle blocker, outside hitter and opposite - at the top level.

He announced himself on the big stage when he guided Paul Boit to their first national secondary school volleyball title in 2001 alongside Phillip Maiyo and Dickson Meger. After completing his O-levels a year later, Kirwa had season-long stints at NSSF, KDF, Pipeline Mombasa and Telkom before joining GSU at his peak in 2006.

He arrived at GSU as a left attacker cum middle blocker but had to shift to opposite to be accommodated into the squad that had Gershom Ong’ango and Elphas Biwott as outside hitters and the flawless duo of Dunson Tali and David Opiyo as middle blockers.

“I think my time with Coach (Sammy) Kirongo at NSSF and Juma (Walukhu) at KDF influenced my career in a big way. I was a middle blocker when I came from school but the basic skills they taught me when I was still young helped me to transition to other positions easily,” Kirwa told Nation Sport.

When General Service Unit (GSU) won an unprecedented 13th Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) National League title on December 3 this year, it was a special day for Tonje. It was the fifth time he was going up the podium to receive the trophy as captain and overall it was his eighth title since joining the paramilitary side from Telkom.

To put it into perspective, he is the only member of the dominant GSU squad – which won back-to-back titles from 2001 to 2008 – that is still actively playing. His former teammate Tali, is now the GSU assistant coach while the likes of Stephen Mathenge, Opiyo, Ong’ango, Daniel Kemei and Bernard Musumba have all retired.

His fierce rivals from Prisons Kenya, Dennis Mokua and Jackson Mwambia, have ventured into coaching and refereeing respectively. While Mokua sits on the Prisons Kenya technical bench as Paul Muthinja’s assistant, Mwambia is now a national referee.

Meanwhile, save for KDF all his former teams are now defunct. Indeed, time has changed but Kirwa is still going strong. Even Wesley Rono, the newest inclusion in the GSU technical bench, joined the club after Kirwa but has retired leaving the long-serving captain on the court.

LIMITED INVOLVEMENT

Although he was used sparingly in the 2018 end of season play-offs, his contribution being limited to the opening match against Kenya Ports Authority, Kirwa remains a key player for Gideon Tarus despite calls for him to retire.

“Tonje is special player. He is not a star but whenever he is on the court you will always feel his impact because he knows how to bring the team together. He is a natural leader and he is an example to upcoming players.”

“He is the most senior in the team but he humbles himself to listen to the young ones. He is still physically fit and I think he can still play for the next two or three years,” offered Tarus of his captain.

The 38-year-old reckons that indeed he still has a lot to offer and will not retire until he wins the Confederation of African Volleyball (CAVB) Africa Club Championship with GSU after eight unsuccessful attempts.

“This is one thing I want to achieve before I call it quits. We have a young team that can do very well with the right preparation. Our opponents in the Club Championship play quality friendlies in Europe and Arab leagues that’s why they beat us.”

“Last year we finished fifth out of 26 and that shows we are good. I think we even over perform given the kind of preparations we always have. We only play friendlies against local teams and that does not help because we can’t gauge ourselves effectively.”

“We need to challenge ourselves against teams that have a different system of play. That’s the only way we can identify our weaknesses and improve,” offered Kirwa.

From his assessment, the current GSU team falls short of the all-conquering squad that bossed the local scene for almost a decade and missed the Club Championship final by a whisker in 2007 losing 3-2 to Egypt’s El Gaish in the semi-finals. Elphas “Boiyo” Biwott (RIP) was also voted the best attacker of that tournament.

“That is the best team that GSU has ever had. We had stayed together for so long which improved our coordination. We achieved a lot because we were more versatile on court. The current team is good but it still has a long way to go to match the dream team,” observed Kirwa, who was part of the team that won the 2007 regular season and play-offs unbeaten and without dropping a set.

Having been in the game in both generations, Kirwa notes that there have been changes in the game and the calibre of players coming from the youth ranks.

“The major change is speed. Quick balls are an integral part of volleyball so without speed you can’t cope. There has also been a shift in the nature of players coming from high school. Modern players tend to specialise in one position, they don’t want to be diverse. Most of them focus on attack only that’s why we have upcoming players who are similar,” said Kirwa.

Seventeen years and counting, Kirwa shares the secret to his longevity on the court and why he still feels he has more than five more years to play.

“I put in a lot of work in personal training because if you are unfit you can’t play volleyball at the top level. If you are fit you can even play at 44 years.

Reception and back court defence has been a big asset in my game so I always strive to ensure that I perfect that. It’s the one thing that sets me aside.

“I can also adjust easily to different game situations and that has made me useful to this team over the years. Being a utility player is advantageous because the coach knows you have many traits that can help him win the game,” revealed Kirwa.

Even as he approaches the sunset of his career, the man who signed him at GSU - Moses Epoloto – underlines Kirwa’s role as they plot for the next year’s Africa Club Championship with the continental gong having proved elusive for over a decade now.

“Kirwa is a gem. It is rare to find such a disciplined player who is always keen on improving in training. He is a good learner, a leader and a motivator. He is still capable of playing despite the team having younger players who are more energetic.”

“Normally in a team set-up you don’t phase out senior players all of a sudden. You give them a few hours on court and that’s what will happen with Tonje. He can still enjoy the opportunity of winning the Club Championship even if he doesn’t play regularly,” concluded Epoloto, now the Technical Director at GSU.

BIO

Name: David Kirwa Kebenei

Nickname: Tonje

Date of Birth: October 24, 1980

Height: 188cm

Weight: 90kg

Position: Outside Hitter/Opposite (Left attacker)

Current Club: General Service Unit

High School: Paul Boit High School

Titles won: 8 KVF National League titles

2007 East and Central Africa Club Champion

Fourth-place at the 2007 CAVB Africa Club Championships

Fourth-place at the 2007 Algiers All Africa Games

Bronze at the 2011 Maputo All Africa Games