Paul Bitok: Why I'm quitting as Malkia Strikers coach
What you need to know:
- Bitok noted he had informed the Kenya Volleyball Federation officials of his position of being a caretaker coach in the two events and now that the two championships were over, it was only fair to step aside.
The national women's volleyball team might be forced to look for a new coach ahead of the next year's Continental Olympic qualifiers at a yet to be decided venue.
The new development comes after Paul Bitok, who recently returned from Rwanda and guided the women's team to retain the African Games title before recording one win in the just concluded FIVB World Cup in Japan against new found rivals Cameroon, threw in the towel on arrival from Japan on Tuesday afternoon.
Bitok noted he had informed the Kenya Volleyball Federation officials of his position of being a caretaker coach in the two events and now that the two championships were over, it was only fair to step aside.
ADVISORY ROLE
The former international revealed he will consider an advisory role to the team going forward and at the same time seek a position in the forthcoming KVF elections set for 2022.
"When I returned from Rwanda and I wanted to help the sport to grow and the growth cannot only come as a coach but also when you are an official in the federation. I think I have done well but it could have been better with the short period I have been with the team," said the tactician.
"I hope they retain the two assistants (Japheth Munala and Josp Barasa) since it's them that we have worked together to help the team adapt new playing system for continuation purposes. And really I hope in future the members of the technical bench are given contracts."
Prior to Bitok being handed the head coach position, Kenya had parted ways with FIVB instructor Shaileen Ramdoo who had taken over from Munala and Barasa.
With Bitok's exit, it remains to be seen if the federation will retain Munala and Barasa or will go shopping for a new coach.
Meanwhile, Malkia Strikers, jetted back into the country Tuesday afternoon to low key reception from the FIVB World Cup in Japan where they finished 11th out of the 12 participating countries.
The Kenyan lasses had lost their opening 10 matches in the competition before they wound up their campaign with a 3-1 (25-15, 26-24, 14-25, 25-21) win over Cameroon on Sunday. It was a second successive win in two months against their Central African rivals who they beat last month in the African Games final in Morocco.
Meanwhile, China were crowned world champions after finishing top of the 12-team standings in this competition with a hundred per cent record.
