Debutant Chepchumba Kenya's secret weapon for Japan

From football to volleyball and now drawing comparison with the legendary Dorcas Ndasaba, meet Sharon Chepchumba the young Malkia Striker showing lots of promise.

The volleyball adage goes “You know you’re a volleyball player when you get really upset when someone kicks a volleyball” but Sharon Chepchumba discovered her talent in volleyball when she stopped kicking a different ball; A football.

Until early November 2014, Chepchumba was a bright prospect in between the sticks for 2013 East African secondary schools girls’ football champions, Tartar Girls. She wanted to follow in the footsteps of Neddy Atieno, Pauline Musungu and Teresa Engesha who had made Tartar a household name in secondary school football and later proceeded to join the national women football team, Harambee Starlets.

All that changed when her neighbour, Lydia Lelei - then a Form Three student at Kwanthanze Girls - convinced her to switch to volleyball and join her at the Machakos County-based school. That afternoon talk ignited a burning desire in Chepchumba to take up the new sport and since then she has achieved many firsts; the most recent being part of Kenya women’s volleyball squad that will feature in the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship.

“I had just started my December school holidays when Lelei approached me. She told me I have the required height to play volleyball. I had never played volleyball before but she told me that was not a problem.

She convinced me that the coach would teach me if I showed interest,” says Chepchumba, who left her Cherangany home in Trans Nzoia County alongside Lelei for residential training at Kwanthanze that November.

“When I was in primary school, I had an interest in volleyball but the teacher in charge was so strict during training so I switched to football. When this opportunity came up I felt it was a good chance to learn volleyball. Deep down I always wanted to play volleyball,” added the Kibomet Primary School alumnus.

It only took three weeks for Chepchumba to convince Kwanthanze volleyball coach Justine Kigwari that she was a worthy inclusion. The following year, she transferred to Kwanthanze where she was absorbed into the school team.

The Metropolitan region finals played in June saw Kwanthanze beat Soweto 3-0 and qualify for the national school games where Chepchumba was used sparingly as her team fell 2-3 to AIC Kosirai in the final. Having qualified for the East Africa school games, they made up for their slip locally to reach the finals of the East Africa Games where they lost by a similar margin to Rwanda’s GS Indagaburezi.

“I did not feature prominently in my first year at Kwathanze because the coach did not want to take the risk of introducing me too soon. I had only trained for only six months so he opted to use more experienced players. I learnt a lot from them and I gave a good account of myself whenever I got a chance to play,” recalls Chepchumba, then a rookie learning from established players like Ann Lowem and Yvonne Wavinya.

Against the odds, Soweto avenged their loss in 2015 with a hard-fought 3-2 win over Kwanthanze in the 2016 Metropolitan finals. That meant Kwanthanze would miss out on the nationals that year even as Chepchumba continued maturing as a player and specialising on becoming an outside hitter.

Her last year in school was one to remember. They never lost a set as they went unbeaten from the zonal stage to the nationals final claiming sweet revenge over Soweto by beating them 3-0.

They carried their good form locally to the regional competition where they overcame St Allois of Rwanda 3-0 to be crowned the East Africa champions. She was voted the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the nationals as well as the East Africa games in what was a landmark achievement in her career.

“I was struggling with chest problems during the nationals but I was determined to give my best and leave the school games with a bang. I had dreamt about being the MVP so I was happy when I got the award. That was my best year in high school games,” offered Chepchumba who was signed by Kenya Prisons after her “O” levels.

While many youngsters struggle to transition from high school volleyball to club volleyball, Chepchumba seamlessly fit in at the Ruiru-based club. Despite having experienced players in her position, she made the cut for the Prisons team that participated in the 2018 Africa Club Championships where they finished fourth.

“Coach (David) Lung’aho used to train Kwanthanze during holidays and I believe that helped her to settle quickly as well. When I was in school coach (Paul) Bitok used to do the same and that helped me to adapt to club volleyball because the training drills were familiar,” recalls Moim who joined KCB immediately after leaving Cheptil High School.

“From her first training session with Prisons I could tell she would be an important player for the team. She is very hard working and she is always willing to learn. She does not give up easily on the pitch which shows psychologically she was ready for the top level,” Moim, who doubles up as the Prisons and Malkia Strikers captain, said of the youngster.

Chepchumba’s mental strength came to the fore in the continental tournament in Cairo, Egypt. An evenly-contested match between Prisons and ASEC Mimosas saw Moim and Makuto fail to sparkle in the second set as the Ivorians led 14-9.

While Chepchumba had been included in the team just to gain experience, the coaches bit the bullet and decided to take a risk. She was introduced for Evelyn Makuto and grabbed the opportunity; scoring eight points to help the team win that set 25-17. Prisons Kenya went on to win that match in straight sets.

Good performance

“I was surprised by her performance because I wanted her to gain experience by playing against weak teams in the championship. Her first attack got the fans on their feet and she did not look back since then. After the tournament I told her: I am seeing you going to Japan (for the World Championship) if you continue working hard,” said Kenya Prisons head coach Lung’aho.

Having worked her way to the first team at her club, Chepchumba continued impressing in local league matches, notably the Nyeri and Eldoret legs of the National Volleyball Legaue where she was fielded alongside Moim as the left attackers. In June she was named in coach Japheth Munala’s provisional squad of 28 for the World Championships, earning her first national team call up.

“I was happy when I learnt I had been called to the national team. It’s not easy to come from school and get a call up. When I was in Form One I challenged myself that I have to play for the national team in future if I had taken only six months to learn volleyball so it was a dream come true,” said the only child to Simon and Janet Kiprono, with a grin.

When Munala trimmed his squad from 28 to 21 in July, Chepchumba was among those who made the cut. A string of impressive displays in training as well as friendly matches convinced the coaches that she was ripe for the big stage and she was a surprise inclusion in the last 14 ahead of her close friend Makuto.

“My target in the national team was to improve my game. I did not have big expectations but (Brackcides) Agala who is my neighbour encouraged me to work harder in training because I had a big chance to be in the final squad. I could not believe it when my name was called out,” she said, her eyes filled with joy.

“This shows the coaches believe in me and I want to repay their trust. I might not be among the first six in Japan but I am ready to give my best whenever I’m called upon. I believe we have a very good team, we just need to give our best and I am sure we are going to come back with something,” asserted an optimistic Chepchumba.

By making it to the national team squad for a major tournament in her first year playing club volleyball, Chepchumba has followed in the footsteps of Dorcas Ndasaba and Moim who were part of the national team for the 1995 All Africa Games and 2005 Africa Cup of Nations respectively in their first year after school. Lung’aho, who has coached Moim and Ndasaba at the national team and even made them captains believes, Chepchumba is the next big thing.

“In the national team you need one “mad” attacker. In the past we had Ndasaba and (Dorris) Wefwafawa but after Ndasaba retired we had a vacuum. Sharon is the next Ndasaba because she has natural power and the required height. She is the most powerful attacker in the country at the moment,” said Lung’aho, who doubles up as the Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) Technical Director.

“She is also very confident and her first game in the club championship showed she is not afraid of big stages.

She is going places. I don’t want to see her in Kenya in the next one or two years. She should be playing professionally in Europe or Asia,” underlined Lung’aho who will accompany the national team to Japan.

According to Lung’aho young players like Chepchumba, Lorine Chebet and Christine Siwa who are in the World Championship squad are evidence that Kenya is still a powerhouse in volleyball despite the emergence of countries like Cameroon and Rwanda in youth competitions.

“I still believe we have the talent but that is not enough. We need support from the government to develop talent. In the Under 20 tournament we had the best team but we performed poorly because our preparations were not good. Other countries are investing in their youth structures and they are reaping from it. We have better quality but what are we putting in?” posed Lung’aho.

As Chepchumba angles to go professional in the near future, she acknowledges she is not yet the finished product.

A few basic skills that would have been taught in her development phase are lacking lending credence to the fact that the youth programs have stalled.

“I am working on my reception because that is a basic requirement for an outside hitter in professional leagues. I also want to learn new scoring techniques to improve my efficiency in the front row attack,” admitted Chepchumba who will celebrate her 20th birthday on October 26.

“I want to introduce her to jump service because she has very powerful services. I wish we had noticed that earlier (before the World Championship) but it is an area she can do very well if she trains well,” added Lung’aho while pointing out grey areas in her game.

Moim, who has had a professional stint at Liiga Ploki in Finland, has challenged Chepchumba to look beyond her local role models if she is to join the paid ranks.

“I used to look beyond my role model Ndasaba and wanted to be better than her. It’s not easy out there so she needs to work hard, research about her position and also do a lot of personal training. We have followed a similar path and the fact that she is disciplined shows she has what it takes to be a big player,” advised Moim who Chepchumba lists as her role model.

While she arrived in Egypt for the club championship as a fringe player for Prisons, Chepchumba will head to Japan as an exciting prodigy.

A powerful and fearless hitter, Chepchumba will be Munala’s secret weapon in Japan and will certainly fancy announcing herself to the world as the next volleyball star from Kenya.