Why Zack Aura favours rotational system
What you need to know:
- Former Kenyan international - who is coach of Butali - is out to give his players equal chances when league resumes
- The former midfielder took over the job after coach Dennis Owoka resigned last December.
- Aura says the move was to ensure every player in his rich squad gets chance to play and not to feel wasted in the team.
Coach Zack ‘Maestro’ Aura will employ a rotational system of play in Kenya Hockey Union men’s premier league matches.
The former Kenyan international took over the reins as coach of champions Butali Sugar Warriors early this year.
The former midfielder took over the job after coach Dennis Owoka resigned last December.
Aura says the move was to ensure every player in his rich squad gets chance to play and not to feel wasted in the team.
"It goes without saying that we have the best players in the league who have featured for the national team and ooze experience and exposure. And with such a squad, you tend to be spoilt for choice and you have got to get it right. I don’t want to wear out some players," said Aura, who was recently honoured during the annual Top 40 Under-40 Gala.
"Whereas the task ahead is tough, the best thing about it is that I have played with these players before and they know what I stand for. But at the end of it all, both the technical bench and the playing unit will engage each other along the way to ensure we retain the title."
All the other leagues (women’s premier, super leagues (men and women), as well as the national (men and women) leagues had kicked off in February, the men’s premier league matches were scheduled to start on March 21 before the government banned all sporting activities to control the spread of coronavirus pandemic.
Some of the top notch players at the club include Frank Wanangwe, Kenneth Nyongesa, Constant Wakhura, Linus Sang, Maxwell Fuchaka, George Mutira, Amos Barkibir, Calvin Otieno, Francis Kariuki, and Brian Musasia.
The 39-year-old Menengai High School alumnus said the national men’s team can return to winning ways if proper structures are put in place.
Kenyan men came fifth in the six-team round-robin African qualifiers for the 2020 Olympic Games in Stellenbosch, South Africa, last year.
South Africa qualified to represent the continent in the Olympic Games that have been however postponed to next due to Covid-19 disease.
Kenyan men last competed in the Olympics in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea.
"We have good players in the country. The federation should work with primary schools to introduce the sport in the schools so that players can embrace the game at a young age. This is what teams that have continued to perform well like South Africa, Egypt have done," he said.
