Oscar Pilipili
17 March 2008
Nairobi — Coach Allan Cooper says the national team is well prepared for the Africa Junior Championships in Botswana.
Cooper said each player has had chance to play in high profile tournaments like the Kenya Open and Coca Cola Junior Open, which ended in Nairobi last week.
He said: "We've completed all aspects of training and the spirits are very high in the team."
"We've been monitoring the players' performances and there are high prospects in the team," Cooper told SportFest during a send-off ceremony at Parklands Sports Club.
The first batch of the national team left on Saturday, ahead of the AJC tournament starting Tuesday.
Cooper said the players Yash Rawal, Kevin Kisoso, Salome Kinyeki and Joie Keter , left in advance to compete in the International Junior Championship of Botswana that started on Sunday at the country's capital city, Gaborone.
"The difference in travel dates is to cater for some of the players who shall be playing in the 18 years and under qualification rounds of the International Junior Championships of Botswana," Cooper said.
The second batch comprising Nikita Dawda, Shufaa Changawa Dennis Ochieng' and Gilbert Kibet depart today.
Martina Vitulli and Nicole Zachariah are expected to link up with the team in Botswana from their South Africa and UK bases.
The coach is optimistic that the players would play to the best of their ability to get good results in Botswana.
"We're going to rely on each one of the players hoping that they would use 100 per cent of their capabilities to improve on our performance at the AJC," he said.
Kibet, who is a regular player at the AJC, said he was ready to face opponents at the events.
"I don't see any challenge before me because I have played against most of these players before," Kibet said.
Kibet goes to the tournament still basking in the glory of finishing the first runner-up in the most promising player's category of Sports Personalities of the Year 2007 Award .
Meanwhile, the final phase of Coca Cola Junior Open Championships will be played at Jim Davies Tennis Academy over the Easter holiday starting Friday.
The tournament's director, Mike Kibala, said the event would feature the under-10, under-12 and under-14 age groups for both boys and girls.
The top two categories, under-14 and under-16, were played last weekend to offer AJC team a training opportunity ahead of the continental event.
The tournament is sponsored by Coca Cola to a tune of Sh100,000.
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