Clerc Classic, Kenyan Style

So we got a team together playing netball.  We practiced on our netball facility with netball post and court.

Nope.

There were nothing available, except for a rusty post and bent rim.  I was invited to accompany the the team for a large tournament.  I had the boys together to pose for a team picture.  I asked to have the netball brought in for the picture.  They brought the handball ball.  I wanted the netball ball.  But they explained that they are actually playing handball in the tournament.  Jeez, all along I thought it was netball until the very minute that we are about to depart, then find out it was an entirely different sport.  They said they practiced a lot.

Nope.

They only practiced for three days.  

But then they probably have nice balls and goal net to practice with.

Nope.

They only have one ball, and it was so worn out.  This ball was actually used as the game ball in the tournament later in the day.  There is no goal net.  We used posts for football (soccer) which is of wrong dimensions (too big, too tall).

So, we flew to the tournament site.

Nope.

Ok, we rode in the school bus.

Nope.

Oh, never mind, the school does not have any money, nor own any school wheels to use, so we rented a matatu. So we had several matatus come in to load up girls (for separate netball tournament) and boys (for handball tournament).

Nope.

Only one Matatu.  So the boys waited around while the driver took the girls to their netball tournament site, return back to the school, and picked us up.

So, we arrived at the handball tournament site.  There were nice facilities with mowed lawns, marked fields, and correct goal posts and nets.

Nope.

The grass were left tall, and some fields even have holes or dips.  They used light black court markings that seem to disappear.

So we changed into our school uniforms with matching warm up jackets and pants, with new sneakers.

Nope.

Our boys used whatever they can get their hands on.  The school provided tops, but the boys used pens to try to draw numbers on their back.  These numbers are not even visible in any of my photos.  Many boys went barefoot, some with one shoe, and some with just socks.

Because there were over 25 teams in the tournament, we played in pools of teams, and the top two teams from each pool would play in a bracket the next day.  We played three games, and we won them all.  We beat those well-dressed and well-practiced teams.

So, we had plenty of water, snacks and lunches. We had team moms pitch in on those refreshments and helped serve us.  We also had team dads pitch up tents to keep us in the shade away from the mid-day Kenyan/equator heat.

Nope.

The team did not have any water all day.  No energy bars or snacks at all.  If they needed water, they would walk behind a building and use a faucet.  We also hung around whatever trees we can find for the shade.  When we were done with our games for the day, the coach took us across the street, and treated the team a nice lunch and refreshments.

Nope.

He bought 12 loaves of bread, one for each boy.  And a bottle of soda each.  The coach and I ate with the boys.

Nope.

He gave me 500 shillings and told me to go in the hotel (restaurant) closeby and have a nice lunch.  He probably had more than 500 shillings for himself.

So, after lunch, our matatu came by promptly and picked us up and brought us back to school.

Nope.

The matatu came like 2 or 3 hours late, making us doze off and wait around under the shades from those trees nearby.  When the matatu finally came, we all loaded up, and was ready to go, only to find the matatu died.  We had to push it to start it up again.

So that wraps up our first day.  

On our next day, the matatu came in and picked us up.  We had a smooth ride back to the tournament site.

Nope.

The matatu blew a tire.  You will often wonder about the tires you see on those matatus, and they sure wear them down as much as they can, and prefer to have them blow out before replacing them.  Remember many matatus also drive on rough dirt roads through the mountains as well as on the tarmacs (black top roads).

Now armed with my dSLR camera, I played with the high speed photography and caught the boys in action.  Observe the field conditions, facility conditions, and uniforms/shoes (or lack of) worn.

Our star player taking a nap.  But when he is awake and on the court, attacking the net, it is amusing to see the goal keeper cringe and close eyes as he leaps toward them.

So after winning our way into the quarterfinals (we were in the final 8 team out of over 25 teams), we lost to a better team.  So we walked across the street for our lunch.  We had better lunch this time.

Nope.

Team were given same lunch, same 12 loaves of bread and 12 bottles of soda.  I was given another 500 shillings for my lunch.  So I went and enjoyed a good meal.

Nope.

I can not do that anymore.  I bought a loaf of bread for myself, and ate three slices with the boys.  I needed some bread to bring to home anyway.  Had water instead of soda, which I did not have for weeks at a time.

So, in conclusion, it is amusing, at least for me, to compare team competition experiences I had all those years in America, and what I had here.  I am proud of our boys for winning 4 games against those teams that clearly are better prepared and well equipped.