Hockey players and coaches who starred in the 2019 Kenya Hockey Union (KHU) Premier League will be recognised today at the HockeyKE Poty Awards to be held at Hillcrest International School in Nairobi.
It is the first time ever that top local hockey players and tacticians will be awarded. HockeyKE, a company that analyses local hockey matches, and KHU have partnered to host the event.
Players and coaches to be recognised include those who feature for teams in the Super League and the National League. Winners will be given trophies and household items.
HockeyKE Chief Executive Officer Simon Mwangi said they came up with the awards to make the sport competitive.
“Apart from recognising talent and achievement, through this event, we hope to make hockey games competitive because players will determined to perform better, knowing at the end of the season, they can win an award to win the awards,” said Mwangi.
Three rounds of selection of players to win the awards took place, HockeyKE panellists carried out the first one, where they came up with the names of players who were outstanding in various leagues. Thereafter, they invited the public to vote, with the top three players in every category being subjected to another round of voting that also included the HockeyKE panellists.
Former Butali Warriors’ Dennis Owoka and Blazer’s Joseph Openda are some of the coaches who had been nominated for the Coach of the Year award. Mwangi said moving forward, the event will be held annually and will involve more categories.
“The event is here to stay and it will improve every year with more categories being created,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lakers Hockey Club has recruited 10 new players, as they intensify their preparation for this year’s KHU Premier League.
The players who joined the club in January are students from some of top playing hockey schools and universities.
They are goalkeepers Quinter Okore and Rebecca Nasambu, defenders Prudence Mugala, Nancy Oyagi, Linda Nelima and Lancy Leah. Others are midfielders Debra Otieno, Maurine Achieng, Lencer Akinyi and Ruth Oluoch.The club lost forward Charlene Sydney to Mombasa Sports Club.
