An early alarm call and a slobber filled Beirdre welcomed me as I woke up this morning. I sat at the breakfast table with a face like a piece of chewing gum that's been found down the side of the sofa thinking, how on Earth am I going to be able to coach for a whole day in this heat? I was already tired!
We arrived at a good time, just after 10 is during their break time so within a few minutes myself and T-Man followed the coaches onto the field and Malin was guided to the music room. Torbjoern was taking my role from Sunday as photographer and sunbather and before we knew it, we introduced ourselves and got straight into the session.
I had planned a session that would work fine with any amount of balls just as long as we had one. Thankfully I have a lot of experience at coaching various amounts of players with various amounts of equipment so I was prepared for anything. I had 11 players, 2 balls, a few cones and two goals so compared to other courses I've worked on, I was loaded!
The session went really well and despite it being ridiculously hot, the players still put in some great effort. The pitch was like a weed-filled minefield because they haven't had time to cut and roll any sort of playing field so i was just happy to finish the morning without any twisted ankles. The lumps, rocks and huge 2ft deep gutter that ran through the middle of the pitch were all expertly avoided by the lads thankfully. I was exhausted just standing in the heat and when I stopped the lads after an hour to see if we could have a water break the coach kindly whispered in my ear, "uuuumm, there is still another 45 minutes till lunch Mr Chris." Right-o, I'll carry on then shall I?
We went in for lunch just before 1pm, we had intended on eating with the pupils but they all seemed to disappear as we waited for the all clear to go into the school hall and eat. Malin was happy with her lesson and had finished all she had planned and T-man didn't really have much else to do so they were going to head into town to sort some house things out. I agreed to stay the whole day and sit in on the theory lesson. There was one hour of theory and 2 hours of practical left for the boys.
I wanted to see how the Kenyan coaches worked. It's all well and good me coming in and teaching but i wanted the whole ride to be a cultural experience and I'm not going to learn anything as a coach if i don't observe other people. As I sat at the back of the class listening to the three main principles of football I felt the Stevie Wonders coming. If you mix an already tired Mr Chris with heat and food and then let him sit for a while, he will be sleeping in seconds.
I could feel the coach looking at me for recognition of what he was saying and it was all good but I had to fight my hardest to keep my eyelids and head from dropping onto the desk in front of me. I managed to stay awake though...just, and the lesson was very good. The long pauses between Kenyan sentences may be very annoying if you're bursting for a wee and are waiting for directions to the toilet but they are perfect for students that are righting down notes on what you're teaching.
I wasn't sure whether the coaches wanted me to coach the afternoon as well but I had planned something anyway just incase. Luckily I had because they did, and it tied in perfectly with the theory lesson. The sun had eased off thankfully, normally its hotter around 3 but the clouds helped me out and I was able to complete the afternoon without falling asleep or collapsing with dehydration.
The lads took a bit more time to understand the session so I had to work even harder which consequently made the time fly even faster. The tempo was astonishing even if the understanding was not 100% and I really enjoyed coaching again. I had a great sense of satisfaction when I finished and as I'm pretty sure I wouldn't see the lads again I thought it was right I ended with a wee "breathe and believe" speech.
I grabbed a mini van back home and as I sat in the back taking in all the surroundings i felt like I had worked here for ages. What I had today was a possible work option for the future and the CEO has basically offered me a job and a 7 bedroom house on the site of the school. I always feel good after a productive training session and to add to the job satisfaction, a cheeky cold one was enjoyed at home as the sun set.
A really good day, tiring, but good and it's great to be involved with Kenyan football in a small way.
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