Uganda Schools and sport

Nairobi — Kenya's dominance in sport remains largely unchallenged in eastern Africa. The country's secondary school students, competing in last week's Brookside East Africa Schools Games in Nakuru, proved just that.


In the 1960's it was the effort by just one Kenyan Secondary school which created the Kenyan excellence in athletics and this led to so many famous Olympic Games successes.
Matt and his Engage For Africa want to help change this. Why can't we help St Zoe's children in Uganda to become top sports men and women?  So we are going to try.Here is what Matt said;   When we pulled up at the school pupils were playing volleyball, netball and football. One of the issues I noticed on my visit in 2009 was the fact that girls at the school don’t play any sport and it’s mainly the older boys that play football on the school pitch. This surprised me as when I spoke to younger pupils and the girls they expressed an interest.

During the two days at St Zoe’s myself and Phil Hayward coached all boys and girls at the school using their new equipment. Basketball, netball, athletics, football, volleyball were all played as part of a round robin where pupils had the chance to be coached and compete in games, a special thanks goes to Naomi and Becky as without them we couldn’t have coached so many children.

Prior to any coaching all pupils at St Zoe’s were presented with their premier league football kits donated from primary schools in Merseyside & Cheshire. This part of the project plays a massive part during the day and beyond, as every pupil has their own dreams when they put on the shirt whether it is at school or in their local village. The T Shirt is a talking point of happiness.

The need for structured coaching on a regular basis at St Zoe’s is necessary due to the number of pupils, the enthusiasm, work ethic and talent the pupils possess.

I feel St Zoe’s has massive potential to produce talented sportsmen and women in the near future that can go on to great achievements in the sports industry. The talented sports boys and girls at the school must be used as positive role models as so many pupils will look up to them at school in their everyday life. With the right coaching starting from an early age and with all sports areas up and running I can’t see why the pupils wouldn’t flourish in St Zoe’s Sport School of Excellence. 

The drive and energy at the school from the children is there to see, with help from HQ Coaching, HUGS and the staff at St Zoe’s, the schools sports will now go from strength to strength. The recording and evaluating of activities is key and the fact the pupils must get a competitive edge in sports that will come through competing against other schools is massive to their short and long term development.