GSU looks forward to league after Covid-19 pandemic
General Service Unit (GSU) head coach Gideon Tarus is urging the Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) to exercise caution on resuming the league when the ban on gatherings is lifted.
KVF suspended the league due to the Covid 19 closures having just held one leg in Nyeri which was poorly attended. Only five league matches were played as some teams were a no-show.
“Even if the ban is to be lifted in a month or two, I would urge the federation and teams to exercise patience.
Personally, I feel the current season should be done away with so we start a new season in October, assuming it will be safe to do so then.
This will ensure everyone’s safety in the league legs that bring together a lot of people,” said Tarus.
The tactician says his charges have a programme that they are following to stay fit at this time when team training is impossible.
In addition to physical fitness, they have also engaged the services of a nutritionist who is helping the squad stay healthy.
“While some are still expected to be at work at this time because of the nature of our job, they find time to go through the programme to stay fit.
The nutritionist is working closely with some of the players who needed to add some weight to take advantage of this break, when they are not active, to achieve that while the rest avoid adding weight by eating healthy,” he added.
He continued, “This is also a time to exercise self-discipline. We are not following up on the players to make sure they adhere to the programme.
At the end of this, the level of fitness will tell you who took this seriously and that could translate to their commitment too.”
GSU were yet to play a single league match before the virus hit. In the season opening Nyeri leg, the paramilitary side was scheduled to play Kenya Army and Vihiga County who did not attend.
They were likely to miss the second league leg in Kisumu as they were preparing for the Africa Club Championship.
They began their season without the services of one of their key players Abiud Chirchir who was released for a professional stint with Club Olympique de Kélibia in Tunisia.
However, to try and fill the void left by Chirchir who was last season’s Most Valuable Player (MVP), coach Tarus had acquired the signature of another youngster, Kelvin Omuse, from Equity Bank.
Omuse joined the holders from bankers. In 2018, he played for Kenya Defence Forces’ side Ulinzi.
He was also part of the national team squad that did duty during last year’s Zone Five qualifiers to the Africa Games. The right attacker was impressive as Kenya picked a set against eventual winners Egypt.
