NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 16 – Kenyan elite athletes have continued to call out on rogue coaches who take advantage of female runners contributing to poor performance.
After touring Machakos and Bomet Counties, the Athletics Kenya (AK) pitched camp in Kisii County where consultative forum was held, led by Athletics national coach Julius Kirwa.
Among them, former Olympics 5000m silver medalist Isabella Ochichi, proposed for more females to be trained as coaches as well as the establishment of female chaperones in all AK branches countrywide.
“We need more women coaches because this is the only way we can support female athletes’ talent. If you go around the country, there are few women athletes because many fall along the way despite having good talent,” said Ochichi.
She also advised athletes to be hawk-eyed and self-disciplined to identify and avoid unscrupulous individuals masquerading as coaches.
“We have enough talent and I would ask young upcoming athletes to focus and be on the lookout for rogue coaches. This people come pretending to be coaches. They start following you in the name of assistance and in the end get young athletes into illegal relationships that end in a crude manner,” Ochichi added.
Justin Mogire, a marathoner, suggested that retired athletes should be trained as coaches to provide them with a retirement plan after hanging up their spikes in addition to keeping the true spirit of athletics alive.
“The coaches’ character should be looked into before being given a chance to train athletes because we have conmen who only want to molest female athletes. We should only have the right people for this job,” Mogire said.
Concurring with the majority sentiments, veteran coach Kirwa reiterated his personal commitment to weeding the sport of rogue coaches to ensure that athletes are in safe hands.
“This topic has come up again in Kisii and it’s evident we have a lot of work to do to weed out those who have no papers to coach athletes. I want to warn those who fall into this category to just leave the profession because if found, they will face the law,” Kirwa stated.
He also asked the local leadership to vet coaches who are supposed to go for further training because they know the right people to handle athletes.
