My Volleyball Years

It was during my first-form year at Starehe that I joined the school volleyball team. I remember, albeit vaguely, being taught how to serve and strike the ball. And I will never forget how a teammate (Rogers Too, I think) smashed my face with a ball he hadn't intended to direct at me.

When we broke for December holidays that year, I informed Dad that I had joined the Starehe volleyball team. I can't remember if he commended me for doing so. All I recall was him advising me not to neglect my studies.

Though I heeded Dad's advice, I became more involved with the volleyball team when I was in Form 2. Playing with my teammates made me understand the intricacies of the game such as how to rotate and direct a ball to a booster while readying for a strike.

Our volleyball coach, an affable man called Mr. Michael Ndung'u who passed away in 2005, made playing volleyball more exciting for me. He got to know me by name, and used scientific jargon like "trajectory", "projectile" and "tactical maneuvering" while coaching us. And he once asked a teammate to recite the Archimedes' Principle.

Mr. Ndung'u fielded me in one friendly match we played against another high school. But he eventually withdrew me after I became clueless even though he tried cheering and instructing me from the sidelines. I just wasn't confident enough to play at a competitive level.

Owing to my lack of confidence, I was a junior member of the volleyball team in the years 2003 and 2004 when we made it to national competitions. My duties were pumping balls, cheering the team and cleaning the table after taking what we called "late meals" since we had them after the rest of the students had theirs.

I loved "late meals" because we feasted on more food than other students did. During breakfast for instance, we ate two buns, not one, with plenty of tea. Those were the days!

Although I was eventually promoted to be the deputy captain of the volleyball team in 2004, I left the team in 2005 when I was in fourth form. I hadn't become confident enough to play at a competitive level. But it was all to my own good because I had more time to study, which was why I got an 'A' in KCSE exams and appeared in a list of top 100 students that was published in the newspapers.

Interestingly, I didn't rejoin the volleyball team when I reported back to Starehe in 2006 to pursue a diploma in information technology in the institute division of the school. In 2007, I heard that the then school volleyball coach was so impressed to see me play the game well during an inter-house competition match that he asked why I wasn't part of the school volleyball team.

Since leaving Starehe in April 2007, I have had few opportunities to play volleyball. Though I don't think I will ever play the game again, I will cherish the memories of my years in the Starehe volleyball team. The cheering, the teamwork and the pulsating games we played shall form part of my thinking makeup.

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RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed the above story on my volleyball years, you might also enjoy another one on "Part 3: High School Memories".