The Kenyan ice hockey team have been training on the only rink at Panari Hotel in East Africa and they hope to qualify for the Winter Olympics in 2018.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36909219?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Alaa! alafu igeuke kama wale Jamaicans walishangaza watu wakicontest kwa luge
Wacheni Pipe dreams
Even if they invite David Oduya
Tell that to Julius Yego…the youtube athlete.
So you think these hockey players will watch youtube and become good enough to qualify for the Olympics?
Individual sports are different from team sports. Ice hockey is like football or basketball. It requires years and years of working on your skills from the time you are 7 years old. You can’t start playing as an adult and expect to be world class
Nobody mentioned that they have to be world class to get to winter Olympics. They just have to qualify or be invited by IOC. Lastly the Panari Ice Rig was opened in 2006 so who know how long they have been practicing. Big things start small, so just support them for now.
Yes they have to qualify. And No they will never be invited by IOC because IOC does not invite teams. They only invite individuals. Have you ever heard of IOC inviting a team? It never happens. If Kenya is invited in 2018, they will lose every single match by 10 goals or more. And IOC will not waste a valuable qualification spot on a team that will lose every game badly.
And in order to qualify, you either have to be one of the top 9 ranked nations or you have to play in the qualification tournament and beat teams like Austria and Latvia which have professional players and are therefore world class. So yes indeed you have to be world class in order to go to the Olympics.
And besides practicing your skills, you have to measure yourself and sharpen your skills by playing against other teams. Has Kenya even played against any other country?
I agree that big things start small. But you have to be realistic. For Kenya to even have a chance they would need:
- A local league where players play competitive matches on a weekly basis. Not one ice rink
- You need youth development systems where players learn core skills starting at a young age
- You need to play competitive matches against established teams to really measure how good you are
etc etc
In other words, we must learn to crawl before we can walk. The problem with this pipe dream is that Kenya is a baby that wants to run before it can even crawl.
Stop pipe dreaming about the Olympics. Start with realistic steps like creating a local league, introducing the sport in schools, invite foreign coaches to teach the game and start to play friendlies with established teams.
After 10 years of crawling, Kenya will learn how to walk and maybe have a chance.
We Africans should learn to be patient and learn how to plan for our goals.
One word. Jamaica. As @Jazzman mentioned above. Olympic isn’t just about winning gold, silver or bronze its competing and that’s why even if you watch all their promos its not about who won what but also the last in the competition. Jamaica did and so will this young men. You dream first then make it happen.
Jamaica qualified for a two man bobsled competition. Its a simpler sport like athletics. Not a complex team sport like Ice hockey
In simple sports like athletics and bobsled, you can make it to the Olympics without much planning.
Sisi waafrigha we need to stop jokes and become serious. IOC has never invited teams to the Olympics. They will not make any exception for Kenya.
If complaining was a sports you would be favourite for a medal. You will not see it or get it as most critics don’t but the dream is there and they can achieve that dream. Thanks to you am now fully sold into this young adults effort.
Tutawasupport tu hata kama hawataqualify.
We are still a country of small means so the fact that we have this “ice thingy” in this part of the world is a big deal.
We have a non professional Rugby team which beats Professional sides each and every time so hata hapa tuko na hopes maybe we just have the ntural talent eve though we don’t have enough resources and sometimes that is all it takes.
hata Iceland ilichapa England Euros
Yes they can, hata kama they will be just warming up the Russian/Canadian Team. Any Kenyan Team is just a winner to me for showing up to play.
If they qualify they should change the Jersey colours, that jersey they are wearing has awful colour arrangement. If they can’t design a new jersey colors they should post a challenge here so that artists can come up with an awesome Kenya themed jersey for them.
If pipe dreams were a sport you would be world champion :D:D:D
I am not here to convince anyone to support or not support the pipe dream
I am here to tell people the truth and educate readers on what it takes for a team to go to the Olympics.
IOC has never invited a team to the Olympics ever. And Kenya will not be the first.
But if you want to continue supporting the pipe dream then feel free to do so.
The bolded part makes sense. Lets support them even if they dont qualify. I agree with that.
But the Olympics is a pipe dream.
And please don’t compare rugby to ice hockey. Abeg please. Rugby has a local league, it has schools rugby, youth rugby, sponsorship, etc etc. These are the elements needed for a team to become good enough to qualify for the Olympics.
Also the Kenya rugby team took a very long time to become world class. In the 1990s, the Kenya rugby sevens team used to lose to teams like Tunisia by 50 points. But they worked hard, improved their league, played in competitive tournaments and improved, expanded schools rugby, enhanced the standards of coaching in schools, sought sponsors and improved until by 2009 they became good enough to reach the world cup semi-finals.
The Kenya ice hockey team has not done any of these things and some people are pipe dreaming about the Olympics. :D:D:D
Kweli Kenya kuna vituko
I am not hating on ice hockey. I am here to tell people the reality of what it takes to get to the Olympics.
Oooh you’ve been to the Olympics? In what capacity if I may ask?
:D:D:D:D I life i have never understood one thing about the critics using more energy to complain than actually those who are doing something constructive.
Yaani some of you are brain dead. Do I have to be at the Olympics?
The information is freely available. Ever heard of google?
The ignorance on display in this thread is breathtaking.
I asked and no one has given me an answer. So let me ask again:
I have never heard of IOC inviting a team to the Olympics. Has anyone ever heard of such a thing?
And does anyone really think that a group of recreation players can beat established teams like Austria and Latvia?
What is constructive about a pipe dream that has no chance of materializing?
You think you are being constructive by day dreaming about things that cannot happen?
:D:D:D
Yego has taken a lot of people for a ride na hio story yake ya youtube athlete. Niggar used to throw the javelin while still in school. By the time he was completing his education, he was already a master at it. Youtube athlete is just a spin to a long story to make it more interesting.