Coach uncertain about women's athletics team

By certain about women's athletics teamTimothy Murungi, :: 30-01-2012

ucu athletics

The athletics team, Uganda Christian University is warming up for the national cross country championships in Jinja on February 11. Coach Timothy Kabuye knows that these races are good in building up the athletes and testing their endurance strength.


“These long races are always good because they help in giving the runners endurance,” Kabuye noted.
It is for matters of endurance that Kabuye will include the women even though they do not make a full team.
Of the four participants required to make a team, Kabuye has only two women -- Laini Lulu and Prossy Nalukanga for long distance running.
“I want the long distance women to participate because it (running) will be for their personal fitness and endurance training,” Kabuye said.
In the past, the coach has been getting a ‘hand’ from women in other sports like volleyball but  have now completed their studies while others have showed a low morale eventually quitting.
 Kabuye admits that it has never been an easy task building up a women’s track team especially long-distance runners.
“Our biggest problem is with the women team. Women are always hard to find. If you find good runners, everyone else will also be looking for that particular person,” Kabuye said with sadness.
“Besides, it is very hard to build a women’s team. It takes a long time developing a women’s team because we start training them at the university whereas men start in secondary,” he added.
Kabuye has not lost all hope concerning the women’s athletics  because he has sprinters including a recent signing, Alice Otto who is training with the team. He is also optimistic that his luck could change in the season.
“If I get women for the team, I will be lucky. I am looking around,”he said.
Despite the women being only two, whenever there has been anyone to volunteer from other sports team, Lulu and prossy have always delivered.
Kabuye  also revealed that Abudnoor Kato and  Richard Praise Demas who got injured during the University games are showing good improvement in recovery. However, the coach intends to rest Demas until next season.
“When he fully recovers, he will only be training with us for about six months but not competing until December,” Kabuye said.
Coach Kabuye is fearful of repeating the mistake of fielding Demas when he is not fully fit like in the university games where Demas’ healing was badly interfered with.
The men’s team for the cross-country  features’ seven men hoping  to represent UCU ably.
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