The State Of The Game

Stalemate maybe?
KPA won the Women’s Premier League championship . They went head to head with their long time nemesis and former champions Equity Hawks to win 3-1 in a best-of-five series. These two teams have faced each other in the finals for the longest time since Equity’s inception to the league. Their dominance goes without question, since they each had a single loss to each other the entire regular season. It is important to also remember that KPA won the Zone 5 championship too, with a final dance that starred them and Equity.
Such an occurence constantly repeating itself at a high level, probally the highest in the country, points out a couple of things about ladies basketball.
“KPA and Equity are rich in experience,” noted Amoko, the KBF fixtures secretary. They go for the best while recruiting. The Premier League is rich with varsity teams that are all explosive and talented. However, toppling KPA and Equity calls for a lot more than that. “During the regular season, the varsity teams pull off a good run but lose it when experience takes over,” he added.
The bulk of this experience comes with taking part in internationsl tournaments. They go for the best while recruiting and international exposure brings the best out of them. These two teams also pay their players a comfortable stipend. This serves as motivation for players to bring out their best. Varsity teams come with a couple of shortcomings, from game allowances to travelling for away games let alone international tourneys.
Coach Kent has been pivotal in UON winning several KUSA championships. About the Premier League, he says that some players join us with potent talent. They have just about a limited amount of time say five or four years at most .During this period, they are polished .After school when they are at their lethal edge you cant really hold them to play for you. The stipend comes in handy to any fresh graduate out here.
Coach Nson of Storms added that the nature of our league does not allow players to be motivated by success lest it comes with renumeration. He also adds that the best ten female talents in the country have played for either of the teams and are still there. The trend is unsettling if at all the sport has any chance of growing.
Hilda Luvandwa has a depth of experience and a tonne of accolades to her name. She has suited up for both teams for a generous while. “It would do the sport good if we injected academy players to the teams. It can also be highschool talents. They begin to play competitively earlier and stand a chance at competing favourably when they peak. It is already happening in other countries, we can do it here too,” she says. The idea is to have so many fresh talents.
The real question in all this is, do you feel the narrative stands a chance of ever changing? And if yes, how? Drop your comments down below.