•The outspoken man from Kaptanai Village in Bungoma County is the Namwela Boys volleyball coach who also serves as the driver of the school bus.
•The 49-year-old started coaching the school in October 2014 when the school wanted an event that would sell it to the world
Image: HANDOUT
Little-known Isaac Nicodemus Muresha was named the Schools Coach of the Year during the Sports Personality of the Year (SOYA) awards ceremony which, to him, was a surprise.
This was also a surprise to his students and Friends School Namwela Boys management and the return to top volleyball competition, through his coaching, rekindling the late 1970s and early 1980s when the school dominated national championships by edging out then volleyball powerhouse St. Patrick’s Iten.
After finishing second in 1979 to Iten, the school went ahead to win the 1980 and 1981 national volleyball titles.
“When I was called to go to Nairobi during the SOYA event, I did not know I would win. I want to thank SOYA organisers who are very genuine in their work. They saw my work, not where I come from, my school but what I did in the courts. They did a lot of research, knowing exactly where I come from and the work I do as a coach and a school bus driver,” said Muresha.
The outspoken man from Kaptanai Village in Bungoma County is the Namwela Boys volleyball coach who also serves as the driver of the school bus.
The 49-year-old started coaching the school in October 2014 when the school wanted an event that would sell it to the world. The then principal Simon Watamba settled on volleyball as the main event.
Image: EMMANUEL SABUNI
“The principal settled on volleyball as their main event and came to my home, where we had discussions on how to tap, nurture and expose the young talents in school.
"They settled on me because I was a good neighbour, with a good history in volleyball both as a player and coach.
"As a coach, they used to see me train pupils at Chwele Boys' Primary School as well as Binyenya Girls' Secondary School, where we reached the county level with such a small school losing to Tamulega at the semifinal level,” said Muresha.
By then, the school did not have money to pay an extra person but they promised many incentives as a coach, which he accepted without any contract.
“With the principal’s promise, I agreed to coach and my job started. As a driver, I had good conduct, PSV driver records with experience and now I had to wear another title, the coach,” he said.
The school administration gave him time to recruit players and gave him the target of playing at the national level the following year, which was not on Muresha’s agenda.
Image: EMMANUEL SABUNI
“I advised them that it would not be possible to reach the national level. I had to come up with plans on how to beat then sub-county champions Butonge who were very good in volleyball and Toloso. In my vision, I had a five-year strategic plan on how to win at the sub-county, county, region before nationals,” he says
Muresha adds: “At that moment, the regional champions Malava had dominated both national and East Africa for many years. They were good in all sections for the last 20 years with many trophies.”
Come 2015, he had assembled a very good team after recruiting three boys from the school with a few Form Ones, including two from Chwele Boys – Kevin Muyelele and Nakitare – who had reached nationals in primary school games the previous year.
“To achieve this, I convinced the administration not to get perfect students but those who have knowledge and skills because no one is perfect and I trained them.
"I took my time to train and in 2015 we managed to beat Buntonge 3-0 and at Sub County, we were the best but we lost to Mang’ana 3-1 at the County finals due to inexperience,” he recalls.
Temporary setback
Image: EMMANUEL SABUNI
The following year, he received a blow when seven top players were poached by another school.
“Juma Walukhu, then coaching Kithika Boys, managed to poach all the seven best players and I remained with only two in my team. Those in form three did not go. The players ran away at night after Juma offered them transport. By then, I did not know that he was the coach. I reported to the principal who was surprised by the event. That was a tough lesson,” he says.]
The same year, he went to the Level One Coaching workshop in Bungoma County to improve on his skills and the principal facilitated everything.
“The same Kithika Boys lost at the regionals in 2016 just like us. The following year (2017), I went for Level Two Coaching in Machakos and again the school catered for all the expenses. That was the support I needed to develop my career. I came to learn that was the reward I was getting but I was not earning a salary,” Muresha says.
His five-year plan was achieved in 2023 after winning the Federation of East Africa Secondary Schools Sports Association (FEASSSA) volleyball title in Rwanda.
“Since we did not have school games in 2020-2021 due to coronavirus, my plan was well executed last year. We finished third at the national championships in Kakamega and went to Rwanda as underdogs but we shocked the region by coming home as champions. We used to wake up early for training, involving other coaches and this paid off,” he explains.
The Bungoma-based school will be representing the country at the International School Federation championships in Serbia. He says the team is equally good after playing in two finals during the Kamusinga Open and Malava Open winning titles.
“This is a promising team ahead of the World School Games. I have a good team to represent Kenya. My players who did Form Four last year, meet playing requirements and Kenyans will be happy when they see us on the court. The team is composed of 14 players yet we play 12. Out of 12, five did Form Four, with two in the first team. All are centres, one left attacker left but I have a good replacement,” he said.
Image: HANDOUT
Since he is not a teacher, Muresha has faced the wrath of some officials, stopping him from sitting on the technical bench but Principal Stephen Mutaki has always stood with him.
“At nationals, I was stopped from sitting on the bench but the principal defended me in the first matches, which we lost. In the second match, I was allowed onto the bench, winning all the remaining matches and finishing third,” he said.]
Muresha says the school belongs to the community and volleyball is part of their life where fans and non-teaching staff travel to cheer the team.
Driver per excellence
He also said that juggling between driving and coaching has never affected either of his duties. “I am always happy with my work of driving and coaching. Coaching starts at 4:10- 5:50 pm. During the day, I perform my driving duties. I see driving as a calling. I normally drive students to sporting venues during sub-county and county events. Once we reach regional, national and East Africa, the government takes over driving and I am allowed time to only coach,” he said, urging parents to allow talented students to join the school.
Muresha landed the driving job in 2018 when the deputy president, now President William Ruto, promised to give the school a bus.
The parents and staff travelled to Nairobi using Toloso School’s bus and in the middle of the journey, he was handed the keys by the driver.
“Once the bus was in school, which was driven by officials from the office of the president, the school advertised for a driver’s job. I applied and I was called for an interview, which I passed hence becoming the official driver,” remembered Muresha
Coronavirus remained a big challenge when he stayed with 24 players at his home.
“If I could let them go, they would have joined other schools. I have a good loving wife (Scovia Adhiambo) who loves these children. After closing school, we could perform other chores with them and train in the evening. Many parents kept on inquiring about their children and I was candid enough to tell them that they were safe at my place, not quarantined,” he explained.
Team Captain Reagan Otieno said since joining the school, he has been doing well both in academics and sports.
“The volleyball department is trying their best to ensure we get to the top. As a captain, I always advise my players to keep calm, and apply basics to win,” said Otieno who looks up to Kenya Ports Authority’s Dennis Omollo and Kenya Forest Service’s Lewis Ouma.
Otieno adds: “We were eager to win but that did not happen. We finished third and we were not satisfied. We had to apologise to fans for letting them down; we had to redeem our image in Rwanda and win the FEASSSA title to soothe the country and fans.”
On ISF games, he says: “We are well prepared because we train every evening and we are ready to defend our name in Serbia. We are always prepared to meet anybody and to fight any team we come across. We also have experienced players in our team.”
Otieno is full of praise for his coach and believes he was deserving of the SOYA award.
“It was a good experience at SOYA with our coach. In this country, there are many coaches but ours was the best. Being the champion of East Africa and the difficulties we went through, he deserves it. That made us proud and courageous.”
He has been approached by coaches to join other schools but he has decided not to leave due to the good support he gets.
“I have made my decision to remain here. I also appreciate my parents who advised me to be here. I am also proud of the support I receive from my mother (Everline Achieng) and father (William Odhiambo),” he says.
Image: HANDOUT
Mutaki says volleyball has put the school on the world map and they are used as a case study when it comes to discipline.
“We love all sports in this school and because volleyball is doing well, we have to support them. They are the most disciplined students and we use them as a case study after visiting Rwanda last year,” he said.
He added that in Rwanda, discipline is number one and because they were in the system of the country, they have brought the same to the school.
With ISF games coming in April, he promises that they will do what they can to support the team all the way.
“As a school administration, we are looking forward to better results this year. With Serbia’s journey near, we are trying our best to ensure that the team performs well despite the financial constraints the school might face,” he says.
Isaac Muresha Nicodemus's profile
1975- Born in Kaptanai Village (last born in a family of seven to Nicodemus Manyenyi (father) and Rebecca Namukhula (mother)
1980-1986- Kaptanai Primary School
1987-1989- Wamono Primary School
1990-1992- Musingu High School
1992-1995- Namwela Secondary (KCSE)
1996-1997- Playing for Nzoia Sugar Company (volleyball)
1997- Joined National Youth Service (NYS) Gilgil, driving course
2000- Married to Scovia Adhiambo, blessed with seven children (4 boys and 3 girls)
2002- PSV driver
2010- Total Security as driver
2013-coaching Chwele Boys Primary and Binyenya Girls Secondary
2014- Coach, Namwela Boys
2015-Bungoma County silver
2016- Western region, bronze, Level One coaching
2017- Western region, bronze
2018- Western region, Bronze, Level Two coaching
2019- Western region champions, bronze at nationals
2022- National silver medalist, 4th at FEASSSA
2023- Bronze at national and champions of FEASSSA
2024- SOYA, School Coach of the Year