Basketball

I've started coaching the St. Hannah's Boys basketball team every Tuesday for an hour and a half. 

St. Hannah's Boys Basketball Team


I was a bit hesitant at first because coaching a team is a pretty big commitment and I am only available to be with them once a week, but I caved.  So, after only practicing with them twice they asked me to accompany them on Saturday to another school to coach them in a game.  I have never coached a basketball team before, but I have been impressed by how much I remember from my years of being coached.  I really like coaching basketball!

Saturday, we drove to the other side of Nairobi to a National high school.  Without any prior knowledge, I discovered this team was Kenya's national championship high school basketball team.  St. Hannah's had never been coached before besides the two practices I led.  Therefore, we played a long game which resulted in us losing 124-14.  After the first minute of the game, they forgot everything I taught them in our 2 practices.  Furthermore, I found out after the game that this was the first basketball game that St. Hannah's had ever played against another school.  The teachers said that if I hadn't been there to coach them then they would have lost 200-0.  Playing against the best high school team in Kenya probably wasn't the best starting point, but now we know what level the best in Kenya play at and I think the team realizes how important it is for us to get the basics down.

After the game, the other team was a bit cocky...obviously.  Therefore, I decided to walk over to their bench and challenge the other team's coach to a game of 1 on 1 in front of his team with the agreement that whoever won would get 100 points for there team.  I beat him and I think the team felt a little bit better.  I was very proud of the St. Hannah's team for playing very hard throughout the entire game and not getting upset after a long game.  124-14 is a pretty good whooping.

At practice this week they were more focused than our first two practices.  However, as I was teaching them new drills it was really hard for them to get them down.  We're starting with the basics which are difficult when it is your first time to experience them, so I look forward to working with them through July and seeing how far they progress.

Computers

On Mondays, I journey to ByGrace Orphanage and School for most of the day to teach computers. 

Computer Class at ByGrace


There are 15 students with 5 computers.  This was only our second class so we are still working on the basics.  This week we spent a majority of our time on typing correctly using a typing game that I downloaded and could only install on the 2 XP computers (the other 3 Win98 PCs don't have USB ports so I spent some of my day in Ngong looking for a 3.5 inch floppy disk (never thought I would be seeking a 3.5 floppy again), but the game was too big for the floppy).

I had them all practice their typing skills for an hour on the 2 XP computers.  The game beeps whenever you push a key you're not supposed to, so it was basically an hour long beep.  As I said with basketball basics, the basics are tough when you first learn them, but I have/had forgotten how tough it is/was to learn the basics because it was so long ago for me.  I am excited about continuing to work with the kiddos and to also see how far they have progressed through July.

I really enjoy being able to share so many of my gifts throughout the week.  I am a preacher, Bible Study leader, high school teacher, middle school teacher, guitar/music teacher, computer teacher, and basketball coach.  That's a pretty good resume and I'm not sure where else I would be able to use such an array of gifts.