Simba Rugby Academy: Where Skill Meets Excellence

It is no secret that for any sport to succeed, one needs to start at the very bottom. No wonder our Swahili brothers and sisters say “samaki mkunje angali mbichi.” For a long time, Impala and Nakuru Rugby Academies have produced class players including the likes of former Kenya Shujaa Vice-Captain Sammy Oliech, Anthony Nyandigisi, Monate Akuei among others. But a new order is here.

Unlike the above two whose sole purpose is to produce quality rugby players for their senior sides and ultimately the national sides, Simba Rugby Academy is a high-performance program whose key focus is to develop a platform for research and talent optimization by providing to a platform to share and improve in three distinct fields namely: Medicine, Coaching and Strength, and Conditioning.

Former Kenya Simbas player Stephen Oneal Juma, a founder Director of the Academy says the Academy started out as a personal sports coaching from 2014 to 2016 and transformed into a training center in January 2017.

“Sport has the power to change the world.”-Nelson Mandela

Academy Leadership

Stephen Oneal Juma is the founder Director while Impala Saracens star Anthony Nyandigisi is the Academy’s, Chief Executive Officer. Former Kenya Shujaa and Kenya Simbas star Robert Aringo is the Academy Manager with Steve Kimani is the Finance Manager.

Academy Advisory Team

For a project to succeed, it is only prudent to seek counsel from people who have been there or harbor more experience and knowledge. That is exactly what Simba Rugby Academy has done. In their advisory ranks, you are likely to find former Kenya Simbas star and former Kenya Harlequins and Kabras Sugar RFC Head Coach Charles Cardovillis and current World Rugby Regional Development Officer JohnBosco Muamba who is their Academy Match Officiating Educator Laws Continuum Director.

The star-studded advisory team also has former Kenya Simbas and Blakblad Coach Mike “Tank” Otieno, current Stormers Franchise Assistant Coach Labeeb Levy and former Kenya Rugby Union Director and Supersport East Africa General Manager Auka Gecheo.

For the whole team, . click here…

With such a star-studded advisory team, you would expect an equally star-studded coaching team. You are in for a treat. David Ambunya, Kenya Harlequins star and former Kenya Simbas player, Stephen Juma, Impala Saracens star and former Kenya Simbas player, Anthony Nyandigisi, Impala Saracens star, and Michael Ochieng. Robert Aringo, Lyle Asiligwa, Waweru Mwangi, and former Kenya Lioness star Linet Moraa are also part of the cavalry.

Where does training for this Academy take place? Am glad you asked. The Academy programs run at Braeburn schools Gitanga who are their main sponsors.

They say diversification and globalization are the keys to the future and a future-minded organization like Simba Rugby Academy has paid attention to both. Last year, Simba Rugby Academy participated in a rugby league workshop hosted by the Kenya Rugby League Federation with an interest in high performance. As a follow up to this, Simba Rugby Academy is now an affiliate of the Kenya Rugby League Federation where Stephen Juma is the Acting Manager of Elite Performance Programs and Academies.

To beat the best, you have to be the best and Simba Rugby Academy prides itself in providing the best of services when it comes to Rugby League, Rugby Union, and Rugby Touch. In fact, in June 2019 they hosted their Elite performance System Director and current Stormers Assistant Coach, Labeeb Levy for a week’s capacity building program.

Do they take teams out for competitions?

Unfortunately, they don’t. “We offer the best technical knowledge and reassign the players back to play for their schools, clubs, and countries,” says Juma.

You may wonder what age categories you are likely to find should you decide to pay them a courtesy call. “We have Under 7s, Under 9s, Under 11s, Under 13s, Under 15s, Under 17s, and Under 19s both boys and girls. We also have personal training for those above,” adds Juma.

Corona Virus

“The safety of our athletes and staff is key. Rugby is a contact sport and as such, we suspended all our programs until the Ministry of Health advises on resumption. We however would like to resume with personal training programs that will not only ensure we observe safety guidelines but also sharpen individual skills,” adds the Academy’s Director Stephen Juma.

What else do they do?

Simba Rugby Academy also offers an education calendar and internship programs for athletes. They do education courses through trainers in their system while also conducting more 1 on 1 session to improve their players’ skills during holiday camps.

“Our pathway involves educating players in all facets of the game that will improve rugby intelligence and if they end up not playing, they can be great coaches and referees,” says Juma.

Just what are the Academy’s plans?

Simba Rugby Academy plans to add wheelchair rugby in their already impressive portfolio. They also plan to host a Simba Matata age-grade festival, more like Safari 7s or Ravens week but for Rugby League, Union and Touch. They also look forward to hosting a North Africa and East Africa coaches’ forum as well as a talent optimization week. On matters of competition, they intend to organize a regional age-grade franchise competition for the region for the 3 Federations in Kenya and eventually in the continent.

Now that you are here: The Big Interview with Dominique Habimana is such a great piece to read after this.

Finally, you may be wondering how Stephen Juma’s resume looks like. Worry not, I got yah…

Stephen Juma played for Impala Saracens, the Kenya Simbas, and Kenya under 19 teams. The Bachelor of Science in Sports and Recreation Management student at the Kenyatta University also turned out for Cheetahs and Chui franchises in the now-defunct rugby super series. In the spirit of improvement, Juma is currently undertaking level 2 7s and 15s coaching training.

Among his other achievements include current Kenya under 15s 7s coach, Assistant Manager Impala Saracens Academy from 2010 to June 2019, founder coach, Impala Women’s team, Under 21 Impala Academy coach, consultant coach Blackblad among many others.

Juma was inspired into rugby by coach Ogwe and his former captain Omusi back in Ambira High School. Malik Ndemi and the late Eric Situma inspired him into coaching while Labeeb Levy inspired him into Elite Performance coaching. When he wanted to start the Academy, Juma got sound advice from Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Presidential Candidate Herbert Mwachiro, Charles Cardovillis, former Kenya Shujaa coach Benjamin Ayimba, Kenya Rugby Union Chairman Oduor Gangla and Auka Gecheo.

For more information about Simba Rugby Academy, kindly visit their social media handles: Simba Rugby Academy on Facebook.

Originally published at https://themaverick.co.ke on July 17, 2020.