Will the gods of hockey say yes again to St Charles Lwanga?

They may have not won the title, but St Charles Lwanga were the real heroes of Kenya’s boys hockey conquest at 2024 Federation of East Africa Secondary Schools Sports Association (FEASSSA) games.

St Charles settled for silver after losing to 2-0 Musingu Boys High School in the final, but their effort saw Kenya wrestle the trophy from Uganda’s Kakungulu Memorial who had snatched it in 2022.

They were very impressive from the preliminaries to the knockouts and one by one, knocked down the Ugandans who had denied Kenya the hockey gong for two years in a row.

With former East Africa champions St Anthony’s Boys High School having lost their opening match to the then defending champions Kakungulu by a solitary goal, St Charles took it upon themselves to do the heavy work.

They ensured that the Ugandans never made it out of the pools by thrashing Kyadondo Secondary School 4-0 and edging out Kakungulu 1-0.

Their exploits would see Kakungulu’s title defence end in the preliminaries as they finished third in Group B.

St Charles would help set up an all-Kenyan final after dismissing the only remaining Ugandan side Ntare School 2-0 in a penalty shootout after their semis encounter ended in a 2-2 stalemate.

This year, they finished third at the national games to book their ticket to the East Africa games where they are looking to bag their maiden trophy.

St Charles coach Julius Masero said they have prepared well and are ready for the challenge.

“We were hoping to perform better at the nationals but most of my players were new at that level of competition and struggled finishing third. However, we have worked very hard since then, played friendly matches against stronger teams and I think the boys have hardened and also gained first hand experience on how to play against tough opponents,” Masero said.

He added that he has been working on improving his players skills, mental strength and match awareness and they are now better than they were in April.

“After the national games, we immediately embarked on preparations for the East Africa games. We have worked on all aspects of the game, refining their skills, enhancing their mental strength and game awareness and making them ready for a higher level of competition.”

He revealed that they have played over 20 friendly matches against more experienced players and lost only two of those encounters.

St Charles have also played in the Coast League and have dropped only three points in one defeat.

In the friendlies, they have met tougher opponents such as Premier League side Daikyo Heroes.

They have also played Mvita XI and Mombasa West Hockey Club. They will be up against compatriots Musingu, St Anthony’s and debutants Mpesa Foundation Academy as well as Ugandan sides who will be on a mission to recapture the title.