KCA-U join league of big boys

By OSCAR PILIPILI

Kenya College of Accountacy-University (KCA-U) has joined the premiership just one year after joining the Kenya Hockey Union (KHU) competition.

They also become the second team from a learning institution, after Strathmore, to qualify for the top league.

KCA-U is a collection of players who have premier league experience.

Gordon Odour and Jerry Kana joined the students’ team after playing for Park Road for some time and head coach Moses Cheplaiti believes they contributed handsomely towards KCA-U’s success.

"Our success is a result of hard work and good planning," Cheplaiti said in an interview.

"Most of my players are dedicated and their target from the onset of the league was to win and qualify for the premiership," Cheplaiti, who plays for Kenya Police, said.

The men’s national league was hotly contested that qualifiers for the play-off were not known until the last matches.

Cheplaiti said the competitiveness of the league kept his players on their toes, as they had to train throughout to avoid surprises.

He hopes the players will carry the form to the premiership, and prevail to represent the country at the international level.

"Our first goal was to qualify for the premiership which we’ve achieved and our focus now is to win the league and qualify for continental events," he said.

The youthful coach hopes that his players will stick with the team after they complete their studies at the institution.

"To maintain a students’ team is rather tricky because the players may leave once they finish studies," he said.

"I hope all of them would chose to remain and propel the club to the next level," he said.

The coach said he would work closely with the management of the KCA-U to recruit talented players to keep the team going.

Elsewhere, Brian Burke stepped down as general manager of the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday, clearing the way for a much anticipated move to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Burke, who is also general manager of the US national team for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, will be replaced by the Ducks’ senior vice president of hockey operations Bob Murray.

In the final year of his four-year contract, Burke will continue in a consultant’s role with Anaheim but, according to reports on the Ducks’ website (http://ducks.nhl.com), has been given permission to explore other opportunities.

Burke refused to speculate on his future. Hockey’s most famous and valuable franchise, the Toronto Maple Leafs, have been in hot pursuit of the long-time NHL executive.

"This should be Bob Murray’s day but all speculation about what happens next we can do that at some other time," Burke told a news conference. "I haven’t gotten that far."— Additional reporting by Reuters