KIKUYU, Kenya, January 31 (Reuters) – Kenya may have just one rink and almost no coaches, but that hasn’t stopped 28-year-old Benjamin Mburu from pursuing his dream of hockey glory.
His team, the Kenya Ice Lions, are honing their skills at the Panari Hotel in Nairobi.
If they can’t get in there, they go onto the rooftops and train in rollerblades to make up for the lack of “ice age”.
As the only team in the country, they usually organize games among themselves.
“One day some of my friends invited me to play ice hockey and that was the beginning of this beautiful journey,” said Mburu, an architect from his hometown of Kikuyu, 20 km (12 miles) northwest of Nairobi.
Eventually, Mburu hopes Kenya will join the International Ice Hockey Federation.
The Ice Lions have already played friendlies against teams from the USA and Canada.
You watch online tutorials and receive lessons from volunteer expatriate coaches. They’re hungry for success, said head coach Tim Colby.
Reporting by Jeff Kahinju; Writing of Bhargav Acharya; Edited by Alexander Winning and Ben Dangerfield
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