Two coaches – Hanatu Dada and Aaron Okogie – have commended the Handball Federation (HFN) for reviving the National Under 12 and 15 Championship currently going on at the Mobolaji Johnson Sports Complex, Rowe Park, Yaba, Lagos.
Dada, who is the head coach of the FCT Handball Association, stated that it was important that youth competitions, which served as catalyst for handball development, have been resuscitated.
She stated that it was heart-warming to see kids go back to the court after a long time and hone their skills in the hope that they would become national and international stars in the near future. “It is good that the Sam Ocheho-led board of the Handball Federation of Nigeria (HFN) has revived this tournament because it will be easy to monitor the progress of the players while nurturing them to become future stars.
“Most of the players here are green horns and if they can grab the rudiments of handball at this level, they can progress to the next age grade and we can be sure that the future of the game is secured,” dada added.
She, however, said that her team is at the tournament for exposure as most of the players were competing outside Abuja for the first time.
For Okogie, who is head coach of the Edo State Handball Association, the standard exhibited at the tournament is high. He commended the players for their positive attitude and predicted that some of them would become world stars if they continue to improve.
“First, I must commend the states that brought teams for the championship, while the screening exercise was very strict. The use of over-aged players has been reduced drastically and we will get worthy champions at the end of the event.
“My hope is that the HFN will continue to develop the young ones so that they can develop into great players,” Okogie noted.
In some of the games players yesterday in the under 15 boys’ category, Sokoto beat FCT, Abuja 29-13, Ogun lost to Lagos 16-31, while Abia fell to Kogi 12-26. In the under 12 boys, Ekiti lost 4-7 to Ogun, Rivers Beat Kano 16-8 while Niger defeated Edo 25-12.