*Undated
Kenya is well known for its participation in athletics. That is the sport that has brought Kenyan so much pride compared to other disciplines.
When it comes to another sport, volleyball, Kenyan national volleyball team has been outstanding on their part. For the men's side, they are slowly becoming a force to reckon with.
One volleyball player who has been impressive and even managed to earn a move abroad is 24 year old Abiud Chirchir.
He grew up in a remote village of Sirsiron Nandi County located in Rift Valley. When he was young, it never occurred to the man that one day he would work with one of the best volleyball coaches in the world, Frenchman Eric N'Gapeth.
The former French international who coaches Nancy has won five League A titles, four French Cups and one European Super Cup as a coach. He is the father of Earvin who is France outside hitter. Eric N'Gapeth is a former France volleyball player with legendary status.
Back to the Kenyan, Chirchir loved playing netball when he was young. His height was definitely an added advantage over his other opponents in primary school whenever they played as he would easily reach the ring. His passion for netball did not last that long as he later switched to volleyball in 2012 while just at class 8 after his coach convinced him. "I spotted him when I was teaching at Chepnoet. He was very tall and at his age you could easily tell that he would grow taller. He could just serve the ball but he could not receive, block or spike. I felt with time he was going to improve so I made sure he made our sub county team."
"That same year he made it to the team that represented Rift Valley in the national primary schools volleyball competition played in Mombasa. By the time we were going for nationals, he could receive well and he was a good spiker. Luckily, Malava Boys coach (Shadrack) Tovoko was scouting for players and spotted him," said Abiud's coach Rotich.
After his primary school education he joined Malava for high school and it is here that he developed as a better player.
"I convinced him to play volleyball instead of netball because I knew there were more opportunities in volleyball," remembers Rotich, himself a former player who turned out for local teams KCB, Eldoret Telkom, Nairobi Posta and Eldoret Stima before retiring to concentrate on his teaching career.
He would later move to Rwanda at 19 years. He joined University of Kibungo in 2016. He then stayed at the team for sometime before coming back to Kenya where he joined the General Service Unit (GSU) volleyball team. At the club, Chirchir won 3 consecutive league titles which would make him a man of interest. Many clubs would later sought after his services and luck as far as hard work in effect, he later moved to France to join Nancy.
With the move, Chirchir made history as the first Kenyan ever to play in France. "It's a good move and it has come at the right time. It's a new challenge for me and an opportunity to compete at a high level. It's not going to be easy but with determination and commitment I believe I'm going to make it," an elated Chirchir said En Route to Nancy, France.
Before moving to France, Chirchir played for Club Olympique de Kelibia of Tunisia. In 2019 he won the most valuable player in the playoffs for the Kenya Volleyball Federation cementing his name as one of Kenya’s best exports to the Western volleyball world.