Development forms a critical part in the success of any team anywhere in football. Manchester United the worlds most popular club have proved that a strong, well-structured youth development program will benefit the team in the long term, with many current first team stars such as Beckham and Giggs having grown from within.

At Thika United FC we intend to put a great deal of investment and emphasis on our Youth development program in the years to come. Our partnership with Chania High School, in Thika town is the start of a program that will allow mutual benefit. Our squad trains weekly with the Chania under-17 boys, with our coach training both camps. Chania will benefit from dual sponsorship programs in the future for training, team gear, and boys will benefit from scholarships provided by Thika United FC.

Some of the players may not necessarily end up as soccer stars or enjoy successful soccer careers, but the program is about more than just football , the boys are encouraged to continue with their education and future careers and deterred from seeking lives of crime, and drugs on the streets. Keeping youngsters in school is an achievement in itself.

At Thika United we hope to create several squads of youth players that can benefit from expert training from the Thika United coaches, including training workshops from Italy twice a year, improvement of facilities and training equipment, and create squads of under-17 and under-19 teams that can act as a feeder to the first team, and also to the equivalent squads of the Kenya National football team.

Players from the program who graduate are expected to become an important feeder to the first team. Those who cannot make it are either loaned or given opportunities to try their luck elsewhere. If a player from the program receives an offer from abroad, we release such a player but the major aim is to develop players for the senior team and here, already we have achieved success with Vincent Onyango, who started his affiliation with Thika while at Chania High School. He was called up to the full squad of Thika United and subsequently became a striker for the National under-23 squad. He recently decided to seek a sports career in the military and we expect to see him feature for the Armed Forces Side and later for the senior national squad.

Indeed Chania have recently made it to the National schools championships semi-finals, making them the third best school team in the country after St. Anthony High from Kitale and Mombasa High School. Truly a remarkable achievement for youth soccer in Kenya and especially for Thika.

The Thika United team coach will select a player every so often to train with the squad in order to acclimatize. In Vincent’s case, an injury to another player propelled him into the first team where he stayed until his departure. The youngsters are able to mingle and train with the professionals and it becomes easier for them to learn, pick up a few things that are designed to give them an indication of what is expected of them when they are eventually promoted

Mike Muriuki, the Thika United team Manager is responsible for the programs and feels that with the right input the programs will help Thika United achieve its high expectations and benefit the country as a whole, as the players in Kenya are as talented as those in the rest of Africa, it is simply a case of a lack of understanding of what is required to improve the game in Kenya.

In this piece, we feature the youth players profiles from Chania High School.

1. Peter Opiyo is a player with great football controlling skills and it’s nice to watch him play in the midfield role. He serves as a reliable player both for his school and Thika United as a whole. Thika United is proud to have such a talent in its quest for the league title. He hails from Makongeni Estate in Thika town.



2. Abdalla Juma has proven to be very useful for Thika United in the league matches. He is such a strong player with rich vision especially when his strikers are in need of supply to endeavour scoring goals. He hails from Mombasa.
    
3. Jackson Wachira is one player you will admire watching play because of his accurate passes with excellent dribbling skills. He is one of the players Thika United is hoping to utilize in future. He hails from Mombasa.
    
4. Powerful shots and bursting speed are some of the features one can use in describing Steven Ochola. As a striker Ochola ensured his school’s qualification to the National level competition held in Kisumu mid this year (2003). He is a player to reckon with as far as Thika United is concerned. He hails from Makongeni Estate in Thika town.
    
5. David Okello, The short and stout Goalkeeper is chasing the number one Jersey at Thika United, currently he is the number two for the side and he is really giving Ruto the No. one custodian for Thika, a rough time as far as the quest for that position is concerned. Okello has featured for Mathare youth in the less than 16 category tournament held in July 2002 in Norway and Holland. He hails from Zimmerman Estate in Nairobi.
    
6. Michael Luvusi a strong and stylish player with an immense body mass is largely considered to be the midfield powerhouse at Chania high School. Good ball handling skills and the desire to penetrate through the opponent’s territory are some of his best qualities. Michael hails from Makongeni Estate in Thika town.

We know that from these youth, the best is yet to come