One of the programmes we run for our coaches, is the Hockey Dreams Trip. This is a unique opportunity for a Hockey Dreams Coach. During this trip, the coach will meet Dutch hockey coaches, visit hockey clubs, join a SportWays hockey camp and experience Amsterdam. Next up in 2019: Lawrence from Uganda. This is his story.
“Hi! My name is Lawrence and I am a Ugandan who was born in 1997/4/4. My parents divorced when I was 5 years old, so I grew up with my Dad and my little brothers and sisters. My Dad was always from home due to his work, so I had to take care of all the kids at home which meant that it was hard for me to go to school. Life wasn’t very easy at that point.”
The start of a sport foundation in Uganda
“One day in 2007, I was 10 years old, I was walking to Lugogo (an area in the city of the capital Kampala, red.). This walk changed my life. I met a guy from Sweden who inspired me to play sports and gave me some tennis equipment and join the game. I started to play and became a ball boy as a way to collect some money for my school fees. I put a lot of effort in it and finished my high school.”
“At the end of high school, I met Baba (Innocent Mbabali, red.). He came with the idea to start a sports foundation as a way to give something back to the community where we come from. We wanted to help others to avoid they grow up the way we did: a crazy life in the slumb areas of Kampala, surrounded by issues like drug abuse, not being able to go to school and without parents. In 2010, we added hockey to the foundation.”
The hockey community became my second home
“I really love hockey. It’s a beautiful sport, and brings coaches and players together with the same background. The game earned me a day to day life as a coach, player and a teacher. It has made me share my dreams with others and the hockey community became my second home. Every day I enjoy collecting the kids, be with them on the pitch, learn the game and share the skills I have in different areas of my work experience. We have motivated many kids to go to school, not get involved with drugs, have dreams about a job and much more.
Ready for the trip
“I am very happy to come to the Netherlands and share my hockey dreams with everyone! I hope to learn new coaching skills, how to associate with players, team building, improve on my coaching abilities, create new friends of life and exchange my skills and life experience with everyone. It’s going to be a new environment for me. I’m super excited and can’t wait to be part of an international hockey camp (SportWays, red.)!”
