Butali Warriors head coach Zachary Aura has been awarded the February StarTimes SJAK Coach of the Month.
Coach Aura bagged the award after guiding the national hockey champions to a third place finish during the Africa Cup for Club Champions tournament held in Nairobi in February.
Aura guided Butali to three wins and a draw at group stage before posting the all-important result in the third-place playoff, managing a podium finish out of the six teams that participated.
The former Kenya international walked home with a purse of Ksh. 100,000 plus a 55-inch StarTimes Smart television set and a personalized trophy.
“I am delighted to be named the Coach of the month for February, this is my first award in my career of playing and now as a coach, I want to win another one, now that the season has started, this award will motivate me to defend the title and even do better in Africa next time,” Aura, a former national team captain underscored.
Star Times Chief Executive Officer, Carter Luo during the award presentation lauded Aura for his coaching process- and by extension- being the second hockey tactician to rack up the award.
“Kenya has produced athletes of national and international repute, more so, in track and field, rugby, volleyball and boxing. But coaches eventually turn out to be the unsung heroes, despite immense effort.”
Luo further reiterated the good effort tacticians play in talent identification and subsequent nurturing of talent hence the noble objective of the Star times/SJAK award.
“This informs the reason why StarTimes Kenya and SJAK have partnered to inject the much-needed morale and gusto amongst coaches,” Luo remarked, adding: “The growth of this Coaches’ award will, by and large, help bring us to the tipping point of a great new opportunity – making sports viable again for all and sundry.”
Other nominees for the February award included Team Kenya Coach to the World Athletics Cross Country Championships, Julius Kirwa and Kenya Lionesses tactician George Mayienga.