“These girls are like medicine, they’re addictive” | Storm Trentham, Head coach of Kenya Lacrosse 

At the closing ceremony for the 2015 Word Championships, as Head Coach of the Welsh national side, Storm Trentham was ready to walk away from lacrosse.  

Since 2009, Storm had helped introduce lacrosse to Kenya, working with Sporting Change International and her own company, DBA Sports. But it was in 2015 she decided to take on the Kenyan national team. 

“Initially I just wanted to give the girls an opportunity at school, something to occupy themselves with, give them a focus and have fun.  Not just watch the boys play football on the side-line. 

“I had no intention whatsoever to start a national team, in fact I’d been asked that many times and I laughed it off.  Working in sport in the western world is hard enough.” Storm Trentham explains.  

“But it’s not every day you can be part of an international set-up and I saw a unique opportunity to see a totally different form of an international scene in a unique environment.”

Whilst it is not easy to raise sponsorship funds for any governing body, Storm admits the challenges that met her in Africa were unlike any she could have predicted. 

“Some of our kids are from such disadvantaged backgrounds we have to provide toothbrushes, sports bras, socks. Everything you see in the photos we’ve given them.  Some of our players even started playing lacrosse simply because they knew we fed them at training and that might be one of the few meals they eat in a normal weekend. Luckily some of these athletes are now in our National team” 

On top of the costs incurred by providing the girls everything they need for training in the build-up, the sum needed to get to the World Championships is £148,000 for the 21 days the girls will be competing. But securing the funds to get to the Championships is just a minor issue that Kenya Lacrosse are faced with, and ‘unsurprisingly, most of the main issues revolve around money.’ 

We must find every penny of funding for all
these girls; their transport, food, accommodation
for training as well as the likes of their trainers.”  

In February Storm was contacted by the Ministry of Education informing her that an official had to be present at training at their 5-day World Championship selection camp.  

“I received a budget that was highly inflated, so I questioned it and asked for official documents stating they must be present as well as their daily allowances as these officials as they’d never been over the past 2-3 years. 

Due to all their money coming from charitable donations, Storm was not willing to hand out money without the documents to prove it was needed.  

“When they refused to do that, they stated I was ‘refusing to facilitate their entitled costs’, so they banned the sport. Just like that.’ 

With coaches having flown over from the UK USA, and many people ‘who had never met the girls’ providing financial donations, Storm described it as ‘soul destroying.’  

“It’s just really heart-breaking thinking that all these road blocks are coming into place when all I want to do is help these girls, and more, in Kenya.” 

“I’m not willing to give any donated money to anything other than our girls and their needs. Never will I apologies for fighting for these girls and refusing to pay out money to any official or other that shouldn’t be present in our program.” 

“It’s just really heart-breaking thinking
that all these road blocks are coming into place
when all I want to do is help these girls, and more, in Kenya.” 

“If I pay, it takes out of our pot of money and then they request the dame, if not more the next time.  If I don’t, then the players suffer. I was in a lose, lose situation. 

The same situation will arise when the team go to Canada for the World Championships, with it a requirement that a government official attends at a rate of $462 a day. An amount that would pay for 4 girls to go to school for a term, every day they are in Canada. 

With so much money already needed to get the team out there in the first place, the additional cost of an attending official is something Kenya Lacrosse could do without. 

Having spent so many years in international lacrosse and working with sporting governing bodies, Storm explains that ‘no one gets paid in lacrosse, a minor sport.  It’s an honour to be part of the international setup, one doesn’t do it for financial gain.’  

Even at the elite level, the best many coaches can hope for is to have expenses covered, with most athletes being self-funded. 

But, even throughout all these challenges, Storm admits the girls make it all worth it. Whilst lacrosse is the focus, the motivation is to make a sustained change and help the girls secure a better future. All 18 girls are in or have finished education and they all now own a passport, this I no mean feat. 

“I’m just so proud of how far they’ve come,
who they are off the pitch and how they’re
performing on it, but the spirit of the Kenya
girls is probably what I’m most proud of.” 

With the spotlight a World Championships would shine on the team, Storm admits the exposure could be huge for the girls. Having spent so long in elite lacrosse, she sees the qualities in the girls that is required to play for college and university teams in the US and UK and she’s been contacted by schools in the. UK requesting for any of her athletes who may be interested in working within schools as sports assistants. 

“These girls have an opportunity to be the leaders, potentially go to university and make sure they are not to governed by people they’ve come across with no integrity. The corruption in that country is unfathomable.” 

“They’re just some of the most inspiring people I’ve had the good fortune to meet and who will be in my life forever. It’s taught me many things but mainly that anyone of any age can inspire you. Some of these girls are 15 years old and they inspire me daily for so many reasons that you’d not understand until you met them. It’s too hard to put into words.  

“Some of these girls come from really disadvantaged backgrounds, not all of them but many, and that’s the exact reason why I can’t give up on them. Some can’t even bring 2 pairs of socks to camp.  

One had to go back to her village to find their father’ death certificate to apply for the National ID. Another parent used the £45 for their passport on food as she has no option.   

“This is what we are dealing with and you’d
not ever leave a friend or family member
high and dry, so I can’t leave these girls.” 

“Four this month alone have been in hospital with Malaria but luckily or unluckily these were admitted to hospital during our camp, so we were able to cover their hospital fees, otherwise who knows if they’d ever have received treatment. 

“This is what we are dealing with and you’d not ever leave a friend or family member high and dry, so I can’t leave these girls. 

“I’m just so proud of how far they’ve come, who they are off the pitch and how they’re performing on it, but the spirit of the Kenya girls is probably what I’m most proud of.” 

It is the girls’ stories, and genuine determination and refusal to be stopped, that has got people all over the world following their journey. Over 140 individuals, clubs and schools recently donated £100 after a social media post to help sponsor, they’re on and off field kit. 

 “They’re focused, and they know that this could be the only opportunity out.” 

If you want to help Kenya Lacrosse get to the World Championships, sponsor a player or simply follow their incredible journey, visit www.kenyalacrosse.org