World famous American basketballer Lebron James once said: “Nothing is given, everything is earned.”

This quote has lived to be true for KCB Volleyball Team player Eunice Maiyo (inset), who started playing volleyball as a young girl at Kamasai Primary School in Kisanana near Mogotio Town, Baringo County.

She fell in love with the sport and carried her passion through to high school at Itigo Girls, and afterwards joined Ulinzi Club from 2000-2004. The club was a force to reckon with in Kenyan volleyball for years.

Unfortunately, the club fell into financial difficulties and Eunice chose to leave and found her way to KCB Volleyball club in 2005.

“I knew I was talented, and I did not want to give up after my time at Ulinzi. Joining KCB turned out to be a great decision,” says Eunice.

At KCB, she met many professional players who had represented the country internationally at various leagues. “This really motivated me as I wanted to get to the same level of experience and prove my worth in the court,” she adds.

The experienced players embodied the spirit of teamwork and trained younger players on tactics of the game as well as life advice on how to navigate through the pressure that comes with competitive sports.

Time as a KCB player saw Eunice soar to greater heights, starting with a sponsorship by the club to participate in Beach Volleyball games in 2006. “I had never played in the sand before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. But I got so good at it that I made it to the national team,” she says.

In 2012, she got an opportunity to represent Kenya at the Russia World Tour in Moscow and prepared for the Olympics. She also represented the country at the All-Africa Games in Congo Brazzaville in 2015.

Eunice adds that: “My best part about playing for KCB is that it pays a salary, and so one can earn a living from their talent. They have also provided education opportunities and some of us got to go to TVETs to earn skills. This is rare in Kenya, so I love this club.”

However, like many sports, volleyball is a young man’s game and the older you get, the more you tend to slow down. As such, in 2016, Eunice went to train to be a volleyball coach and referee in line with her transition plans from playing in the court.

In 2018, she transitioned to refereeing the sport and finally left the court for the side-lines, becoming a trainer in 2019.

She loves her new role of nurturing young sporting talent to achieve their very best in all games.

In conclusion, she says: “I always encourage my players, and all women to love what they do. Everything is hard in life; it all takes effort. But when you love what you do, it gets easier”.