Ligi 50

Since the third week of January 2026, I decided to take my roll ball journey seriously and attend more training sessions so that I can improve on my skating skills. Typically, every week I aim for at least 3 training days of 90 minutes for each sessions. For three months, I held this schedule and managed to attend at least 2 days of training every work day. My goal when I began was to create a schedule where I commit my time to knowing what aspects of my skating skills need to improve and how my seniors in the game succeed at doing them. Looking back at the past three months, I can confirm that the compounding effects of consistently showing up and joining my seniors and peers in the game have made me grow tremendously.

On Sunday, April 27, 2026, I showed up for the Ligi50 (Ligi Chwani) that was held at Jomo Kenyatta University (JKUAT) alongside other members to play the game. To me, this was a day like any other where team players would join each other at the pitch and battle it out for the championship title. Typically, the organizers categorize team players into pros and beginners: I was categorized in the beginner category. As the name suggests, the beginner is one where the players are still new to the game and are yet to master their skills in skating or passing the ball. Watching other players battle it out for the championship title, I definitely embrace being in the beginner category!

The skills that I saw during the match from those who have been in the game long enough confirmed to me that I still have work to do, and I am happy to learn from them. When I began my schedule at the beginning of the year, I knew had tremendous work to do in my reaction time, skating, breaking, passing, and scoring. Reaction time refers to effecting the next move either in defense or attack. In my case, I realize that I was extremely slow in this regard and needed to practice more to improve: sometimes I would get the ball and still spend some seconds thinking about whom to pass it to next or whether to score. Reaction also means being proactive in expecting the trajectory of the ball before, when, or after it has been passed. As for breaking and scoring, I realized that I need to work on my ability to sprint and make sudden stops. I realize that I think about falling safely a lot when I am skating, and that could be one of the reasons my reaction time is slow. During the game, I managed to score one goal but missed several others when I took a shot. When a friend reviewed my technique at the end of the game, he said that I play like I am passing the ball to the goalkeeper and not attempting to score! Additionally, my passes are weak and I need to learn to be strategic with passing the ball. Looking back, I think he was right because most of my passes or score were highly predictable and slow.

The best part at the event was when a senior female player I look up to and helped me settle in the sport told me that I need to learn the side score because it hides the ball. This made me really happy and I felt like all the hours I have been putting in the game have been worth it! I have grown to become more confident and less afraid of falling down, even though my physique while skating still looks like so. In the next quater of the year, I want to focus on training more to be less afraid and mastering all kinds of shots to play like the seniors in the game. I would want to be able to train at least 5 days weekly, but this is only possible if I move from where I currently reside. Training daily will help me have the muscle memory to learn to be aggressive and make unpredictable moves. My ultimate goal is to learn to play center and be a dependable shooter for my team. I believe this is achievable and will work towards this.

All in all, I am grateful to the opportinity that Ligi50 creates for young people like me who just want to learn and master the game. For me, the unpreditability of the members of a team one will play with makes it fun because it eliminates the biasness of wanting to play only with specific members. Lastly, I love rollball and the opportunity it has created for us to enjoy the game!