Godfrey Owese Okumu (born August 11, 1968) is a Kenyan volleyball coach. He is also a former player who has played for the Kenyan national volleyball team. Okumu is a native of Nyanza.

Playing career

As a player, Okumu played for various clubs as well as the Kenyan men's national volleyball team from 1990 to 2003. After his retirement, he moved to Japan.He worked as an English teacher in the

Kumamoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture t ...

in 2002 before coaching.

Coaching career

Godfrey Okumu is a holder of a FIVB Level 3 coaching certificate and is a member of the Japanese Society of Volleyball Research.

In Japan

After his playing career, Okumu moved to Japan sometime in the 2000s. Okumu served as part of the coaching staff of the

Oita Miyoshi Weisse Adler is a men's volleyball team based in Oita City, Oita, Japan. Prior to its suspension of activities and withdrawal in May 2024, the team played in V.League Division 2, the second-level Japanese volleyball league. It represented Japan at the 201 ...

men's professional volleyball club from 2009 to 2012. He also served as coach of the Hakata Girls High School volleyball team as well.

Kenyan women's national team

The Kenyan women's national team had Okumu as part of their coaching staff at the

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and 2010 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championships, as well as in the

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

and 2015 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Cups.

In the Philippines

Okumu served as head Coach of the UP Lady Fighting Maroons, the women's volleyball collegiate team of the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by List of Philippine laws, Re ...

. In September 2017, Okumu was announced as the new head coach of the team. Okumu's first stint with the team was at

UAAP Season 80 UAAP Season 80 was the 2017–18 athletic year of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). This season was hosted by the Far Eastern University. The eight member universities of the UAAP competed in the league's 28 events f ...

which took place 2018. Okumu has said that he will introduce the "Japanese style" of play to the collegiate team which he learned in his Japan stint. In July 2022, Okumu announced his departure from the team. Okumu also coached in the

Premier Volleyball League The Premier Volleyball League (PVL) is the top-level professional women's volleyball league in the Philippines organized by the Sports Vision Management Group, Inc. The PVL was established in 2004 as the inter-collegiate Shakey's V-League (SV ...

. He was head coach of the Motolite Power Builders in 2019. He returned to the PVL as an assistant coach for debutants

Galeries Tower Highrisers The Galeries Tower Highrisers is a professional women's volleyball team in the Philippines playing in the Premier Volleyball League. History The Galeries Tower Highrisers joined the Premier Volleyball League in 2023. The team debut in the 202 ...

Personal life

Okumu has a daughter named Hawi Okumu Oba, who plays professionally in Japan. As of 2017, Hawi plays for

Hitachi Rivale is a women's volleyball team based in Hitachinaka city, Ibaraki, Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of J ...

and she would also become part of the Japanese national team.

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Sportspeople from Nyanza Province Kenyan men's volleyball players Kenyan expatriate sportspeople in Japan Kenyan expatriate sportspeople in the Philippines Academic staff of the University of the Philippines Diliman {{Kenya-volleyball-bio-stub