'They love the game': Canadian who helped grow Kenya Ice Lions ready to retire

The Kenya Ice Lions have hit the big league, and the Canadian who helped make it happen says now may be the time to hang up his whistle.

Head coach Tim Colby says it's been impressive to watch the ice hockey team in Nairobi, Kenya, go from a few newbies to a large group that's received international recognition.

In October, the Ice Lions were accepted into the International Ice Hockey Federation, allowing them to pair up with larger teams in Africa and grow their training program.

"It gets us legitimized in the international scene. We're not just an anomaly anymore," Colby said in a phone interview from Kenya's capital.

"It's not easy (for the players). They spend their last dollars just getting to and from the rink, because some don't make a lot of money. But they love the game."

Colby, 61, said he's ready to pass on the torch.

"I'm an old guy, I'll be gone soon — not too soon, I hope — and these guys are ready to take it on," he said.

The Ice Lions formed nearly 20 years ago after Canadian expats discovered a rink in Nairobi, near the equator, where it's warm or hot year-round.

The country's only ice rink is inside a hotel near a national park where lions, giraffes and zebras roam freely. The rink is modest in size, only big enough for four-on-four games rather than six-on-six, including goalies.

There are five African hockey teams in the International Ice Hockey Federation. Colby said the Ice Lions regularly play against smaller local teams made up of expats, but the plan is to start challenging other African teams.

Colby grew up in the Toronto area and coached minor hockey before moving to Kenya in 2010 for work. He took on the head coaching position in 2018 and says interest in the sport has only increased since.

"You do all your work, which would be the same as if I was back in Canada, but then you realize, wow, hang on, what is this?" he said.

"I'm sitting here on the equator, it's 32 C out and I'm in Africa. This is unique and you got to catch yourself."

Colby said the Ice Lions got their big break in February 2018 after they were featured in an advertisement during the Pyeongchang Olympics in South Korea. It created a buzz and a Canadian doughnut shop also took notice, approaching team members with an idea.

The players went to Colby about it, asking him to be their coach.

"They said there's a doughnut shop in Toronto that called us, and I'm like, 'What?' I'm thinking maybe it was a mom-and-pop store," he said.

"I said, 'Guys, let's not get too serious. Ice hockey is way too complex, too hard to take to a next level. There's the equipment, the cost and the amount of organization.'"

But the doughnut shop turned out to be Tim Hortons, he said.

"I'm like, 'Whoa, hang on, hang on. This is serious.'"

In October 2018, Tim Hortons flew in the Ice Lions for a game in Canada with hockey stars Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon. They were also given jerseys emblazoned with the Kenyan flag.

A video of the players meeting Crosby and MacKinnon went viral online.

"It led to a real breakthrough for us. It gave us a big start, both not in just notoriety but allowed us to purchase some more gear," Colby said.

He said the team also took the sport more seriously and recruited additional players.

As of October, it had 36 senior players, including 12 women. More than 50 are in the youth program.

"We don't separate men and women. They're competing equally with them, which is great because it's tough for young girls and women here in sports, a lot of discrimination in that sense," Colby said.

"So, they're really competing, and then you can just see them developing as a person on and off the ice."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 25, 2025.

Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press