A unicycle academy – Kelechi Unicycle Academy – has recently sprung up in the Ipaja area Lagos State where kids are taught the art/sport as well as additional tricks and stunts that can be done with the unicycle.
A statement said the academy was founded and is also being overseen by Favour Kelechi Okoh who is also the head coach at the academy. She uses her family house at Oyinade Sobowale Close in Baruwa-Ipaja as the training ground where she trains young kids and teenagers on the art/sport.
Aside the famous tricks like skipping on the unicycle, juggling on the unicycle, and choreographing on the unicycle, Kelechi brought in an innovation which is the first of its kind in the whole world – a unicycle brigade. She teaches the kids a proper brigade performance and presentation on the unicycle which is something that has never been done from research so far. Riding a unicycle on its own is a herculean task not to talk of including the rigorous coordination of playing drums on it, that’s some grit and talent which is worthy of commendation.
“I love to be creative; I love to be unique; I love to stand out in anything I do. I can play the drum set on the ground, but I felt if I could infuse my unicycling skills and my drumming skills into one art it would be a mind-blowing performance. I bought some brigade drums and began to master the new art of drumming on the unicycle. It was sloppy and seemed impossible at first, but I persevered till I mastered it. Immediately I began to teach my students and they mastered it in no time. This metamorphosed into our bespoke unicycle brigade (first of its kind),” said the head coach/Proprietress.
The academy hopes to raise world champions and record setters in the nearest future as the head coach has already taken the lead in setting a record as the first and only one to ride a unicycle to the hilltop of the Idere hills tourist centre in Oyo State.
Aside teaching sports the academy also teaches the kids good morals, gives them positive exposure, improves their interpersonal skills and so on; because the head coach sees sport as an agent of socialisation, positive change and a weapon of peace and productivity as against social vices and channelling youthful energy into wrong places.
The kids have grown a burning passion for this sport/art as they take their training with dogged seriousness and focus and are willing to go the distance for the prize.