Mary Ochieng was one of the pioneering players who represented Kenya Lionesses when they took their first tentative steps in international rugby. Now, she is passionate about developing the next generation of players.
Mary took up rugby after picking up a flier advertising for new players at the college she was attending and responded through curiosity.
That was the start of a journey that saw her represent her country in both formats of rugby, before she took up coaching in 2014.
She is now an Intern Coach for the Lionesses and Women’s Head Coach at the Nairobi-based Impala club – Kenya’s National Sevens champions in 2023 and 2024 – roles she combines with a busy job as an electrical engineer.
Life is about to get even busier for Mary with her participation in the Gallagher High Performance Academy, an experience she hopes will help develop and improve the players she works with.
“I want to learn and unlearn on the programme,” Mary told World Rugby.
“To learn better ways, approaches and delivery of content to players; and to unlearn bad or non-effective coaching practices.
“My goal is to help transform players into the best-performing athletes, using my experience to learn, grow and develop better systems for success.
“That will create a cycle of continuous improvement for myself and those around me, contributing to the long-term success of the game.”
Although Mary – modestly - has described herself as being only an average player, her experiences at international level helped to shape her coaching ethos.
“It’s important to be patient, have the ability to adapt and be consistent, especially during preparation,” she said.
“You have to build cohesion in the team so that players play for each other and have shared values, teamwork and sisterhood.”
Mary will have the opportunity to share her coaching ideas and learn new ones from her fellow participants at the Gallagher High Performance Academy, which aims to help increase the number of female coaches and other high performance roles at elite levels of rugby.
“That is important because women understand women better,” she said.
“Through this programme, women will be at the forefront and centre stage of change in terms of better performing teams.”
