Mentors inspire Camilyne Oyuayo to become coaching role model for the next generation.
Most players can identify one coach who was a crucial influence on their career, but former Kenya sevens international Camilyne Oyuayo is lucky because she can name two.
Kenya national coaches past and present, Paul Odera and Kevin Wambua, helped to develop Oyuayo as a player and inspired her to take up coaching.
“My coach role model is Kevin Wambua, the current Kenya men’s sevens coach, and this is because of his passion for rugby,” Oyuayo told World Rugby.
“He gives his all in the building and making of great players. He is my former coach and I learnt a lot from him. He is resilient, passionate, hard-working and a team player.
“My other role model is my mentor and former 15s coach Paul Odera. He is so articulate and passionate and he works with goals and timelines.
“He has mentored and made so many good and skilled athletes.”
Oyuayo is now developing her own coaching philosophy, as skills and scrum coach of Kenya’s womens’ teams in both formats of rugby. She is also head coach of an Under-18s team in one of the country’s academies.
“One thing I enjoy is that I am able to implement my ideas and I can also learn and get new ideas. The idea that I can develop a competitive team also gives me joy,” she said.
Oyuayo is receptive to new ideas and regards her involvement in the Gallagher High Performance Academy as an opportunity to learn from other emerging coaches.
“I hope to achieve better experience and exposure, to learn from the best, and be able to use that experience to help the women’s team in my country as a coach,” she said.