My Story

At 23, I became an international coach with the Kenya Rugby Sevens team- a rare opportunity to work with some of the world’s top players in the mornings, while honing my teaching craft at school in the afternoons.

Four years later, I stepped into my first head coach role at the age of 27, just eight weeks out from a Rugby World Cup. Like many assistant coaches, I’d long aspired to be the one in charge and assumed, aside from selecting the team and making the final calls, it wouldn’t feel that different.

I found out immediately how wrong I was.

Day one, I was facing a player strike over unpaid salaries, juggling media duties, representing the union, fielding calls from players, staff, and sponsors, all while trying to get my bearings in a role I was barely prepared for.

I was in way over my head.

For someone who’d never cared much for social media, suddenly my name was everywhere- on the radio, in the press, across platforms- and often not in a positive light as a foreigner replacing a local head coach.

I leaned on mentors, but what I really needed was someone to help guide me through it step by step. Someone who could help me clarify priorities, structure my time, and navigate the constant pull between leading staff and players while managing the demands from above.

It was a baptism by fire- a steep, unforgiving learning curve.

It is an experience that is etched in my mind and is a core reason I feel so passionate about working with head coaches now.

While my own experience may have been particularly intense, the truth is universal- head coaching is hard. It’s high-pressure, often isolating, and relentlessly demanding. New challenges surface constantly, and the expectations never cease.