St Mary’s School, Yala former students have started raising funds to build a gym at the rugby power house.
“Our first activity is raising funds to set up a gym facility for the school community which includes students, teachers and support staff,” said Yala Rugby coordinators' chairman Paul Okech.
Okech added that other activities include coaching mentorship for sports coaches at the school and also partnering with former players to conduct rugby clinics.
“The Yala Old Boys Association (YOBA) rugby through sport as an enabler, we have planned for a myriad of activities that will encourage the current players representing Yala especially rugby. Some of the activities include mentorship, investments, resilience building, investments and give back,” he said.
He added: “The bottomline is we want to have better students, rugby players, professionals and all round Kenyans, who can become leaders of a desired and enduring change in Kenya.”
He hailed the school’s former rugby coaches Oscar Odhiambo, the late Timothy Okullu aka Rugby Mechanic and current coach Ken Mkok. “They have made us forever strong and keep true the school motto ‘Shine in Everything Everywhere," he noted.
Yala and arch rivals Maseno School’s dominance of rugby in Nyanza region is, however, under threat from upcoming Agoro Sare from Homa Bay County and Kisii county champions Nduru Boys who are being coached by veteran J.J Masime.
However, Mkok denied the 2003 national champions’ dominance is under threat and welcomed the intervention by old boys, saying it’s timely.
“I’m aware they also want to improve the pitch, the podium and equip the sports department. The arrival of old students is long overdue because Yala has a rugby culture from the early 1980’s. I’m looking forward to great development of talent from Yala,” Mkok noted.
