My bittersweet journey in American football

Contributor

NMG Sport

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He was part of Maseno School rugby team which lost to Kakamega High School in the national Sevens (semi-final) and 15s (final) in 2012
He coached rugby at Otieno Oyoo High School in 2013 after finishing high school
Edwin joined the University of Nairobi in 2014 to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in architecture. It is here that he got to learn American footbal

Edwin Otieno Osumo, 30, is an architect who plays and coaches American football. He plays as a wide receiver, but also doubles as a quarterback and defensive back for both tackle and flag football.

American football is not so popular in Kenya, how did you come to play the sport?
I used to play rugby and when I joined the University of Nairobi (UoN), I found some students playing American football. I decided to try something new. In my first year, I sat in the stands just watching people play, but I started playing it properly in my second year in January 2015 after some encouragement by my friends.

What challenges have you seen in American football?
Getting good training facilities was a challenge in campus. I had to make my own hurdles so that we could play. We also depended on donations of American football gear because they are expensive and not found easily here in Kenya. Recruiting and sustaining people in the team was also a challenge. Being a new sport, we only have small competitions organised locally. Most international matches we tried organising did not materialise. So, people join the sport, but drop midway and you have to start recruiting again. Sometimes you try to recruit people and they ask you how far they can go with this sport that is not popular in Kenya. My vision was to play professionally, but I have not given up. I may not get to play professionally, but I’d like to stay in the game, to develop others. This sport has the potential to grow, especially with flag football which is not expensive.

Taking you back to rugby, who was your role model in rugby? Do you regret leaving it?
Kenya Sevens star Collins Injera was my role model. I used to compare myself with him in terms of physique. He was not the biggest, but he had strong determination. After I cleared high school and stayed for a year without playing rugby, I felt like I was being left behind. I did not feel like I could recover the lost time. I thought I would play rugby when I joined the university, but fate had other plans. I found encouraging friends, discovered that I was good at American Football, and found a coach who believed in me and made me captain, so I decided to stick with the new sport. Some of my friends told me that I should have stuck with rugby. They told me that with Amercan football I wouldn’t go far. I don’t regret my decision.

My bittersweet journey in American football

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