Lydia Nyapere: From reluctant player to netball pro abroad

BY NEWSFLASH REPORTER

Lydia Atieno Nyapere’s journey to professional netball began with rejection — of a different kind.

As a student at Lala Secondary School in Homa Bay County, she did not dream of becoming an elite athlete. In fact, she actively avoided the sport.

Whenever teachers and coaches called students to the netball court, Nyapere would hide.

Today, at 28, she plays for Makate High Flyers in Zimbabwe’s Premier League, having become Kenya’s first professional netball player to secure an opportunity to play abroad.

The distance between those two moments has been defined by persistence, failure, self-correction and an ability to recognise opportunity.

Nyapere was introduced to netball in Form Two, but she insists she did not choose it herself.

“I didn’t start willingly. It was kind of forced,” she says.

Her reluctance did not deter Peter Oloo, her foundation coach. Oloo, now coach of Kenya’s men’s national netball team, and other school coaches continued to pursue her, convinced that she had potential.

By Form Three, the reluctant participant had become a committed player.

More importantly, she was beginning to understand that she possessed something special.

“I didn’t realise it, but I guess that was my talent,” says Nyapere.

After school, she joined Sophia Queens, a Homa Bay club owned by Oloo. It was during county competitions with the club that her shooting ability attracted the attention of Kenya Prisons scouts.

From rejection to redemption

Her career took another turn when she joined Kenya Prisons as a civilian. After almost two years of playing for the team, she was employed by the institution and completed nine months of paramilitary training.

Back on court, Nyapere developed into one of Kenya Prisons’ dependable shooters.

She contributed to championship-winning campaigns and earned individual recognition as the best shooter and player of the tournament.

Yet club success did not immediately translate into national-team success.

Her first national call-up came in 2021, but she failed to make the final team. The disappointment was repeated several times.

Nyapere eventually identified the problem herself.

Discipline.

“I think my discipline contributed on the higher side. That caused me to always be dropped when the final list was being mentioned,” she says.

It was a difficult admission, but also a crucial one.

Instead of blaming coaches or questioning selection decisions, she worked on changing her attitude. She learnt to accept criticism, listen to teammates and respect her coaches.

“I had to correct my attitude,” she says. “I had to be disciplined to my coaches and my players, ready to have corrections.”

The results followed.

Nyapere eventually earned her place among Kenya’s final 12 and made her mark internationally, helping the country win gold in Singapore in 2024 and again in 2025. She later represented Kenya in Zimbabwe and Malawi.

It was one of those assignments in Zimbabwe that changed her career.

Zimbabwean officials searching for an international player noticed Nyapere. An opportunity followed, and she secured a move to Makate High Flyers.

The transfer was not automatic. Kenya Prisons had to release her, while coaches and Kenya Netball Federation president Immaculate Kabutha helped facilitate the process.

Once the paperwork was complete, Nyapere left Kenya to begin her professional adventure.

Learning to play a different game

Her arrival in Zimbabwe has also forced her to become a student again.

Zimbabwe has a stronger netball programme than Kenya, she notes, while the southern African style differs from what she learnt in East Africa.

“I have to unlearn my eastern side of netball to learn the southern side of netball because I have to play the way they play now,” she explains.

The adjustment extends beyond tactics.

She has encountered unfamiliar food, cold winters and a language barrier. She has even tried caterpillars, a food she had never encountered back home.

Yet she continues to learn.

Her sporting education has also been influenced by role models. Kenyan shooter Hellen Sinoya inspired her, while Kenya Prisons player Ochuka John helped mentor her on discipline and attitude. Internationally, New Zealand’s Grace Nakeia remains an inspiration.

Her teammates have meanwhile given her another identity: “Daktari”.

The nickname was coined by national team captain Parin Simiyu because of Nyapere’s physical style of play. It later evolved into “Surgeon” after Simiyu joked that the doctor had graduated.

Behind the humour is a player who has learnt that talent needs structure.

Nyapere’s family has remained central to her journey. Her father has supported her career, her mother eventually understood that sport could provide a livelihood, and her fiancé has become her biggest fan.

Her twin sister, Beryl, was also a talented athlete, winning medals in long-distance running before opportunities disappeared after school.

Nyapere’s story is therefore about more than becoming Kenya’s first professional netball player abroad.

It is about discovering talent late, surviving rejection and learning that discipline can be the bridge between potential and achievement.

For the young players following her path, she has one message:

“Netball is a career. Netball can pay your bills. Netball can change your life.”

The girl who once hid from the court has now become proof.