Menengai High School defender Clement Otieno has opened up on how he convinced his parents, especially his mother, to back his dream of playing football instead of putting more emphasis on education.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsOtieno wore the typical number four jersey for Menengai High School at the just-concluded Kenya Secondary School Sports Association (KSSSA) games in Thika, where he emerged as one of the standout players for the Knights during their return to the national stage after 41 years.The form three student featured in all five of Menengai's matches at the national stage, helping the Nakuru-based school finish third and secure a place at the Federation of East Africa Secondary Schools Sports Association (FEASSSA) games in Morogoro, Tanzania.##NAJAVA_MECA_9883243##His performances also earned him a place in the KSSSA team of the tournament and the semi-final best XI, a significant personal achievement for a player whose journey has been punctuated by rejection, uncertainty and several changes of school.Otieno says reaching the national stage was also the fulfilment of a personal target he had set for himself from his early days in school football, having now gone through every level from the zonal stage to the East Africa competition."I had told myself that I wanted to play all levels of football, and I feel Menengai has made me proud as a person because when giving my history, I can say I have played all levels of school football from zonal to East Africa," he told Mozzart Sport.KSSSA: How past regional failures fuelled Mohammed Bajaber-inspired Takaba Mixed's historic runThe journey to that point, however, was not straightforward, particularly at home, where his parents initially wanted him to concentrate more on education.The defender says there were moments when he found himself at odds with his parents because of his insistence that football should be given the same attention as his studies.While they believed education offered a more secure future, the youngster felt strongly that the talent he had been given could eventually provide a different route for him and his family.KSSSA: How training with FKF Premier League clubs sharpened South Sudanese midfielderHe therefore had to make his case.The defender says he eventually sat down with his parents and explained that he was not abandoning education, but wanted to pursue football because he believed it could change their lives."I told my parents that I wanted to pursue both, but in my life I wanted to play football because I believed it could change our lives and get us out of the woods," he said.##NAJAVA_MECA_9878669##The conversations eventually paid off, with his parents coming around to his way of thinking and beginning to support his football ambitions."It reached a point when we sat down and they accepted. At the moment, I am playing at the nationals, and I am not playing only to represent the school or Rift Valley. I am also playing to represent myself."For Otieno, the belief in football goes back to his childhood. He says the game was part of his life before he was old enough to fully understand what having a talent meant.##NAJAVA_MECA_9883764##"My football journey started the time I was born. The more I got to understand myself as a person, the more I started calling everything a ball," he explains.He believes that talent carries a responsibility to the person who has been given it, and his parents eventually came to see the same thing."If God gives you a talent, you must accept it. I accepted my talent, and it got to a point where even my parents accepted my talent. They started understanding my capabilities and decided to support me, so I have been getting all the support I need from them up to now."The youngster's football journey started at Oluti Primary School in Kisumu, where the competition for places and progression through the different levels of school football gave him an early taste of what it meant to fight for an opportunity.KSSSA: From borrowing bus fare to watch volleyball, Mwitoti star dreams of building an academy back homeThe system at the school became a source of motivation because players who performed well were given the chance to move to the next level, something that pushed Otieno to keep improving."What motivated me was when I started understanding myself from primary school. It was called Oluti Primary in Kisumu, and we used to go by clusters. They used to say whoever kicks the ball nicely or properly will go to the next level, so that thing was inside me. I wanted to go to the next level," he says.His progress, however, was gradual. He struggled to establish himself in Standard Five, made some progress in Standard Six without getting regular playing time, before finally breaking through in Standard Seven. By Standard Eight, he had become a regular.KSSSA: More Kenyan teams approved by FEASSSA to feature in East Africa GamesThat experience laid the foundation for his secondary school career, although what followed would test his resolve even further.Otieno first went to St. Peter's Mumias, where he struggled to get playing time and eventually returned home after spending too much time on the bench."I went for trials at St. Peter's Mumias, but going there, I had not understood high school football. I used to warm the bench to an extent that I felt I was not that useful, so I went back home. I wanted somewhere I would play," he says.##NAJAVA_MECA_9883295##His next stop was Ringa Boys, but again things did not work out as he had hoped. According to Otieno, the lack of proper coordination within the coaching setup made it difficult for him to establish himself, forcing him to look elsewhere.He then tried his luck at Agoro Sare, but another challenge stood in his way. His parents were not in a strong financial position, and the cost of travelling to Homa Bay became difficult to sustain.That forced him to consider a move closer to home.Why KSSSA boss is pushing for more government funding"I left and went for trials at Ringa Boys in Nyanza. The coordination between the coaches did not work well, so I went for trials at Agoro Sare and then went home for the holidays," he recalls."At that time, my parent was not doing well financially, so he looked at the fare. I did not want to be close to my parent, but when I looked at the fare from Nakuru to Homa Bay, it was too much."The KSSSA bronze medalists says he initially considered going to Kisumu Day before his mother advised him to try Kisumu Boys, a decision that eventually brought him into the path of Menengai.KSSSA: Inside Kirangari fly-half’s plan to use rugby to rescue mother from restaurant work"I told my mother that I should just go to Kisumu Day, but she told me to go to Kisumu Boys. I tried at Kisumu Boys, and while there we went to a tournament where we met the Menengai coaches."The Menengai coaches saw something in him and invited him for trials, although his journey into the school was not immediate."They called me for trials. They did not give me direct admission. I came for trials in 2025, and we tried again in the first term, and that is how I got the opportunity."KSSSA: St Mary's Yala out to repay Michael Olunga's faith with historic national titleNearly two years after joining Menengai, Otieno was part of the team that brought the school back to the KSSSA national stage after a 41-year wait.The achievement came after a difficult route through the regional competition.The Knights had lost the final to Tenwek High School, but following Tenwek's disqualification, the Knights were given another opportunity to represent Rift Valley at the nationals.##NAJAVA_MECA_9883303##By then, however, the players had already closed school and gone home, leaving them with little time to prepare for the national competition.Their difficult circumstances showed in their opening match when they lost 2-0 to St. Mary's Yala, but the team quickly regrouped and went on to beat Highway Secondary School before defeating Tononoka 4-1."We came to the nationals with an intention of carrying the championship, but looking at how the semis went, we accepted the results. We have the playoff, and we need to go to East Africa as position three, so we are going to push," Otieno said.KSSSA: Why more schools are being disqualified ahead of National GamesHe believes their run was built on the work they had put in from the zonal stage."Our preparations started from the zonal. We used to push ourselves, and every team we faced really struggled and saw our worth. We were hoping to replicate the same here at the national stage."Menengai's road to Thika had already included success at the zonal, county and regional levels, although the regional final defeat to Tenwek initially appeared to have ended their national hopes."We did well from zonal to county and regional. We lost the final to Tenwek, but after the review we got a chance to play here at the nationals."The late call-up meant the players had to quickly shift their focus after returning home for the holidays."We had even closed school and gone home. Even in the first game, we were not fit. We lost 2-0 to Yala, so we had a team talk there, recovered and won against Highway."The win restored their confidence, and the victory over Tononoka further strengthened their belief that they could compete with the country's best school teams."After beating Highway, we knew we were fit because rumours were that Highway were harder than Green Commandos. Then we won game three against Tononoka 4-1."##NAJAVA_MECA_9883329##Their semi-final eventually became the first match at this year's competition to go into extra time, a reflection of how closely contested the encounter was, although Menengai's title dream ultimately ended there.Otieno says the disappointment of missing the final cannot overshadow what they achieved after four decades away from the national stage."At the semis, our match was the first to go into extra time in this year's games. It meant both teams were really put to the task, but that is football. We expect to win our playoff."KSSSA: Why more schools are being disqualified ahead of National Games"We wanted to break that record from 1971 to now. We wanted to be champions, but it is not going to happen. Still, after 41 years, we have represented the school as Menengai, and we feel proud."For the defender, the achievement was the result of collective effort rather than individual brilliance."We are grateful to God for getting to this level. You cannot just come directly from the grassroots; it is not easy. We needed collective work from the goalkeepers, defenders, coaches and everyone else, and that is why we are here."The former Ringa Boys defender now hopes his performances at the national stage will open the next chapter of his career.Having spent years fighting for opportunities, he believes the KSSSA platform could finally put him in the sight of scouts looking for young talent."At least I will get someone from here. You don't know the scouts that are out there. They may have come from outside or even from our local league. As long as I am playing top-flight football, that is what I want.""I dream that after high school, I want to play outside the country. I just want to play outside the country."KSSSA: How former Kenya Simbas star is fueling Cardinal Otunga's historic runThe player he currently looks up to is Rising Stars captain Amos Wanjala, whose journey from St. Anthony's Kitale to professional football in Spain has given Otieno another example of what patience and persistence can produce.Otieno says Wanjala's career has shown him that a young player does not have to force the process, but must remain patient and keep looking for the right opportunity."I would like to follow the route Amos Wanjala has followed. It is just about being patient and not forcing issues. If it does not work out, you accept and try another path. Like him, you try to be patient, and day by day it starts working out."##NAJAVA_MECA_9883855##For now, the Nakuru based defnder's next opportunity will come in Tanzania, where Menengai will represent Kenya at the FEASSSA games in Morogoro after finishing third at the KSSSA nationals.After surviving the rejection at St. Peter's Mumias, Ringa Boys and Agoro Sare, finding a home at Menengai and helping the school return to the national stage after 41 years, Otieno is beginning to see the possibilities behind the decision he fought so hard to make.