Oneata Schwalger is wasting no time in transitioning from player to coach

Australia Broadcast Center

6 days ago

The saying "it takes a village to raise a child" is a statement that often rings true throughout the Pacific Islands, and it's no different for Samoan-Australian rugby talent Oneata Schwalger.
Raised by a handful of strong Pasifika women who were athletes turned coaches, Schwalger is now travelling the world to make that same transition.
However, when she began, she had to wear headgear to conceal that she was a girl.
"The [competing] school complained that you can't have girls… [my] coaches were awesome, they said keep coming to training… so I ended up being their water girl and I'd still train with the boys," she said.
But footy as a kid wasn't something that Oneata was going to give up on just because of her gender, and seeing her persistence, her father ended up getting in touch with their local women's rugby club at Northern United.
"I was really lucky; my coaches were Black Ferns and Manusina players, so as a 15-year-old, I was learning the ways from top players when I was young… when I came to play against girls my age, so I knew what I was doing," Oneata said.
Samoan-Australian rugby talent Oneata Schwalger. ( Image: Instagram/@coachonez )
In her early 20s, Oneata moved to Perth to play rugby, but not too long after, she fell pregnant.
Although this meant a considerable break, Oneata was still keen to get back in the game, and her next move took her and her two sons to Melbourne.
Oneata Schwalger with her sons. ( Image: Instagram/@coachonez )
It was a make-or-break moment in her life and footy career and she knew she just had to make it work.
"I was a single parent at the time; everything I had to do was to work around their schedule and my schedule, so when I trained, they trained with me," she said.
"So it was always something that we did together."
The COVID-19 pandemic marked another shift. With team sports cancelled until further notice, to get out of the house, Oneata and her boys spent most of their days at the park training. People started noticing.
"It was during lockdown time that kids wouldn't play at their clubs, and I was always at the park anyway with them. Some other parents asked me if I wanted to coach their kids".
Oneata was clear with her kids: "When I coach, I always say I'm not your mum. I'm your coach."
And so her coaching dream gathered a bit more steam.
But the coaching path for females isn't as easy and well-trodden as it is for men. Oneata had to use the lessons learnt from life and the wisdom imparted on her to carve out a path not too many other female athletes end up on.
"As athletes, you see that [female representation] now… but in the female space, I was actually like I don't know that many female coaches to reach out to… but I actually know a lot more male coaches… I reached out to them and they got back to me straight away."
It's been one inspiring journey for coach Oneata Schwalger. ( Image: Instagram/@coachonez )
One of the responses included Moana Pasifika's Tana Umaga, and he ended up taking her under his wing earlier this year.
One big lesson from Umaga was the importance of listening to your players and adapting to the subconscious feedback from your players. Despite being coached by a line of hard-knock coaches where yelling was the norm, Umaga coached his team very differently.
"[I asked] 'What changed for you?' Because he was coached that way, but he found that his delivery wasn't working anymore with this new generation of players… So I'm like, 'Ok, cool, he was coached like I was, but we just have to find ways to deliver our message so it lands with our athletes, whether it's boys or girls'."