Up Front
Heather Roffey - A new breedof athlete
Heather Roffey in full competition mode.
By Tara Bush
A lot has been reported in the sports newslately about the exploits of sports heroes of days past. However,very little ink has been given to the rising stars of Cayman'ssporting community.
Perhaps a reason for this might very well be that sports editorsand writers are waiting for this new breed to earn their stripes,or are hesitant to 'big them up' in fear that their egos mightexpand beyond their accomplishments. Additionally, there has alwaysbeen a battle where youth stalks age, grace and expressivenessand is tussled with pure athleticism.
Nevertheless, there are a few young athletes who seemed to begrounded, ready to embark on the journey where muscles screamto create a path for greatness.
Heather Roffey seems to be making such a journey. At age 14, shehas a CARIFTA record in the 200- metre butterfly and just threeseconds away from the Olympic cut. Heather's medal count todayfrom CARIFTA is six -- a gold, four silvers and one bronze. Hershort-term goal is to participate in the World Swim Championshipin Japan later this year and in the long-term, to compete in the2004 Olympics.
Now there is such a thing as having objectives, and quite otherto meet them. Heather or Rof as she's called by her swim mates,trains 25 hours a week and carries a full student load to ensurethat she is not just chasing a pipe dream.
Heather's day begins before 5 o' clock each day. By 5:15 a.m.before the birds have sung, she's at the Lion's Pool. At 5:30a.m., she in the pool -- rain or shine.
Even in this cold weather Rof is in the water.
By 7:30 a.m. she's hitting the showers in the Aquatic Pool. Thenit's off to school. She grabs a bite to eat on the way. Afterschool at 3 O'clock in the afternoon she's in the pool again foranother two and half-hours training session. In the evening shedoes her schoolwork. When she's finished, Rof might watch a bitof television for a few minutes or call a friend and then it'soff to sleep to make her 4:30 a.m. wake up call.
Now why would a 14-year-old give up fun and hanging out? BecauseRof wants to swim in the greatest sporting event in the world-- the Olympics.
"The swimming programme is the most intense sports programmeon the island. I really enjoy it and I am good at swimming,"Heather says.
"If you have the chance to go to the Olympics then you mightas well do everything you can to make it happen. I am 14 secondsoff the world record holder Susan O'Neill. I believe that I amcapable of doing well in the Olympics if I continue to train,"she explains.
A pessimist might argue that 14 seconds is a lifetime away fromgetting a world record especially when measured in fractions ofseconds. However, age is perhaps Heather's best friend at themoment. She still has a lot of muscle mass to build and tune.Six years from now she could very well make cut or stand up onthe Olympic medal podium with the Cayman Islands National Anthemplaying in the background the flag raised.
Another element of Heather's training is that she checks the FINAcharts to see where she's at in respect to her age group and thegoals she set. Though she can't seem to remember when she startedto swim. She remembers that her older sister was in the programmefirst which is why she became interested in swimming competitivelyand that at age 10 she began her aquatic journey.
There are many life lessons this young swimmers has got from sports- time management skills, dealing with a demanding coach, howto relate to others and that hard work leads to success. Plusshe has had the opportunity, to travel -- Barbados, Australia,Florida, Washington DC, Jamaica, Guadeloupe and San Jose, California.
One of her biggest treats last year was when she and her teammates were able to sign autographs at the World Cup. She disclosedhow this inspired her. "I realised that other people viewus in the same categories and level that we looked up to them.It made us realize that we were closer to attaining ours goalthan we thought."
National Swim Coach Dave Kelsheimer had this to say about HeatherRoffey's achievements, "The reason why she has been ableto accomplish this is due her own hard work. She is one of theyoung kids that started when I first arrived. She's come far,from not being able qualify, to qualify at the age group levelanywhere in the world. We always try to look beyond the age grouplevel and we have set goals to for world class ranking."