In The Winning Zone meets the East Kilbride teenager who hopes to bounce her way to Olympic Glory...

Talent identification, or talent ID, is the current ‘buzz-word in sport.  Coaches wax lyrical about the need to discover the next big thing at an ever-earlier age.  But how young is too young to tell?  And how old must a child be before a keen eye can realistically spot potential?

Well, Olivia Sorbie discovered Cara Jamieson when supervising her and her friends on the trampoline at her fifth birthday party.  By age nine, Cara was competing on the junior circuit against athletes in their late teens, and she is now Scotland’s top trampolinist, and the number two junior in Britain. 

“I literally just went on to have a shot and Olivia said she thought I might have some talent for the sport, and she invited me to the club” said Cara, when she met with In The Winning Zone after a session at her East Kilbride training base, The John Wright Sports Centre. 

Step forward a decade (and-a-bit) to 2007, and Cara is at the stage to focus a little less on birthday parties and a touch more on gatherings of an altogether more serious nature.  At sixteen, she is already preparing herself for the 2012 Olympics in London.  And her eagle-eyed coach reckons she is in with a chance of going the distance; or scaling the heights, in more trampoline-friendly lingo.

“I think she could do really well in the Olympics” says Olivia, who has been her coach and mentor since that day in October 1995.  And although she is still a junior, Cara is ranked fifth overall in Britain in her event, a feat which has seen her called into the GB squad.  The next stage in her quest for glory is to qualify for the World Championships in Quebec City this October.

However, although she may have the talent to get there, there is still lots of work to be done, and sacrifices to be made, in order to get that plane ticket to Canada.  Not least the training.  Cara spends twelve hours a week working on her trampolining skills with Olivia, plus a further five hours in the gym.

“I mostly do weight training now.  I do a bit of cardio work, a little running, but mostly I do weights for power.  Trampolining has a very different technique to gymnastics.  In gymnastics you use power and throw yourself more, in trampolining you’ve got to have more lift.”  Not that Cara is all bulging muscle.  Like the classic gymnast, she is noticeably sleek and supple. 

Her time with the GB squad has also assisted her psychological development, as though Olivia does travel with Cara to training sessions for the national squad, her personal coach isn’t involved on the competition circuit.

“It is good in a way,” says Cara of her GB coaches.  “You get different opinions from people, and that obviously helps.  And once you’ve been a few times you get to know them and they get to know you, and you trust them.”

And of course, having been with Olivia for most of her life, trust is an important feature in Cara’s demands of a coach.  “It’s really important, because if you don’t have a good relationship with your coach then I don’t think you can get to the same level.  If you don’t get on with someone then it just doesn’t happen.”

The bond between the pair is obvious, and both know they are onto a good thing with the other.  Cara’s ability and achievements have progressed so much, at such a young age, that she has become the first Scottish trampolinist to be invited onto the World Class Development Programme by British Gymnastics, and is only the third gymnast to acquire a place with the Scottish Institute of Sport, all the more impressive considering the other two are Commonwealth medallists (Steve Frew and Adam Cox).

Olivia, on the other hand, has experience in years beyond Cara’s lifespan, and has coached at World Championship age-group standard before with Andrea Milligan, another East Kilbrider, who silver medalled at that level.  However, Olivia fears that to progress to a truly world class level, Cara needs to put in more hours in training, which at present just isn’t possible.  Compared to countries like Russia and Canada, it is difficult for Scottish gymnasts to compete.

“In Russia they are taken from a very young age and do a lot of training compared to us,” says Olivia.  “It’s really down to money.  The funding in Scotland isn’t great, we really struggle.  More funding would help an awful lot, she does need more training, but we can’t afford anymore.”

And although Cara is still at school, turning ‘pro’ when she finishes next year isn’t really a feasible solution for her, though she does have a few ideas about how to get round that obstacle while staying involved in sport.

“I don’t think I can go into full time trampolining, because you don’t get paid much, even at professional level.    I’d may go to university and look into doing physiotherapy or PE teaching, but I might take a year out first to focus on my trampolining.”

Cara isn’t short on focus either.  Although only sixteen, she shows a very mature, adult outlook on not only her sport, but life in general.  She has translated the traits of a disciplined gymnastic schedule into her everyday life admirably.  “I think because you have to be so committed, it means I’m pretty dedicated to my school work as well because I have to fit in everything.  I really have to balance my time.  It’s taught me that I have to keep to time and work hard when I can.”

A point of note:  If Cara doesn’t receive adequate funding by the time she turns to her adulthood, there is a chance she may never make the Olympics.  Her commitment and determination suggests she may prove otherwise, but it happens all the time in Scotland.  We lose promising athletes because they, their coaches and their governing bodies can’t get sponsorship.  The athlete’s dedication is only the beginning. 
What is equally as important, and Scotland and the UK need to realize, is dedication to our athletes, if we want to ensure they have the best chance of winning on a world class level.

For Cara to succeed it takes a lot of effort, not just from her, Olivia and Scottish Gymnastics, but from others as well, particularly her parents, Neil and Angela.  “My Dad’s pretty much my taxi driver.  They are both very supportive and would do anything for me.”

Taxi driver is a little bit of an understatement.  These aren’t trips to the shops like most sixteen-year old girls demand.  Cara is required to travel to England to be with the GB squad on average once every six weeks.  And sometimes she goes even farther afield…

“I love visiting lots of different countries and meeting new people.  I enjoy travelling.  I’ve been to France, which I really liked, and Portugal and Holland and Denmark.”

Though here’s hoping that in 2012, London is far enough for her.  Thankfully, for Dad, Cara will be 21 by then, so can drive down herself.

RO

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