Thirteen-year-old national swimmer Inayah Sherry is enjoying the opportunity of a lifetime.
She recently began a four-year scholarship at the renowned Peddie School in New Jersey, honing her swimming skills with some of the best juniors from the United States and the Caribbean.
Her mother Joanne told MIDWEEKSPORT that scouts were making enquiries about her daughter from last year at the Central American and Caribbean Swimming Championships (CCCAN) in Cuba.
But long before that, she and her husband Stefan had made the decision that Inayah might have to leave Barbados – as Olympian Bradley Ally did years ago – to be the best she can be in the sport.
The Sherrys had looked at some of the other schools in the United States and even visited Peddie on several occasions. When applications went online, they applied and Inayah was successful.
“She is doing very well,” Joanne said.
“Peddie School is reported to be one of the top swim schools in the United States. It has a good swim programme and the US Olympic women’s assistant coach Greg Wriede is the head coach.”
But as proud as they are, it has also been a tough transition for them. Inayah was still 12 years old when she left Barbados last month..
Sherry is a multiple-medallist who has also represented Barbados at the CARIFTA and Caribbean Island Swimming Championships and was instrumental in Harrison College’s last two victories in the Secondary Schools’ Swimming Championships.
Joanne said it was also important for her daughter to be in the right academic environment and they had maintained the place at Harrison College “just in case, but Peddie School also has a good academic programme”.
“Inayah is very, very responsible. You don’t have to get behind her and tell her to do homework. It is what she wanted, but [even] if she got through with the scholarship, we would have made a decision if we felt she wasn’t ready to go.
“She is still upbeat and motivated. She was looking forward to the challenge.”
School is six days a week from Monday to Saturday, with “half-days” on Wednesday and Saturday.
Swimming takes place on weekdays from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. followed by Study Hall from 8 to 10 p.m. On Saturdays, swimming starts at 1:30 p.m.
Joanne said they kept in touch and her daughter had already remarked on some of the differences there, including land training which she said was much tougher, more like a boot camp.
The school provides all of the equipment for the students from laptops to swimsuits and goggles. There is also a full medical team.
After a training session in the sea, Inayah developed a pain in her ankle.
“When they checked it out, they found that the muscles in the ankle were weak, so the trainer spends half-hour in the training room before swimming working with her to strengthen the muscles around the ankle,” Joanne said.
“The coach is focusing on her technique. Right now they are not interested in speed and she is getting some opportunities she would not be able to get here.”
Inayah will have her first swim meet next month during the mid-term break, and the whole family, including younger sister Sariyah, plan to be there to cheer her on.
Joanne is hopeful that Sariyah, who is also a decorated national swimmer, will also get the same opportunity.
Several other Caribbean swimmers, including Laura Morley (The Bahamas) and Kendese Nangle (Jamaica) are already at the school, which Barbadian Alexis Jordan also attended.