Above and below: Casey Tiger Sharks rising star Jake Duggan is making a huge splash in swimming circles and is defying his tender age.By Marc McGowan
THE Casey Tiger Sharks have churned out plenty of talents in the pool over the past few years and the club may just have discovered another one.
Cranbourne North youngster Jake Duggan, 7, has made phenomenal progress in the two years he has spent under head coach Ben Hiddlestone’s tutelage and is exciting all at the club.
The grade one Berwick Fields Primary School student’s most recent success came last month at the Victorian Metropolitan All-Junior Championships, where he reached four finals and won two gold medals and one bronze medal.
To make Jake’s accomplishments even more noteworthy, most of his opponents were a year older.
He also nabbed two gold and two silver medals at the Casey Encouragement Meet in the same month.
Despite Jake’s immense potential, Hiddlestone is at pains not to pressure him and is more interested in maintaining his enthusiasm.
“He can go all day and has a really good turn of speed,” the coach said.
“He’s a bit of a speed demon and all of his strokes are progressing really well.”
“But you have to manage it right, and I’ll be encouraging him to do other sports, like Little Aths.”
Indeed, as Jake’s mother and Tiger Sharks media manager and assistant treasurer Jo Helm attests, it is more a case of holding her son back.
“If he’s naughty and I say I’m not going to let him train, he says, ‘I’m telling Ben you’re not letting me train’.
“He gets really angry (if he can’t train) – it’s pretty funny, actually,” she laughed.
“He loves it. A lot of parents probably think it’s too much for him for his age, but I sort of go on him as an individual.”
Hiddlestone is also quick to point out that Helm is far from a pushy parent.
“She is really the one putting the brakes on,” he said.
“The thing I love about Jo is that she is not putting her energies into Jake, but instead is putting her energies into our club.”
Jake trains four times a week – split between the development and junior squads – and is becoming well-known for his racing spirit.
“When he races, no matter what you say, he has to look around to see where everyone is in the race,” Hiddlestone laughed.
“He’s a classic. He’ll shoot out in the first 25 metres and then take a good look left and right and if there’s anyone in front of him then he’ll go for it.”
Jake’s youthful exuberance may have its flaws, but Hiddlestone is full of praise.
“He’s a strong little guy. He winds it up and cranks it up and he’s not afraid to get in there,” the Tiger Sharks mentor said.
“Jake’s cleaned up our club records and he’s costing me about $10 a week in laminating fees because I laminate all of our records.
“He’s definitely on track and has a really magnetic personality.
“He doesn’t know it, but he’s leading the way for the other seven-year-olds in the club.”
