Rosewood Primary School sprinter Leachay Philander, 9, from Bonteheuwel is following in the footsteps of her father, Ebrahim Williams, himself once a former WP school sprinter.

Although dropping out at last week’s Western Cape championships in Paarl, her father and coaches are confident that the young speedster has what it takes to go all the way.

“There’s no rush, she’s still young," said Williams, who earned his WP colours in 1980, while at Rosewood Primary.

“I'll always try to motivate her to focus and to be determined in whatever she does,” he said.

“It's of vital importance for us as parents to be involved in all our children's activities, either sports or academically,” he said.

Mom Cherylene Philander agrees, saying: “It’s important that we’re there to support her. It boosts her confidence and helps her to achieve her goals.”

“In my opinion, she’s done very well given the little time we had to train,” said coach Geraldine Timoteus, who’s worked with the school’s athletic squad since starting at Rosewood earlier this year.

“She basically ran with raw talent,” said Timoteus, a member of UWC Athletics Club and currently preparing for this weekend’s Western Province club championship, at Green Point and the SA senior championship in April.

“Leachay came first in the rounds leading up to Western Cape championships, finishing third in her heat and sixth in the final,” Timoteus said.

“For their relay, they ran a mixed age group race, a 4x100m race starting with an under-10 girl, then an under-11 girl, an under-12 girl ran the third leg and an under-13 girl, the last leg. Leachay started because she was under 10. Their relay team came second behind Boland,” Timoteus said.

School caretaker and assistant coach, Winston Zeederberg was there every step of the way, from cluster meets to championship finals.

“Leachay did very well winning the 100m from cluster to Western Province champs where she ran a WP record of 14,03sec in the girls under-10 100m sprint,” he said.

Not fazed by all the fuss, young Leachay says she’s always happy to compete, even if she does not win.

“My main aim is to compete against other schools and meet new friends,” she said.

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