Mentor’s cherry on top for Lily
CURRUMBIN’S Lily Dick has found the perfect gold medalwinning mentor as she plots her own rise in the rugby sevens ranks in the Bahamas.
The afterglow of last year’s Rio Olympics triumph has been mesmerising for Dick now she has had a taste of training in the same high-performance environment.
The reward is a frontline role for the sevens starlets of Generation Next who are part of the 75-strong Aussie team for the Youth Commonwealth Games in the exotic Bahamas.
“It was great to see the girls win Olympic gold and I now know the sacrifices they made to pull off the perfect game in the final to beat the Kiwis,” Dick, 17, said.
“I’ve been lucky enough to have some training weeks with the Australian team and two development tournaments in Darwin and Japan to experience a little of what it takes.
“This is a great opportunity with a youth team and I’d love to be playing open tournaments at a Commonwealth Games or Olympics in the future.”
Dick’s father, Craig, has Roma roots and a family friendship with the Cherry clan. It made Dick’s friendship with Roma’s Rio rugby sevens gold medallist Emilee Cherry a natural fit.
“Emilee has been my main idol and to have her as a mentor has been great because no one knows how much the girls train until you see it for yourself,” Dick said. “I’ve tried everything with netball, touch, athletics, surf and rugby league and I now know that sevens just suits me with the physicality and the skills.”