For the past year, Imala Smith-Edwards, 15, a Caymanian track-and-field athlete, has found a new home and a new perspective at SPIRE Academy in Geneva, Ohio.
After running with the Mustang Track Club for eight years in Cayman, Smith-Edwards made the move to the renowned sports boarding school in 2024.
Smith-Edwards credits the transition with a profound change in her approach to the sport.
“The biggest difference I have seen in my development, with only one year of experience at SPIRE, is my mental thoughts,” Smith-Edwards said.
“I think much differently about certain situations and handle them differently, which has helped me improve as an athlete.”
Smith-Edwards, who competes in the 100 metre and 200m outdoor, and 60m and 200m indoor events, says attending SPIRE has also helped her “mature in many ways, more so as a person than as an athlete” especially because she is away from family and friends.
Her mother, Timisha Haylock, says the experience has been both challenging and rewarding for Imala, “but it has helped her grow so much as a young woman”.
“I have seen her become more independent, disciplined and focused. She has matured not only as an athlete but also as a person, and I believe this growth is something she may not have gained if she had stayed in her comfort zone,” Haylock said.
She explained that the decision for her daughter to attend SPIRE was rooted in finding a place that would foster Imala’s overall growth, not just her athletic career.
“SPIRE saw her as a person and cared about her and her dreams before anything else,” Haylock said. “We needed a place that saw Imala, not just her times on the track.”
Reflecting on one of her biggest accomplishments thus far while at the academy, Smith-Edwards said that in the middle of her first season, she achieved a significant personal best at a competition in Kentucky, a performance that was all the more remarkable because it came after she had been out for more than four weeks due a bad fall and an ankle injury.
She says this race proved a lot, as it was a testament to her resilience, a trait that her mother says she is truly proud of.
Haylock acknowledges that training in Cayman has given her daughter a solid foundation, but the move to SPIRE elevated everything.
“The structure, level of competition and exposure she gets … [pushes] her to constantly improve. She is surrounded by athletes who are just as dedicated, and that environment motivates her to work harder,” Haylock said.
She also noted that her daughter now approaches competitions with a different mindset and has grown to be “more mentally tough and resilient”.
As advice to other parents considering a big move for their child athletically, Haylock says “really know your child’s goals and passions”.
“If sports are something they truly love and want to pursue at a higher level, then making that sacrifice as a parent is worth it. It is not easy to let them go at such a young age, but the growth they experience … is priceless,” she said.
“Opportunities like this allow them to see all the possibilities that sports can open up for their future,” Haylock added.
Looking ahead, Smith-Edwards has her sights set on a future that blends her passions.
She hopes to earn a scholarship through her track career, allowing her to continue running at the university level while also pursuing her dream of travel and sports photography as well as journalism.
