WHEN it comes to sports, Abosaide Cadogan has proved that she is one versatile athlete, who has transitioned through a number of sports and has now found her current niche as a bright up-and-coming junior squash player. She is also showing a lot of promise in the hockey arena as a member of the GCC Spartan Juniors team.

On her way to finally settling as a squash player, the St Stanislaus College student was also once a promising national badminton champion. She has also dabbled a little in lawn tennis, table tennis and even athletics.
“She is a quick learner,” observed national hockey coach, Philip Fernandes, who works with the Guyana Cricket Club (GCC) hockey teams.

“She has great physical ability and natural talent and so she was able to learn the game in no time.”
What drives Cadogan is her willingness to learn, and she benefits from mistakes and makes improvements.

“Once I was taught something I know that I would improve on it, so I know it was going to work,” was how she approached her start in squash, when she was still developing into a winner.

Her improvements last year, were enough to land her on the national junior team at the Junior Caribbean Squash Championships where she finished third place in the Girls’ Under-13 category.

At this year’s Championships she made it to the final of the Girls’ Under-15 category, stopped in her quest for a title only by Barbados’ Chelsie Samuels.
Starting out in athletics since she was in primary school, at St Gabriel’s Primary, Cadogan even once participated in the revered National Schools’ Championships (Nationals) where she represented the East Georgetown District. Then she began her run in the racquet sports.

She seems to be naturally talented wherever she lands, and does a fine job of juggling it all, even as a student athlete.
“It’s pretty easy to me,” she said earnestly “It just isn’t a problem for me I guess.”
As a badminton player she represented Guyana at the 2013 Caribbean Regional Badminton Confederation (CAREBACO) in 2013 where she won gold in the Girls’ Under-11 singles, while representing again in 2014 in Jamaica. She won gold in the Girls’ Under-13 singles and bronze in the doubles competition.

But soon that all phased out, and Cadogan found a new love in squash. After picking up squash in 2015, Cadogan got involved in hockey last year – her first time juggling two sports at the same time. But somehow she seems to be pulling it off flawlessly.
When asked about her love for squash and hockey, her eyes light up. If it came down to making a choice, she doesn’t know which sport she would choose over which.

“With hockey I like the idea of having a team where you have members and we bond and stuff. With squash I just love the game,” she shares.

Though she is still yet to get her chance to represent Guyana in hockey, she has already been making strides locally. Already she has become a top goalscorer on the team. As one of many squash players who also play hockey, Cadogan’s new sport fits right in with her schedule.