Hall continues to inspire
BY ALEX TIGANI
Seren Hall has faced more hurdles than any other athlete in the Upper Hunter.
Diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a toddler, the now 11-year-old was unable to walk until her second birthday.
She also sported several plastering casts to get her left foot at a flex point in the years following.
Yet she has been able to overcome many of her obstacles on the sporting field under the guidance of Singleton Track and Field Club coach Hilary Kennedy.
“Nothing has really stopped her,” Kennedy told The Hunter River Times.
“She’s a complete different person when that starting gun goes off.
“She still has physio every six months and has had botox injections as well but she has continued to impress us on the track.”
Hall added to the club’s long list of achievements at the Hunter Sports Centre in February when claiming two regional gold medals for Singleton.
She even managed to cut a whopping seven seconds from her personal best time in the 200m girls multi final.
“My favourite events are the 100m and the 200m because you run at the same speed and you don’t have to pace yourself,” Hall explained.
All athletics competitions were cancelled one month later due to the first wave of coronavirus.
Hall’s absence from the track had immediate setbacks with her fatigue management as a result.
“For those that don’t know, Seren has one side of the body which is quite stronger than the other,” Kennedy added.
“Within ten days of the shutdown she lost a lot of function but then I started doing one-on-one training and it helped her well-being.
“We have done lots of work on plyometrics, jumping and reacting, strength work and boosted confidence since.”
Hall’s mother Belinda has praised the Singleton Track and Field Club for their inclusion of Hall in recent years.
In December 2018, the club hosted a special ‘International Day of People with Disability’ with Rio Paralympic bronze medallist Erin Cleever.
Cleever, who was born with cerebral palsy right-sided hemiplegia, left a smile on Hall’s face throughout the inspiring presentation.
“Some stories don’t feel that encouraging because there are no disabled people talking in them,” Hall concluded.
“So, I would love to be a role model in the community for those young people.”