LIVINGSTON winger Lyndon Dykes is praying sporting success runs in the family after drawing inspiration from his sister’s Commonwealth Games exploits.
Dykes’ older sibling, Hollie, was a world-class gymnast in her youth and shot to stardom in Australia after claiming a four-medal haul in Melbourne in 2006.
She achieved gold in the team and floor exercises, silver on the beam and bronze in the all-round event and was lauded as one of the top Aussie athletes in her field.
READ MORE:
Partick Thistle accept bid from Norwich City for Aidan FitzpatrickHollie gave up on gymnastics at the age of just 17 for personal reasons but Lyndon is adamant his passion for sport and will to win owes much to his sister's determination to reach the absolute pinnacle of her discipline.
“I grew up surrounded by sport, especially my sister Hollie, who was a gymnast and won two golds at the Melbourne Games,” revealed Dykes.
“She was always an inspiration. The work ethic needed for her training was incredible. She was at the Australian Institute of Sport [AIS] in Canberra at a young age and the demands were unreal. It was really eye-opening.
“She's pretty well known back home and, although she has been retired for a few years, she still has a really good reputation.
“I was always running around the AIS as a kid, kicking balls, throwing basketballs and all sorts. So, I've maybe got her to thank for giving me that love for sport.
“When I saw how much work she put in, it's hard to say 'I can't do this' or 'that's too tough'. She's set the bar and I want to make sure that determination runs on the family.”
Dykes' own route to the Scottish top-flight has been a circuitous one. He was a highly-rated rugby union starlet in his youth and was attracting interest from several local clubs - and he readily admits that sport was his first love.
But a move from Canberra to the picturesque Aussie Gold Coast saw an opportunity to shine with a round ball present itself.
Dykes continued: “I started playing rugby league when I was younger but when I made that switch to football, I stuck with it.
READ MORE:
Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo: I'm better than cousin Romelu Lukaku“It took me a bit of time to then become a professional but when I made my decision, I vowed to get my head down and work as hard as I possibly could to get to the highest level I can.
“Honestly, I preferred rugby league growing up and there were several professional teams interested in me where I grew up. I was a decent full-back! But I moved with my mum to the Gold Coast from Canberra and that was where I really got into football.
“The rugby league just faded away and it became an easier decision. My uncle played football as well so it was maybe meant to be.”
After plying his trade in his homeland with extravagantly-named amateurs such as Mudgeeraba, Merriman and Surfers Paradise Apollo, Dykes landed a move to Queen of the South in 2016 and grasped his big chance.
He scored 22 goals in 136 outings for the Doonhamers and, having helped them to Championship survival last term, insists he is ready to shine in the Premiership.
Dykes added: "I believe I can make this step up, 100 per cent.
“Queens were my first professional club and I started at quite a late age compared to some players. But I managed to make that leap and I reckon I can do it again. It's about working hard and walking the walk. I want to be that bit better every day, every week, every season.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here