HIGH HOPES

with ROB BROCKLEBANK

by Andy Neild THE SILKY skills of USA World Cup star Roy Wegerle once inspired young fans to hone their talents on street corners surrounding Ewood.

But it was the efforts the American once put over the bar rather than under it which captured the imagination of a teenager from Darwen.

The fleet-footed forward was best known for his ability on the ground rather than his prowess in the air during his Ewood days.

But few fans will be aware Wegerle once wrote the headlines for his skill in the high jump, where he has cleared two metres!

That made him the best high jumper in Blackburn....until Rob Brocklebank entered the scene.

"While he was here Robert hadn't achieved the two metre mark so Wegerle was the best high jumper in the town at the time," said Alan Brocklebank, Rob's dad.

Since then Rob's career has gone on in leaps and bounds. A clutch of Northern Championship titles, the Northern Indoor record, a trio of second places in the English Schools, and a runner up spot at the 3As Indoor Seniors bare testimony to that.

But for all his love of Athletics, the 21-year-old Darwener would much rather do what Wegerle does best.

"If I could choose between athletics and football then there would only be one answer," said Rob.

"I'd probably be on holiday now if I was a footballer."

That's not to say he's gagging for a piece of the high life. It's simply an envious observation from a dedicated athlete struggling to make ends meet.

Compared to the telephone number salaries of an average professional footballer a promising young athlete is very much a poor relation.

Only those at the very top milk the rewards.

As yet Brocklebank isn't in that bracket but he's in no doubt as to what is required to get there.

"I need to jump just that little bit further so I don't need to worry too much about the money side of things.

"I want to be jumping 2.18 and 2.20 regularly."

Currently, his personal best is 2.16.

But although he achieved that three years ago he's in no danger of forgetting it.

That's because a chalk mark acts as a constant reminder on the wall in his kitchen.

And 29 centimetres above that a shabby piece of black masking tape represents his ultimate goal - Javier Sotomayor's world record.

"I was growing a lot between 15 and 16 so we started off by keeping a record of that by marking it off on the wall," Rob explains.

"Then as I started to jump higher we marked down my PBs as well.

"Every time I walk through the kitchen and see the world record it acts as a reminder of what I'm aiming for."

Despite a slow down in progress - he hasn't improved on his PB in three years - Brocklebank is trying everything to get back on track.

As well as training with his long-time coach Joe Fleming in Blackburn, he is also attending once weekly sessions under the watchful eye of former England coach Mike Holmes in Liverpool.

And he took the decision last year to quit Blackburn Harriers and compete instead in a Sale vest - a move that did upset some.

"Competing for Blackburn, there was no pressure on me at all.

"I was turning up an hour before an event, jumping 190 and winning it. There was no competition.

"At Sale I'm coming up against all the top jumpers in the country.

"Last year I jumped four times and I didn't win an event. But I was up against lads who will be going to the Olympics.

"It's like football. You wouldn't play for Preston because that's all you've done.

"If you were good enough you'd want to go off and play for the Rovers."

He's on a high going into the forthcoming season after a successful spell of winter training in Australia.

Down under he worked on his ability to get up and over with a coach hailing from Manchester at Frankston Athletics Club - little more than a kangaroo jump away from his auntie and uncle's Melbourne home.

Hopefully, it will pay dividends.

"It felt like the best winter preparation I've ever done," said Rob.

"I was much more motivated and there weren't any distractions.

"But obviously, if I only jump 2.10 this season then it will have counted for nothing."

The potential is there to achieve his ambition of a place at the Olympics.

Tests carried out by students from Loughborough University - who analysed the jumps of Rob, Steve Smith and Dalton Grant at a meeting in Birmingham - have indicated there's more in the locker.

"They measured the horizontal velocity of the highest mass centre of the highest point."

Or the highest point of his jump, to me and you.

That was recorded at 2.28, so potentially the sky is the limit.

But whether he succeeds or fails could all depend on his mental toughness.

Strength and fitness, supported by a sound technique, are obviously vital factors.

But it's mind over matter which tends to win the day.

"You have to be focused because a lot of this event is in the mind.

"There's a bar in front of you staring you in the face and you have to jump over it," said Rob.

"There's a lot of bottle involved," added his dad.

And to help him succeed in the mind game Rob has called on a firm based in Preston who helped snooker player Jimmy White before the World Championships.

"They work on positive thinking," said Rob.

"Turning positive thinking into positive results.

"It might help, it might not. If it works then that would be brilliant.

"If it doesn't then it's not hurting anybody. You've got to try every avenue."

One thing is certain. He will be going up the wall until he's the best in the business.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.