‘Determined’ Miami-Dade teacher making history as member of Team USA’s first Breast Cancer Paddlers squad

A South Florida coach who is a breast cancer survivor is set to represent the United States on the world stage Her resilience and tenacity shine in tonight s Spotlight Heather Walker has the story They paddle separately but as one with intensity and precision Teresa Murphy Gang USA Breast Cancer Paddler I didn t expect to build such deep personal relationships with so numerous people as a consequence of being in a sport They are my BFFs Teresa Murphy is describing her teammates BFF stands for Broward Fierce Fighters The name is fitting because the women on this boat have fought for their lives All have survived or continue to battle breast cancer Teresa Murphy The fact that we can be out here doing something that helps us mentally emotionally and physically to tackle selected of the challenges that we have from surgeries from just the emotional impact of having cancer Teresa has been a Miami-Dade Citizens Schools coach for years even winning the county s prestigious Trainer of the Year Award Teresa Murphy Definitely the highest honor in my career being the Mentor of the Year nominated by your peers In during the pandemic she continued to teach her third grade class virtually without telling her students she was undergoing chemotherapy Teresa Murphy My students are the ones that helped me get through a challenging time In instruction we ve long done the three Cs common core curriculum and in my development in it was cancer chemo and COVID I can laugh about it because I m here so One hundred percent is what Teresa and her teammates try to give each time they get on the water Teresa Murphy We re giving it our all we re putting everything out there We rode along on a sunny Sunday morning in Hollywood for a squad practice Teresa Murphy When we re on the water we re just paddlers cancer aside all of our ailments aside They re paddling a dragon boat a watercraft that traces back to ancient China The band has competed and won dragon boat races Karen Eisen Broward Fierce Fighters When we race we feel it in our personal race and so when Mary our captain will say It doesn t matter if we get the gold it does matter if we get the gold because we personally won Now just three years after first stepping foot in a dragon boat Teresa is taking her competitive drive to the next level Teresa Murphy It was very intense She tried out and was chosen to be one of paddlers to represent Unit USA in this summer s World Dragon Boat Racing Championships in Germany Teresa Murphy It is the first Gang USA breast cancer association So it is a historical honor to represent the United States for sure Angela Long Gang USA Breast Cancer Paddlers head coach She s got great heart she s determined Angela Long a breast cancer survivor herself is the head coach Angela Long We ve got the best of the best going up against the best of the best of the other countries I would say Canada is definitely gonna give us a run for our money Teresa says she s in the gym six days a week and several days on the water to train Teresa Murphy I think the thing that I m greater part proud of is how proud my children are of my accomplishments because I m reliably so proud of them Company USA s Breast Cancer Paddlers who are from different states will go for the gold in July We ll of program let you know how they do Heather Walker News FOR MORE INFORMATION Broward Fierce Fighters United States Dragon Boat Federation International Breast Cancer Paddlers Commission International Dragon Boat Federation If you know of a person place or group that you think we should highlight email us at spotlight wsvn com