After much hard work, dedication, commitment and sacrifice, one of Barbados’ top-rated junior table tennis players has earned a scholarship to the renowned Grantham College in England for the next two years.
Fifteen-year-old Combermere student Alex Henry began his journey in table tennis at the tender age of ten when he fell in love with the sport and according to him has not looked back since.
“I am really excited about this opportunity; this opportunity gives me aspirations to play at the top level for Barbados and become an international professional player as well as furthering my education,” Henry told Barbados TODAY.
Coached by former Barbados table tennis champion Trevor Farley who is a certified level three coach, Henry aspires to advance his table tennis career and in so doing become a world-class player.
“I train diligently with TOFL Academy with level three table tennis coach Trevor Farley to advance my career. I attended the Angby table tennis summer camp in Sweden in 2018 to further challenge and improve my skills,” Henry explained.
It takes a lot to remain focused and disciplined but Henry is determined to succeed in those departments and even though it will cost a total cost of BDS$90, 000 to attend Grantham College and fulfil his dreams, he does not intend to give up and remains driven in his sporting and academic pursuits.
In addition to his passion for table tennis, Henry also has a keen interest in engineering which he will be pursuing while at Grantham College. He also boasts of attending the University of the West Indies Junior Robotics summer camp in 2019.
The intelligent young man is preparing to sit the Caribbean Examination Council examinations in the subject areas of English Literature, French, Visual Arts, Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. So far, he has successfully completed English language and Electronics.
He shared his journey and how it has been for him coming up through the ranks with Farley as his coach. “I have been part of the domestic club championship in Barbados where we won the Division three championsip in 2018. I also placed third in the doubles matches in 2018 at the National Classifiers Championship. In 2019 our division team placed sixth in the Domestic Club championship. In addition, I took the victory for the Under-13 and B Class categories for the national 2019 championship and Barbados Olympic Association Independence Invitational Games.
“I was successful to be part of the Barbados Under-13 team to the Caribbean Championship in Santo Domingo. I attended the Westchester United States Open in December 2019 and placed first in the ranking of fourteen hundred and second in the ranking of sixteen hundred. However, due to Covid-19 the official training and matches have been postponed. I am still doing my part to maintain fitness.”
He added: “During this period (Covid) I applied to Grantham College in England, a well-known table tennis college and I have been accepted. This college has a great table tennis program which exposes athletes to rigorous training in local and international competitions. I am really excited about this opportunity.”
While in England, Henry will be coached by Vidal Graham, the head coach of Grantham College Table Tennis Academy. Coach Graham gave some insights into Grantham College and what Henry could expect when he attends the institution in September.
“Grantham is the number one Academy in England, and we provide the highest quality of coaching and training to be found in Europe. We are one of the few academies that can provide full-time education alongside being able to train full time as a professional athlete. We offer a full range of educational courses, and your training schedule will be developed around your course and as part of your course. An athlete has the opportunity to train twice a day and has access to at least two 1-2-1 sessions per week with one of our coaches. Total hours up to 24 hours per week of quality training.
“We have a gym on site where athletes will be given a fitness, strength and conditioning program and SAQ Training is part of our weekly training sessions. We also help to provide athletes with the best opportunity to perform at the highest level. Our young athletes come and train and study with us from all over the world and currently, we have national team players from England, Scotland, Spain, Germany, Holland and Finland, alongside Para athletes that are part of the GB (British) squad all training at our academy.
“Our training environment within the session is very intense and all designed to benefit the athletes and enable them to perform at their highest level when in tournament conditions.
GCTTA has a long tradition of producing some of Europe’s best players and over the last 20 years, we have had over 260 athletes attend the academy with over 75 per cent of those going on to play for their national teams. We encourage players to attend tournaments monthly where we provide transportation and coaching at these events and we also will provide a Junior British league team for them to play within while in England,” coach Graham shared.
Henry explained that his family has begun a fundraising effort to help him realize his dreams, however, if anyone is willing to assist financially they can email his mother Carla.browne2015@gmail.com or contact her at telephone number 838-9509 to donate.
morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb
