With four medals, Marcus Smith effectively led Barbados’ effort at the Caribbean Regional Table Tennis Federation’s Pre-Cadet Championship that ended last week in Guyana.
Following in the footsteps of Stephen Payne, who took the title last year, Smith won the Under-13 boys’ singles event, the most prestigious title of the championships.
He also helped the boys’ team to a bronze medal, joined with Jazel Griffith for a bronze in the mixed doubles and also partnered Ramon Jackman to take another bronze in the boys’ doubles.
“Before the matches started, I went in there confident knowing that I would do good. Everybody was saying that I have the talent to do it,” Smith told MIDWEEK SPORT as he relaxed at home.
Smith, who seems to remain calm under pressure, credited coach Trevor Farley for keeping him focused.
“My coach usually gives me a pep talk before every game and that keeps me calm. If you play too nervous, you usually lose points,” Smith said.
The Queen’s College student, who attended the Vauxhall Primary School, revealed that he was forced to make adjustments to his technique to accommodate the unfamiliar conditions under which the tournament was played.
“The arena was really big, so that means that the ball would move a lot slower.?So I had to change my whole game,” said Smith, who indicated that manager David Harris and Farley advised him how to adapt to the situation.
Barbados won seven medals and Farley was pleased with the improved performance over last year’s campaign though he felt they were capable of finishing higher than the bronze medal position in the boys’ Under-13 team event.
Three teams tied for first place after the round robin exchanges but a 0-3 loss, to Trinidad and Tobago, hurt the Bajans in the final calculations.
“The training that we did the last couple of weeks pushed them up to another level,” Farley said. “We need to continue this and train for more hours. This includes basic training and working on consistency.
“We are there with the rest of the English-speaking Caribbean, although on this occasion, Trinidad did better than us. Overall, our team performed well but we cannot relax. We must continue to train hard. We have something to build on.”
