Angels Academy looking to advance in 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic put many sports on the back foot but the Angels Academy, a table tennis club in Spanish Town, is looking outward. Academy founder and coach, Richard Davidson, says his club is planning to expand its playing area, open a homework centre and to offer music lessons in 2022.

The expansion is underpinned by Davidson’s desire to give the youngsters in his care at Angels a chance at a fulfilling life when their days at the table are over. “I have seen where a lot of athletes in various sports have not only represented Jamaica but their parish, their clubs, and basically, we use this terminology, we see them kicking stones in the latter part of their lives. My aim is to build professionals at the academy. So even if they do not do well academically, they have a skill to fall back on to in their latter days,” he explained on Thursday.

A key project is to expand the playing area by covering a space behind the main building at the Angels Community Centre, and Davidson is looking for sponsors. “Hopefully, my target for that would be the middle of 2022, and we also want to include music activities, so we’re in the process of seeking sponsorship to maybe buy a drum, a keyboard, a guitar and a saxophone,” he said.

“I have lost a lot of players because of COVID,” Davidson revealed. “But I’m not worried about that because I never usually advertise my programme. It’s always by referral so I’m not worried about the numbers. Once school reopens, I can say again Angels will be full,” he added.

Launched in 2010, the Academy has its fair share of success and four of its players have been invited to participate in the Hopes Programme staged by the International Table Tennis Federation. With the pandemic restricting travel, the latest of them, 11 year-old Keeara White, had to participate via the Internet.

“Unfortunately, because of COVID this year, it was not possible for us to travel so we had to do online classes. They sent the drills. We looked at the drills before the sessions and we had nine sessions online,” he recalled.

“She did very well throughout the training camp and she’s one to note going forward,” Davidson said in praise of the St Jago Preparatory student. White followed in the footsteps of Davidson’s daughter Kelsey, Liana Campbell and Navia Scott, who previously participated in the Hopes Programme.

“It brings tears to my eye. It keeps me motivated. My dream now is to have a player qualify for the next round of Hopes,” he concluded, with a view to getting a player selected from Jamaica, from the Pan-American Hopes stage to the international round which features 20 players.