Hope after tragedy: Table Tennis siblings receive sponsorship from former national champion Peter Moo-Young

By June 29, 2024
From left: JTTTA President Ingrid Graham, Coach Orvill Young, Coach Dale Parham, Peter Moo-Young and brothers Shacoil Bird, Malone Bird and Anthony Bird. From left: JTTTA President Ingrid Graham, Coach Orvill Young, Coach Dale Parham, Peter Moo-Young and brothers Shacoil Bird, Malone Bird and Anthony Bird.

Atlantic Industrial Electric Supply Company Limited, the company owned by former national Table Tennis champion Peter Moo-Young, has signed on to help three members of Jamaica’s team to the Caribbean Mini and Pre-Cadet Table Tennis Championships set for July 1-7 in the Dominican Republic.

The three members, brothers Anthony, Malone and Shacoil Bird, were left with very little resources after an unfortunate and tragic house fire in February.

“We had reached out to Mr. Moo-Young about sponsorship of three of the youngsters. The fire earlier this year left them lacking with certain resources so we reached out to Mr. Moo-Young to see if he could assist in any way to help us send these three players off to the Dominican Republic for the upcoming Pre and Mini Cadet Championships,” JTTA President Ingrid Graham told Sportsmax.tv in an interview earlier this week.

Moo-Young happily obliged, providing background on how he first heard about the three brothers and how this sponsorship came together.

“About a year or so ago, Dale (Parham) alerted me that he had identified three youngsters that happen to be brothers who are uniquely talented and invited them to come to my club to play. I saw the kids and I will confirm, they are exceptionally talented for their ages,” he said.

“In keeping track of their progress, I was told that they had a tragic fire a few months ago and it hurt my heart because we wanted them to keep playing. So, I was pleased to hear that they continued to play,” Moo-Young added.

Atlantic Industrial Electric is going into this with their partners, KIC Ventures, an American company involved in the medical field.

“We will jointly underwrite the cost of the three brothers to go to the tournament,” Moo-Young said.

Founder of KIC, Dr. Kingsley Chin, also commented on the decision to help out.

“The only reason I’m able to do what I do today is because, when I was young, I got the opportunity to play sport. This is what I love about these boys; they faced obstacles and they kept going, they never stopped. You never know the future of somebody but if they show they have an interest in being good at something it’s like a plant, you water it and the fruits will bear,” he said.

“Exceptional,” was how National Coach Dale Parham described the talent of the youngsters.

“They’ve been playing for about two or three years now and they have shown dedication to the sport. I can tell you that these guys play probably about 4-5 hours everyday and that is something that is unheard of based on our situation now here in Jamaica,”

“When you have youngsters like this with that kind of drive and passion for the sport, I think it’s only fitting that we try to support them as best as possible,”

Students at Whitfield Town Primary and Junior High School, the brothers recently emerged victorious at the JTTTA/ OSIL/SDF Prep and Primary School Rally at the Excelsior High School on June 24.

Jamaica’s team is scheduled to leave the island on Saturday for the championships.

Bradley Jacks

Bradley Jacks is a budding journalist and an avid sports fan. His love of research and sports has led him to SportsMax.tv, a place where those passions work hand in hand to allow him to produce content.

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