LOCAL TENNIS’ BEST will not fail to turn out for his football team once he is available.
Despite starting a promising professional career, Barbados No.1 Darian King says he would never turn down a chance to play for Christ Church East Central once there are no clashes with his schedule.
King gave the guarantee not long after leading his constituency to its first championship at last weekend’s finals of the David Thompson Memorial Constituency Councils’ Football Classic.
“It’s just great to come out and play with my guys, even if sometimes I just do it for fun but I always relish whatever chance I get to play for my home team,” explained King, who is currently back home enjoying offseason training.
“Just the excitement alone keeps me motivated to play for Christ Church [East Central], and I’ve been playing football since primary school so this really is nothing new as a lot of coaches have been asking me to play for them at all levels.
“And this is also great offseason training because it is constant running for 90 minutes so this really does help me with my endurance for tennis. Hopefully now I can play matches for that long too,” he joked.
His presence on the pitch comes as no surprise to the football fraternity as King – a former Barbados national Under-17 footballer – has already turned out for Gall Hill’s Premier League outfit before appearing in Christ Church East Central colours.
And they haven’t been token appearances either, with King proving a standout attacking midfielder to the point that he was awarded both the Best Midfielder and Most Valuable Player trophies despite missing some early games in the just-concluded Classic.
But the awards were just the icing on the cake for the multi-talented 21-year-old, who was even more ecstatic to have played a key role in leading East Central to the title-winning 2-1 victory over St Michael South East.
“I was so pumped for these knockout matches because it was the first time we were getting so far in this tournament and I just couldn’t disappoint my guys as a lot of people believed in me,” reasoned King.
“But I also told the guys that once we get down here to the matches that truly matter that I will step up to the best of my abilities because this is for my team, for my constituency.
“And the feeling has been amazing. Several hours after the win everyone was still on Wotton pasture celebrating. It’s just so amazing and there’s nothing like it,” he added.
King turns his attention to Miamiin the first week in January when he will be appearing in a couple of tennis tournaments.
Barbados’ No.1 then returns home a couple weeks later to lead the country in a pivotal Davis Cup home tie against former world group participants Chile.
“I went through some up and downs this year as my goal was to be in top 300 by the end of the year,” said King, who is currently ranked 483 in the world.
“But hopefully I get off to a quick start with these tournaments in Miami and then target maybe top 250 early in the year.”
