Coach Reflects On DeSilva-Andrade’s Progress
[Written by Stephen Wright]
Troy Farnsworth, the Bermuda boccia coach, said it has been a privilege to play a role in Yushae DeSilva-Andrade’s journey from recreational player to becoming a two-time Paralympian.
The road to glory is rarely smooth, and DeSilva-Andrade’s rise to the top has been no exception.
Farnsworth acknowledges the bumps along the way but said the Bermudian’s natural talent, combined with unwavering perseverance, convinced him early on that she could reach the pinnacle of her sport.
It has been 13 years since DeSilva-Andrade started playing boccia – which has similarities to lawn bowls and is a precision ball sport – at WindReach Bermuda, where Farnsworth worked as an adaptive co-ordinator.
He remembers taking a team of six players, including DeSilva-Andrade, to compete for the first time in Montreal, Canada, where they learned some tough, but necessary, lessons.
“When we started together, neither of us could have known how far this sport could take us,” Farnsworth told Bernews.
“I remember travelling for our first competition to Montreal with three sets of boccia balls and no uniform to speak of and ended up borrowing balls from another country!
“We quickly discovered this sport is pretty serious, and we’d have to improve our training to take it to the next level.
“To see how far we’ve come from that first trip is very satisfying.”
DeSilva-Andrade, who made her Paralympic debut at the Rio Games in 2016, is among the medal contenders in Paris, climbing to third in the world in the women’s BC1 division following the declassification of Thailand’s Satanan Phromsiri.
The 30-year-old, who won her first-ever Paralympic match 4-1 against Poland’s Kinga Koza yesterday [August 29], enjoyed a stellar 2023, during which she won gold at the Fortaleza World Cup in Brazil, silver at both the World Challenger in Santiago, Chile, and the Montreal World Cup, and another silver at the Parapan Am Games in Santiago.
“It’s been wonderful to see Yushae’s progress, especially her success over the past two years,” Farnsworth said.
“It’s been a steep learning curve, especially at the start, but you must experience the lows in sport to enjoy the highs.
“You could always see the natural talent was there, but this hasn’t happened overnight.”
The Australian coach said DeSilva-Andrade would not waver from her “one game at a time” philosophy and has an intuitive understanding of her abilities after competing in almost 40 international events.
“Competing overseas has really helped Yushae’s development,” said Farnsworth, who also praised fellow Bermuda boccia coach Larry Hunt for helping Yushae fulfil her potential.
“Yushae’s tweaking and fine-tuning her game after every competition. She will stick with the process in Paris and hopefully the results will follow.
“We’ll take it one game at a time; it’s the Paralympics and all the players are of a high level.”
As high-performance sports for athletes with disabilities become increasingly elite, with top nations investing heavily in their programmes, Farnsworth said the achievements of boccia athletes like DeSilva-Andrade and Omar Hayward, who narrowly missed qualifying for Paris, are even more remarkable.
“We’re a small country and have limited resources compared to some other countries,” he added.
“Para-sport has become elite and every year the bar is getting higher, so to see our guys competing at the top level is very rewarding.”
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