Recently re-appointed national men's indoor hockey coach Raphael Govia will have to do without the services of England-based Marcano-brothers, Tariq and Teague for the four-team Double Round-Robin 2020 Indoor Pan American Cup in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA from March 25 to 29.
The tournament will involve reigning Pan American Indoor champions T&T as well as host USA, Canada and Argentina from which one team will qualify to the 2021 FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup at a venue and date to be determined.
Three years ago at the Indoor Pan American Cup qualifiers in Georgetown, Guyana, the Govia-coached "Calypso Stickmen" crushed powerhouse Argentina 7-0 in a lopsided final led by a pair of goals from Mickell Pierre and Akim Toussaint to secure a first-ever Indoor World Cup appearance at the 2018 edition of the 12-team FIH Indoor World Cup at the Max-Schmeling-Halle, Germany.
The trio of captain Solomon Eccles, Marcus James and Aidan De Gannes were also on target in the win over Argentina while T&T also defeated the Argentines 5-2, Guyana 4-0, Barbados 8-2, Mexico 13-2, and Canada 7-5 for a perfect 5-0 round-robin record in the six-team tournament.
However, at the Indoor World Cup, the "Calypso Stickmen" ended in the tenth spot behind champions Austria, Germany, Iran, Australia, Czech Republic, Belgium, Poland, Switzerland and Russia.
Competing in a round-robin Pool A series, T&T defeated Kazakhstan 6-4 in their third match but was beaten by Poland 5-11, Australia 6-7, and Germany 10-2 to end with a 1-0-4 Group A record and three points, just above winless Kazakhstan.
And in the ninth to tenth spot playoffs, Russia edged T&T 3-2
The T&T team back then in Germany comprised Ron Alexander, Andrew Vieira, De Gannes, Eccles, Jordan Vieira, Toussaint, Kristien Emmanuel, James, Pierre, Shaquille Daniel, Jordan Reynos, and Tariq Marcano.
But reached for comment with regards to the team's composition so far, Govia was quick to admit he was a bit disappointed not to have the chance of having Teague, 19, and Tariq, 23, who both play with St Albans in the England Hockey League Conference East, and are students at the University of Hertfordshire available to him.
He said, "In indoor hockey, it's always a blessing to have young talent to choose from and the Marcano boys are no doubt two of the best we have.
"I know they are back home now and have participated in the recent invitational indoor competitions and it would have been nice to see how they would gel with the team, but they won't be available to us for the Pan American qualifiers due to school commitments, so I understand their decision not to join the training fully," said Govia.
With regards to his team's training sessions at the Woodbrook Youth Facility (WYF), Govia says he is not happy with how much time is being allowed to the national team.
Other members of the senior men's hockey team coaching staff include former national captain Darren Cowie and Dwain Quan Chan as assistant coaches and manager Kirth Davis.