"He doesn't look like a squash player."

This was the whispered aside of one member of Guyana's team after he had first encountered Bermuda's No.1 Gary Plumstead before the Caribbean Championships in Barbados.

By the end of the two week event however and after seeing him take the regional title, that individual was forced to consume a large slice of humble pie as many people heralded the sleight-framed South African as perhaps the best ever champion.

Bermuda squash chief Ross Triffitt was unstinting in his praise of Plumstead's achievements.

"He was totally dominant and did not let any of the players down there get into any sort of rhythm," he said.

"From the moment he stepped on court he had a commanding presence which was evident in his whole demeanour. Certainly, in the manager's meetings it was clear that everybody was overwhelmed by his ability and it was recognised that he was obviously a class above the rest."

Although he triumphed in four games in the final over his young Bermudian rival Nick Kyme, perhaps the highlight of the tournament was Plumstead's performance in the semi-final against the Trinidad and Tobago No.1 Paul DeVerteuil.

He was unstoppable, caressing winner after winner at the front of the court against a highly-rated opponent who did not have an answer.

Typically however, the match that Plumstead was most pleased with was his victory over the Guyana No.1 Max Weithers in the final of the team event, which confirmed Bermuda as team champions and vindicated the decision to select both Kyme and himself as the top two seeds.

"Beating Max was especially pleasing," he said yesterday. "Not only did it mean we had won the team tournament but it also reinforced the fact that Nick and I were the best two players there."

The journey from Southern Africa to Bermuda has been a surprisingly straightforward one for the 31-year-old. At the age of 20, despite being the number one junior in South Africa, with a national senior ranking of eight, Plumstead made the decision not to join the professional tour but to turn his attention to coaching where he felt he could make a much better living. It is a decision he has never once regretted.

"I decided not to turn professional just after I left school. Although I had toyed with the idea in my mind I just felt that financially it was not worth it," he said.

"Growing up, I had seen the very best South African players struggling to make it and it was then I realised that coaching, whilst playing part-time, was much the better option."

Although he coached for a time in his native South Africa, in 1996 he moved to Germany, living first in Bremen and then Munich, where he continued to coach as well as compete in a number of high-calibre domestic tournaments.

After four years in Europe, his thoughts began to lean towards the other side of the Atlantic and, at first, Bermuda appeared the ideal stepping stone towards a lucrative coaching career in the USA.

It was not long after his appointment as squash professional at the Bermuda Squash Racquets Association in Devonshire, however, that he began to understand the sizeable ambitions of those who run the game on the Island and to consider an extended stay.

He now says that he intends to remain in Bermuda "for as long as he possibly can", to defend his Caribbean title in Bermuda in 2005 and to continue to play a crucial role in what he believes are very exciting times for the local game.

"Although I was a little sceptical at first, everything about the game in Bermuda has exceeded my initial expectations," he said.

"Everything is going well at the moment in terms of the junior programme, the standard of the senior squad and membership of the club.

"We have a lot of good juniors coming through as well as two professionals (Kyme and James Stout) who have a lot ahead of them. With the Bermuda Open coming here next March, things are really starting to happen."