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With the World Cup underway and tiny ten men 'Trini' holding powerhouse Sweden to a goal-less draw, my mind is on football.

The 'Trini' team players ranged from an ex-Premier Division great — Dwight Yorke — down to men whose names were really only known in Trinidad and Tobago. But that team displayed a high level of individual fitness, individual ball skills, and excellent team spirit.

All of those good qualities showed in that game against the 'Vikings' from Sweden. Those 'Trini' qualities are the result of personal self-discipline combined with disciplined practice allied to natural skill.

Every Bermudian — and the whole world — knows that Bermuda's best footballer, Shaun Goater, is a man with a high level of natural ball skills. Every Bermudian also knows that Shaun Goater's natural skill was improved and sharpened because Shaun disciplined himself to practise and practise until he got even better. Shaun's comments in his newspaper columns indicated that in the U.K., at Rotherham, at Manchester City, at Reading, and at Southend, Shaun practised and practised. Practised relentlessly.

In all sports, all the top players practise. All players who aspire to be top players practise. Players who are better than average practise more than players who are just average or below average.

In Bermuda, football is in a peculiar state. The energy and enthusiasm of the youngest age-groups is negated by mediocrity and indiscipline in the oldest playing group.

The overall problem is that as youngsters progress from enthusiastic mini-minor players, their coaches and their parents and their clubs and the public combine to create the 'star' syndrome.

This is where players with the best skills — at the time — always get play; whereas the players who discipline themselves to attend all practices and who do practise hard, get less play or are 'benched' because — at the time and for the moment — their ball skills are not so good.

The entirely human and predictable result? First, as a youngster, the 'naturally' skilled star never learns or acquires the habit and discipline of regular practice. Second, as an adult player he never reaches his full potential. Third, as long as he plays in the local leagues, he can look good because he is playing other equally undisciplined guys who are as mediocre as he is.

It's when Bermuda players come up against overseas players that we suddenly see the difference. In the more competitive atmosphere that prevails in any larger population, it's the player who practises harder who gets to the front.

Here, in tiny Bermuda, the plethora of clubs and teams places a premium demand on players, resulting in player demand outstripping player supply. Further result? Natural players are selected regardless of whether they practise or not. This process — this reality — means that natural players never really have to improve their natural skills.

Final result? All Bermudian football players reach an early skills plateau. Some of them, the best of them, still develop their ball skills until they reach club level. If they manage to reach club-level without the habit of disciplined practice, their further development atrophies, because they so easily become the club 'stars' and get big write-ups on the sports pages.

Now, Kyle Lightbourne is trying to put together a good national team from non-practising players. For years, other national coaches have done the same. Each coach failed. Each one had to fail. If players are insufficiently disciplined to accept the need for — and the discipline of — regular relentless practice, each future coach will fail.

The way back

There is a solution.

When Shaun Goater comes home, give him full responsibility for re-developing Bermuda football. Back Shaun to the hilt in introducing the concept of self-discipline at all levels. From mini-minor teams to the national squad.

Back him in a sustained drive to change coaching styles and habits so that disciplined players — not natural stars — are rewarded. That way, natural stars who discipline themselves — in the way that Shaun disciplined himself — will improve on their natural skills. Lastly, have the courage to not deviate from that in the interest of any short-term glamourous 'Cup' win.

If we do not do that, we'll commit the cardinal and stupid sin of wasting Shaun's precious talent and considerable experience. And Bermuda football tomorrow will remain what it is today — a crap game.

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