Trials & Selection Criteria

All players are invited to attend pre season training. Non-attendance will not affect selection process.

29th August to 2nd September Preseason TRAINING at Bernards Park based on schedule. Training will take place at Bernards Park at the following time:

Preseason Trials for U8 and U10

Tues. Sept. 1 – Friday, Sept. 4 – All Under 8 and Under 10 boys are invited to preseason trials at the NSC at 4.15 to 5.30pm (tbc). Non-attendance will not affect selection process.

Tues. Sept. 1 – Under 8 and Under 10 boys information session on the purpose of the trials and the two programmes available.

Wed. Sept. 9 – All Under 8 boys should attend training at Saltus at 3.30pm to 4.45pm for further assessment.

Thurs. Sept. 10 – All Under 10 boys should attend training at Saltus at 3.30pm to 4.45pm for further assessment.

Sat. Sept. 12 – Final assessments will be made at the Saltus facility. There will be an information session to explain the purpose of the trials and the two programmes available for U8 and U10 boys at 10.30am. Parents will be informed on Saturday 12th evening, which group their child, has been assigned.

Assessments and Squad selection U12 for U14 and U16 players

The Coaches will assess all registered players in the first three weeks of training on the following criteria in order to be chosen for a BFA squad.

• Commitment
• Attitude
• Desire
• Skill and ability

The squads will be chosen on October 1 and these players will be registered with the BFA.

Team Selection Criteria

We have enough players per BFA league groupings of U8/10/12/14/16 to follow international procedures to have all players of the same birth year play together, i.e.U8/10/12/14/16.
We have enough players to match each player to their capability, desires and commitment.
We are restricted by the league framework created by the BFA in terms of number of teams we enter, number of players on each team, the ability to rotate players during the season etc. This imposes ‘artificial’ constraints to our process which is not in line with our philosophy and which has real effect on the ultimate team composition, as each team must be balanced within itself. We will continue to try and persuade the BFA of the need to change these restrictions so that Bermuda youth football can move to the next level we are striving for.

Football is a team sport first and foremost, and the ability to stay in a structure, to support each other, to play collectively and to make decisions based on what is best for the team, are traits that are extremely valuable, more so at the later stage of a players development than at an early stage. Having said that; The desire to win must be collective desire, i.e. must be shared by all players on each team. Given the amount of skills and technical training they get during practice sessions, each player is fully equipped to harness this desire together with their teammates. However, whether or not a player is willing to apply it is a matter of maturity, personality, eagerness, comfort level and other personal issues that cannot be expedited but can be nurtured and supported by their club, their parents and their teammates.

Players of equal ability, desires and passion develop better by playing together ON GAME DAY, than if put in a mixed ability group. If player X is on a team where he/she hardly gets to touch the ball or spends most of the time on the bench, but his/her team wins, it adds very little or nothing to their development, actually it might rather cause him/her to regress in their ability. Passion and desire are important drivers, as they in many cases cause ability to develop, and not the other way around. Remember that we are staunch believers that ability is acquired through effort and is not something that you are born with.

We must learn to differentiate between what is viewed as natural ability and a player who practices every day for 2 hours in the backyard, but we must also learn to accept that not every player in the club can or has the ability to practice in the backyard for 2 hours daily. Both are equally important and must be served to their best ability. Next Generation Valencia @ Saltus is part of ABC Football School’s program that does just that, and is probably the only provider in Bermuda of that philosophy and execution.

The coaches will evaluate each player during September. Coach Bascome is fully involved in this process. No outside party is involved. Each player is ranked per a number of criteria; technical, tactical, cognizant, decision making skills, desire and understanding and accepting of our philosophy and curriculum, amongst others. The players are then clustered into groups of similar abilities based on these criteria, taken into consideration that a team must be 100% functional.