ONE could have dismissed the sight of young men jogging along the sand dunes on the South Shore as just another one of those arduous regimental exercises.

But to call Bermuda Football Association youth development director Kenny Thompson a sergeant major, may be just pushing it a bit, as Bermuda's Under-17 World Cup qualifying team intensify their preparations ahead of August's qualifiers to be staged in the Caribbean.

"The idea of that exercise was to just raise the level of aerobic endurance," said Thompson. "We are not spending too much time on physical conditioning at this time... it's still very early. Our main objective is with their technical skills and tactical insights in the way of play and understanding the system in getting to know each other's strengths and weaknesses. Simple conditioning comes last."

While drawing subtle comparisons with the current nucleus to that of the previous team that just missed advancing into the finals by a whisker after going down to Jamaica in the rubber match, Thompson feels confident that the current group have all the ingredients for success, but that it all depends on them.

"They come in with a lot of potential but of course they haven't fulfilled that potential as of yet," he added. "That all depends on their attitude and as to how far they want to go. But it's interesting because the previous group was not as talented coming in as this group. I think that this group has a lot more potential in what they come in with.

"With the previous team we had the luxury of having them for nearly two years in preparation for their qualification matches. With the current group the preparation period is much shorter.

"So it could be interesting in that they have less time to prepare and maybe could reach a higher level than the previous team. But then on the other hand having more potential is just that - it doesn't speak for the actual performance and I think that their attitude will determine whether potential meets actual performance."

Currently training three times a week under the support staff of Thompson, Dennis Brown, Scott Morton, Alan Philpott and Antoine Swan, there is hardly time to catch a breather as Bermuda's youngsters prepare to take it to the next level.

However, in all fairness, Thompson has yet to shut the door on others yet to start training with the squad as he still feels that there is an abundance of talent still lurking about the island.

"Currently we have 22 players in the first team who are training as the Under-16 national team," he added. "We also have 12 players who are training as a developmental group. So basically what that means is that players who we felt did not have the required level of skill - whether it be technically, tactically or physically we would continue to work with them because sometimes the physical limitations can decide whether a player is more or less dominant - even though he may have the tactical ability.

"And what we also wanted to do was keep these players close and keep them in training so that if one of them did develop technically, tactically or physically within the time period of the World Cup qualification matches then we would definitely be looking to include that player at the expense of someone who is in the first team.

"So it gives us a pool to pull from if we have to make a change for whatever reason. People get injuries and there are also guidelines that the players have to adhere to. So for whatever reasons that we have to make a switch then we don't have to go that far.

"There are a considerable number of players that are outside the programme that, should they catch our eye - either representing their school or club - then we would certainly look to bring that player in.

"Obviously those that are currently involved have a better chance but there may be someone who we just haven't seen yet, so at the end of the day the opportunity to play for the Under-16 team is there for everyone."

Thompson also said he doesn't want the island's numerous clubs to feel excluded and that the Under-17 team has all of the priority.

"Our ultimate vision is to assist the clubs through organisation, restructure and the education of their coaches," he said. "The work that we are doing now with the Under-16 national team can also be done at the clubs. So we can bring them in on a short-term notice for international commitments but it's imperative that we also pay attention to our domestic competitions and our club programmes.

"If we have problems at club level, then we are certainly going to have problems internationally."