One of life's mottos is to build on the foundation built before you, so that success is imminent in your life.

This is the mission that Stephen Outerbridge, Bermuda national cricket team's vice-captain is on right now. Steven is eager to obtain the ingredients for success that was laid by the first Bermuda World Cup team.

However, the foundation was already laid, so for the sake of the team, they all need to acquire and implement the steps that were taken by their predecessors. The following is a reflection on the groundwork laid by the most triumphant Bermuda team.

The road started when I was given the captaincy. My first job was to entice Dean Minors, Albert Steede and Richard Basden to come out and play as they had all been missing from the national team for a variety of reasons. The three of them were all match-winners with a winning mentality. Dean brought professionalism, Albert brought a strong work ethic and Richard brought passion, all key ingredients to success.

Once they agreed to come out and play, the selectors met and one of the key factors stressed by myself to them was, "I would rather have a squad of 20-25 quality players then a squad of 30 just to make up the numbers".

We then went about selecting the best 25 players in Bermuda ensuring that we had a good balance.

Lesson 1) When a player is training and he looks to his left and then to his right it is important that he sees nothing but quality; so he knows that in order to succeed and be a part of the team he has to be committed.

The selectors also made it clear that in order to be eligible for selection there was a minimum requirement of 70 percent attendance for training sessions. This was to eliminate any politics when it came to team selection. In the past a very good player would show up to four training sessions, while a less recognised player attended 15 sessions, but the really good player would get picked because of who he was.

Lesson 2) It doesn't matter who you are, if you are not committed you are not needed. There's no 'I' in Team!

Once the team gathered I sat with them and shared my vision which was us qualifying for the World Cup. Each player was asked to close their eyes and picture it, literally picture it, to see whether they could see themselves taking the winning catch or scoring the winning run that would take us to the World Cup. Then I asked them to see us celebrating after becoming the first Bermuda team ever to qualify. As they opened their eyes I sat there and looked them dead in their eyes one by one and told them if you cannot commit to this dream, to help this dream become a reality you can leave now because I only want players who are willing to give their life for this.

Lesson 3) Without a vision the people will perish and so will your dreams.

It was now time for the coach. Gus came into the fold and added his wisdom and what he expected of the team. Gus was calm, Godly, and brought a training regime to the table that was first class.

Gus worked us like never before. Sometimes today I can sit and still see guys like Irving (Romaine) and Janeiro (Tucker) in particular coming out of the nets after a session with Gus in Trinidad, where he had them batting for 30 minutes, while running doubles and triples. These guys would come out of the nets dripping with sweat saying, "Skipper, this guy is trying to kill us", but they knew that this was the work ethic that was required to achieve our dream.

Lesson 4) The Head must have the respect from all of the players regardless if they understand the reasoning behind it or not.

Upon returning back to Bermuda, a training programme was put in place that was first class. Players were training five times a week. Twice a week we were spinning and doing circuits at Olympic Club gym and the other three nights were dedicated to cricket. This is where our team grew stronger because during the spinning sessions we had 20 players strong every time.

If a player would miss a training session his team-mates would let him know about it. In spinning classes you can see and hear players literally testing each other mentally, saying things like, "Come on, faster, work harder, how bad do you want it".

Lesson 5) "Keep your eye on the prize", that was our theme and team's focal point.

We became like a family and started doing things together, such as playing golf, meeting different places for lunch, walks for charity, played cricket against the inmates at prison. Some players were even linking up together at the gym outside of training hours putting in extras.

Lesson 6) Bonding helps you to learn more about your team-mates.

Eventually, the team was picked and we were to add the final piece of the puzzle and probably the most important ingredient of all. The week prior to leaving, the team and family members went to a church service at First Church of God where Reverend Lambe prayed over the team. The whole congregation stood and prayed over us. This was a defining moment for us!

Lessons 7) Do not ever underestimate the power of prayer and the faith to believe.

This close-knit team continued the camraderie achieved in Bermuda as we travelled to Ireland. It was not considered a chore to meet with each other every night prior to a game. It was something that everyone looked forward to to ensure that we were all on the same page. Being so close we found that when the pressure hit on the field we would never panic or become hostile because we all believed in each other's ability.

Lesson 8) To be fully prepared off the field results in good success on the field.

Having said all of that I guess what I want to leave Steven and the rest of his current players with is this: First, if you want to move forward you must have a clear goal on which that everyone is focused on. Your training squad should not be picked with players who you know are going to train, but selected because of their ability. If you do not have enough quality at the senior level then select the best junior players rather than have a mediocre senior player just to make up the numbers because it brings the standard of training down.

Coaches are important because they have to put in place a first class training regime. There is nothing worse than a player coming to the national programme and the sessions are not considered to be of the highest standard. How many times have you heard a player say: "Training at my club is better than this".

Lastly, the team leader/captain is extremely vital in the success of a team. He needs to be leading from the front. This may be one of the reasons why this current team is having difficulties, because of (David) Hemp's absence. The players do not have that leader there to drive them and inspire them, sharing his vision and principles about the game.

All in all, the players have to ask themselves: "Why am I here?" If you are there for the wrong reasons then you are wasting your time. Together you must sit and talk to discuss in which direction you want to go and how you plan on getting there. Remember the foundation has already been laid. I wish you all the best as I will not say 'good luck' as luck has nothing to do with it.

Motto for the week: The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand – Vince Lombardi.