Our Islands' top sports are at a stage now where our country needs to invest heavily in a sports psychologist.

For years both our national teams have suffered through a lack of mental preparation.

When you look around the world today all the top teams are using a sports psychologist to mentally prepare their team.

I happened to be at the National Stadium on Sunday and like many Bermudians I too was disappointed.

I was not disappointed in the way we played, but more so with the outcome.

I asked myself why is it that most Bermuda teams whether in football or cricket always seem to come up short when they come to a major hurdle.

It has got to be our mental frame of mind that we the players are in. I strongly feel we do not put ourselves as players in the right frame of mind to get the required job done.

I love the effort that the national football team brought, but mentally they shut off for one minute and it cost them their dream.

This is where a sports psychologist would come in to play.

They could identify your mental strengths and weaknesses and look to improve your weakness, which would enhance your concentration, hence your performance.

On that one play where Trinidad and Tobago scored their second goal several things happened.

One it was a bad time to make a substitution, which was a mental lapse.

Secondly, no one stood on the ball so that they couldn't take the free kick, another mental lapse.

Lastly the defenders shut off not staying focused on the ball and their man.

A sports psychologist teaches you to stay focused and they teach you when to focus and when you can relax.

When I was captain of the cricket team I sat for hours trying to find out how to make the players mentally tough or more focused.

Often times we would be playing against tougher opposition and you can hearguys saying, "Shucks he bowls fast, or let's just try and make this respectable".

Where as my frame of mind was 'I am going to score a ton and upset these jokers and make a name for myself'.

I recall in our build up to the Cricket World Cup a sports psychologist (Rudy) was involved in our set up to help players become more mentally in tune. I was very impressed with what he did.

Rudy the specialist did various exercises with the team to help them get a better understanding of what we were up against, and how to prepare ourselves mentally for various situations that we might find ourselves in

Listening in first hand to discussions you can see a difference of opinion on various topics from players.

You can see how people think differently in different situations, hence the reason why some players are successful and some are not.

Basically what I am getting at is that whether you are a footballer or a cricketer, most players are successful because of the choices and decisions that they make, especially while under pressure.

Also, most players tend to perform well when things are going well, but who can perform well when the team is struggling is the question?

One player stands out to me from a cricket point of view and that is Clevie Wade.

I have seen Clevie have the worse season of his life and go to Cup Match under immense pressure and perform at his best. This is purely down to mental toughness, something a sports psychologist will try to instill in players.

Lastly, I interviewed a few Cricket World Cup players to let them share their views on the importance of a sports psychologist since they experienced it first hand with Rudy.

Dean Minors: "Rudy got me to analyze my game more thoroughly and he enabled me to unlock the mental toughness that I possessed within."

Dwayne Leverock: "Rudy helped me tremendously, the work he did with the team was a real eye opener.

"He helped me to stay within my capabilities and helped me to concentrate for longer periods."

As time goes on technology improves and teams are finding anything possible to give them an edge.

I would like to see Bermuda hire a sports psychologist who can work with all national teams as we look to improve our overall standards.

It is so important that we do not get left behind other countries and continue to find ways to better ourselves.