PEOPLE often wonder what it is that separates average athletes from exceptional athletes and it is simple - passion and pride. Which bring us to the question, how many of our athletes in Bermuda have the passion and pride that is required to take them or their teams to the next level?

Passion, what is passion? The dictionary terms passion as a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm or desire for anything. This says to me that an athlete who has passion for their sport should at minimum arise in the morning thinking about the sport that they wish to excel and dominate in.

Passion in sport is not something that can be taught. It is something that is instinctive in your being. It's when unconsciously it's the only thing that saturates your thoughts.

If you question this, then just ask the national squad players who trained under Darryl Cullinan a few years back.

It was only his second or third training session which was due to start at 6 p.m. Well, typical Bermudian style, players rolled in at various times, none of which were before 6 p.m. At 6.30, Cullinan stopped the training session and gave us a lecture like no other coach had given us before. He left the team stunned and bemused.

The gist of his lecture told us that we as players needed to stop disrespecting the game of cricket and acting as if this wonderful game owed us something. He passionately told us that this game could put food on our table and take us to countries we would never have had the privilege of traveling to if we were not playing cricket. Right there, in that meeting, he made it crystal clear that he only wanted players who had passion for the game . . . those players who eat, drink and sleep cricket.

With today's athletes we seem to have too many players who play sports just for the sake of playing. It is almost just a form of recreation nowadays.

For me passion tied in directly with my dreams. I used to read a great deal about Alma (Champ) Hunt and Clarence Parfitt - about how they were the best cricketers Bermuda had ever produced and my dream was that before I left the game of cricket people would speak of me in the same light and the same breath as them.

So where does pride come into play, one may wonder.

Pride is a descendant or offspring of passion. Passion forces you to have pride in yourself and until you have pride in yourself you cannot have pride for your country or anything else for that matter.

So this may be one of the main reasons why we lack national pride - no passion and no pride in ourselves to do the best that we can individually for our sport.

In addition, as adults we have to instil in our children how important it is to be proud to be a Bermudian and a privilege to represent your country.

When I was a child, the "big" thing in cricket was Cup Match. Players took great pride in representing St.George's or Somerset, and the fans thought that you were a celebrity and should be proud to play in the classic . . . and indeed the players were proud.

Back then opportunities were limited for international exposure, thus the country's pride lay domestically. Therefore, as a child my passion was to play Cup Match, and at that time I would have chosen Cup Match over country any day.

However, as I was exposed to how foreign athletes were so committed and dedicated to their country, my mindset quickly changed, and I instil this in my own children today.

So, what will our national squad members do this summer when they have to decide between playing a 20/20 competition for Bermuda in Ireland and playing Cup Match? What should they do? As a country we have to embed country pride into youngsters so that there is only one obvious choice, country must ALWAYS come first.

It's already been proven that most players have more club pride than national pride. Just think how often you have heard a player from Bailey's Bay, for example, say I bleed red and white, or a St.George's player say I bleed blue and blue. Have you ever heard a player say I bleed red, blue and white, our supposed national colours?

The following is a quote that emphasises passion and pride:

A Russian ice skater who finished second in the Olympics received a note from her opponent who won the gold medal, and on the note it said: "Comrade, while you were sleeping, I was training."

Need I say anymore Bermuda?