I am so proud to see the Bermuda-Under 19s repeat what the senior team did by qualifying for the Cricket Under-19 World Cup.

I sometimes do not feel Bermudians understand the magnitude of what they have accomplished. Our youngsters will be competing against some of the world's best players, most of whom have been exposed to the Test arena and are labelled as future stars.

The strength of the Bermuda Under-19 national squad is their willingness to work hard and their team unity.

Whenever you have a nucleus of players willing to work hard and are dedicated towards a common goal you will have a successful team. Last I heard before the young men left, they were training at least 4-5 times a week. This is the type of commitment that is required at the higher level.

Just like any other quality team, the Bermuda squad has a core group of players who the coaches will look to build and develop their team around.

In my opinion, the core group will consist of Malachi Jones, Rodney Trott, Tamauri Tucker, Jordan DeSilva and Chris Douglas. These guys all have the potential to play at the higher level and this is their opportunity to make a name for themselves. Already we have heard of some great performances from Malachi and Jordan in the warm-up matches and I am certain there are even greater performances to come.

As for the rest of the team, they have all improved as players and it will be important that they all understand their role in the team.

They cannot forget what got them this far and that is teamwork. In addition, the team have an experienced and knowledgeable coaching staff in Arnold Manders, Andre Manders, Gus Logie and Clevie Wade. I can assure you that with this coaching staff no stone will go unturned as far as team preparations, tactics and strategies are concerned.

Personally, I am glad to see Gus Logie assisting these guys as his knowledge and experience will play a major part in preparing them for pressure situations that they will encounter during the tournament.

Just last week Dean Minors and I shared a conversation about how unfortunate it was for us as young players not to have had international coach training us until late in our career. There were certain weaknesses in my game that were exposed when Darrell Cullinan (South African coach) came here, when I was 27 or 28 years old.

He helped improve my game tremendously, but I always wonder just how good I could have been had he worked with me when I was 16 or 17 years old.

I would like to see Gus Logie stay with the Under-19s and continue to share all of his knowledge with them as they are the future of Bermuda cricket.

Marketing of our athletes is definitely an area that we have to look to improve on in the future.

I do not think we place much emphasis on it when in actual fact we should. Let us face the facts, when these kids return they will be role models for others in their community. They will be looked upon as celebrities, so how come we do not treat them that way.

Right now each player's picture should be on little sports cards in the schools or better still, Ras Mykel should be mass producing an action calendar of our players for the public to purchase. Just food for thought!

As these guys move onto the senior squad soon it is important that we have a sound, proficient programme in place because if not we will risk losing them too.

Best of luck to the Bermuda Under-19s - just know that you are already winners and whatever you achieve while in Malaysia is a bonus.

My motto for the week is: Do or don't, there is no try!