AT the height of his career, Devonshire Colts speedy forward Quincy Aberdeen has added a new dimension to his game. The gifted player - absent for most of the season - has put his career on hold and found a new passion as a youth coach.

A Colts die-hard to the max, Aberdeen, 29, has been coaching at the grass-roots level at his beloved club. The former two time All-American and three time All-Conference University Of South Carolina graduate is currently coaching at both the Under-11 and Under-13 youth levels.

Aberdeen, a former national youth and senior player for Bermuda, recently made a cameo appearance for Colts during last Sunday's 1-0 loss to North Village coming on as a second-half substitute.

But the talented player admits that it's coaching these days that motivates him most.

"Last season I realised that I was becoming very interested in watching the youngsters develop and so I thought that I may be able to help out," he said.

"As you know the youth programmes in Bermuda aren't as strong as they used to be and sometimes you have to take the initiative to try to put some time in back into the youth."

Aberdeen also concedes that coaching at the youth level isn't all peaches and cream.

"At times it can become trying but basically I am attempting to make it as fun as it was when I was coming along. We've held a couple of sleep overs, parties. . . anything it takes to inspire the young players to stay in the game," he added.

The Northlands Physical Education teacher has also stressed the importance of academics to his young troops while adding how parents and the coaching staff at Colts play a crucial supporting role in the youngsters' development.

"At the beginning of the season we meet with the parents and ask them if there's anyway in which we can help them with their kids development," Aberdeen said. "Then midway through the season we ask to see their school reports.

"We've also had a couple of cruises were we are trying to get the youngsters involved in as many positive things as possible."

Having now returned to the Premier Division to aid Colts quest for a league championship, Aberdeen insists that playing won't interfere with his coaching.

"Coaching takes up a lot of your time along with trying to balance it with your family commitments and bills," he explained.

"I just had to make a choice and I thought that I would be of greater assistance helping our youth players."

He would also like to see a bit more consistency from his senior colleagues - who despite suffering their second defeat of the season last weekend to Village - still remain in the chase for league glory.

"They have been up and down and from what I can see there hasn't been any consistency. They have been doing pretty good in the league but they are out of every cup - although we did manage to get one (Martonmere).

"But they are in the hunt for the league."

The coach is also proud to see his own youngsters holding their own among their respective divisions and hasn't put off becoming a senior coach in the future.

"I successfully completed a BFA 'A' License course about two years ago but I wasn't involved in the most recent coaching course (UEFA 'B' License)," he added. "But for the moment I am more concerned with giving back to the youth at Devonshire Colts."

Aberdeen again stressed how he felt obligated to coach at the grass-roots level. "No one else really took the initiative to go down and coach a youth team. Before I graduated from college, Colts had no Under-11 team at all. So basically my assistant (Robert Williams) and myself went out and recruited all the players that we currently have in the Under-11 and Under-13's," he said.

He also has a burning desire - to see Colts thrive again at the youth level.

"Colts used to have one of the most prominent youth programmes from mini minors up. Now we are barely scrapping to field an Under-11 and Under-13 team," he said.

Aberdeen also noted how just the presence of leading senior role models can make a positive impact on the youth.

"When I was coming through it was a blessing to have Lorenzo Symonds (former Bermuda and Colts skipper) and a couple of those players just to show up either at a prize presentation or even training," he recalled.

"These were the type of players that I wanted to emulate later on in life. Today we don't really see too many of the senior players getting involved and basically that's where our future is at."