If by watching the incessant stream of overseas football which saturates local cable TV, members of Bermuda's Under-13 football squad still had little concept of what standards they would have to set for themselves in order to compete internationally, they certainly do now.

The squad of 20, managed by Bermuda Football Association's Technical Director Kenny Thompson, recently returned from an arduous two-week tour of Holland where they encountered an assortment of Dutch youth amateur teams as well as the junior professional outfits of Ajax and De Graafschap, winning three and losing five of eight matches played.

The margin of Bermuda's defeats against the two professional teams was a slim one, however, losing 3-2 to Ajax and 2-1 to De Graafschap having been a goal up at half-time in each game and acquitting themselves well against what Thompson considered to be "extremely talented" Dutch youngsters.

"These two matches were obviously very difficult but we held on and were ultimately disappointed to lose having been in the lead in both games," he said.

At this early stage in the development of what he believes to be a gifted group of Bermudian colts, however, Thompson was not so concerned with the results of the tour but rather with how well the boys responded to the challenge of playing at a level they had never previously encountered. In this respect, the BFA Technical Director had many positive remarks.

"Initially it was a shock to most of the squad in terms of the overall speed of the game and the heightened physicality of the players their age," he said.

"But we saw evidence, even within the first few days, that our young players had realised that the football they were experiencing was a different ball game and we saw improvements in terms of their focus, their decision making abilities, their technique and in the physical aspects."

Besides playing, the squad also had the opportunity to watch and learn by attending the training sessions of senior professional sides such as PSV Eindhoven and NEC Nijmegen as well as the Champions League qualifier between Ajax and Graz AZ.

However, the "turning point" on tour, said Thompson, was derived not so much from watching fully grown professionals at work but rather from observing players of the squad's own age, and often younger, playing and training.

"We had the opportunity to take the boys to see an under-13 tournament which involved youth teams from a number of top clubs such as Arsenal, Ajax and Nantes," Thompson revealed.

"From that moment on, once they saw their peers playing to such a high standard, their performances in the remaining matches and subsequent training sessions shot upwards and there was a marked change in terms of their approach."

Thompson went on to argue that the only way these boys would carry on improving would be if they were continually exposed in the future to higher quality opposition on trips such as this one.

It is his view that on an Island as small as Bermuda, success has come far too easily in the past to many talented youngsters who, starved of any international exposure, have allowed their approach to become lackadaisical as a result. He remains determined to ensure that the up and coming generation of footballers will not suffer the same fate.

"We are very sheltered here in Bermuda and many people believe that we can easily compete internationally, " he said.

"Well, they are wrong. I will continue to maintain that we have the potential to compete. But it begins with a clear understanding of the level that other players are at in other parts of the world. That is of course, what tours like this are all about."

Bermuda Under-13 squad: Ajani Abouy-Lovell, Tahj Bell, Giniko Butterfield, Aaron Calderon, Mark Crawford, Kilian Elkinson, Aaron Evans, Jahde Eve, Harold Houston, Justin Hutchings, Reggie Lambe, K'Wonde Lathan, Dante Leverock, Tyler Masters, Matthew Sinclair, Tumani Steede, Marcelos Thomas, Ryan Tyrell, Charles Watson, Nahki Wells.

Support staff: Kenny Thompson, Scott Morton, Shannon Morrissey, Joe Trott.