to Messiah College during a short but intense training trip to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

The 14-member squad spent five days training with Bermudian professional David Bascome of the Harrisburg Heat and played in two matches at the end of the tour which ended on the weekend.

The purpose of the trip, according to president Lou Matthews who accompanied the team, was to provide valuable overseas training and competition experience for the young players to prepare them to compete at a higher level this season. The squad were accompanied by coaches Clive and Patrick Taylor.

The team trained once or twice daily with Bascome, himself a former Boulevard player.

Matthews spoke highly of the Bermudian international who is well respected in Harrisburg.

"Our players got training they could never have received in Bermuda,'' said Matthews upon the team's return. "I don't think we know in Bermuda how valuable he is to the country.

"The whole city looks up to him and gives him respect. He's doing us proud.'' In the opening match against Lebannon Valley, Boulevard went ahead after only 11 minutes when a 25-yard chip from Desta Samuels on the left side caught the Lebannon goalkeeper advancing.

The teams traded dominance for the rest of the half and minutes before the break Lebannon equalised.

Boulevard were back in front in the 58th minute, this time Samuels scoring on a rebound after his penalty, won by Vernon Phillips, had been saved.

The young Blazers' hopes of victory were dashed in the last minute when Lebannon scored from a goalmouth scramble.

Boulevard were much improved in the second game but Messiah, considered one of the top college teams in Pennsylvania, ran out winners after leading by a solitary goal in the first half.

"From what we wanted to accomplish, working on our technical and tactical skills, we probably played better in the second game,'' said Matthews.

"Physically they were a lot bigger and they played very well, but we earned a lot of respect. They were impressed with our skill.'' Boys and girls from ages five to 12 are invited to sign up for the new season of the Bermuda Youth Sports Programme (BYSP) soccer programme.

Registration will be held the next two Saturdays (September 5 and 12) from 9 a.m. to noon at the Port Royal School field.

Games will be held on Saturday mornings from October through December at Southampton Glebe Primary School. Cost for registration for the season is $25 per child. A parent or legal guardian is required to complete the sign-up form and children seven and older must attend for team allocation.

BYSP is one of the largest not-for-profit, independent sports organisations in Bermuda. Its philosophy is for kids to have fun, to expose them to a variety of team sports and to teach them the importance of becoming a team player while developing individual skills.

Last season more than 200 children were involved in the soccer programme, with dozens of parents donating their time to coach, referee and organise the matches.