Sitting at Whitney this week reading the front page of the newspaper I was bewildered by the statistics presented about young black males.

When I read that 50 percent of young black males leave school without a diploma, my heart skipped a beat. Unless we as a country and a people do something drastic to rectify this problem we can expect the same social issues in our community for a long time coming.

In sports we can help too, so this is an appeal to all clubs to not only have a youth programme, but to incorporate education into their programme as well.

Far too many of our young black males are living in a dream world and we as adults, role models and leaders have to start being real with them and honestly informing them of the facts.

Many of them feel that education is not important because they will become professional footballers or professional cricketers. The reality is that it is OK to have goals and dreams, but we must also put things into perspective.

The chance of becoming a professional is a lot more difficult than they realize, and with athletes in the entire world striving towards the same dream the probability of it happening is very low, especially at the millions of dollar where they all want to be. That doesn't mean they can't have dreams, but they must learn to prioritize their goals and always have a contingency plan.

A few years ago, Whitney had a coach from Celtic Football Club to come here to talk with the students. He informed them of the hard cold facts. He stated, "If there are 100 youth players that come for trials only two of them may make the grade". Look around Bermuda and see how many of our players have gone over to England for trials, but have not made the grade. I am not saying do not try, because I believe everyone should work hard for their dream, but what I am saying is that it is important to have something to fall back on and that is an education.

Look at the NBA for an example. How many of the NBA players left college early but have now gone back to college to get their degree while they were in the middle of their career. Why is that? Because they realize that even basketball won't last forever and what happens if they get a career threatening injury and can no longer play. What do they have to fall back on?

It was some years ago when I saw the great Shaquille O'Neal receiving his college diploma. He is a role model for all and it just goes to show how important he thought education was as he went back to finish his degree in the middle of his professional basketball career. Shaq drew cheers from the crowd as he spoke these words, "I feel very secure, now I can get a real job".

With all this in mind, how can we instil education in everything that we do? We cannot rely solely on the schools. We all have to make a massive effort and sacrifice. I would encourage every football club to come up with an education committee. I know that some clubs already have an education programme in place like North Village and Social Club for example, but we need many more. If we have to use football as a means to reach our children through education then so be it.

With my son Jonte Smith being involved at North Village and having played there myself for a few years I was able to dig up some valuable information about their education program that other clubs may want to model. Mrs. Garita Coddington is currently the Education Chairperson and leads the NVCC education committee which comprises eight dedicated community advocates and NVCC fans who work collaboratively. The committee is looking to launch a revised education programme as of mid November.

Each youth football and netball team will have an EA (Education Assistant) who is a committee member and a PA (Parent Advocate) a parent whose child is in the respective age group. The overall goal of the programme is to create a value for education and utilize talent to help build sustainable careers.

Fortunately, North Village has secured partnerships with St.Monica's Mission Church, Victor Scott Primary School and iTeach [AT] Inspire Academy as additional facilities to further enhance opportunities for academic and social success. All teams will have use of the computer centre at St.Monica's Church; they will also have access to teachers from 4 p.m. - 8 p.m. to help them academically, Monday - Thursday.

The under-fives and eights will be involved in literacy adventures; under-10 and under-14 teams will learn about their own learning styles and have opportunities to be enriched with mathematical concepts. The under-16's will be involved in a mentorship programme, whereby each player will be paired up with a senior player for the year.

Lastly, the under-18's and under-23's education focus is to provide experiences for them for their tertiary education and to be productive in the workforce. Some initiatives that North Village are working on are Tie Competition, Homework Hot line, Math Attack, Workshops and Seminars, a Book Club, they will be looking to provide scholarships to those youth athletes who exhibit growth based on a 3P grading system adopted by the committee.

Remember this is just an example that other clubs can use as a guideline, but with the hard core facts that have been presented to us as a country more clubs need to get involved and soon.

Do not be misled by what I have written. It is not only the responsibility of the parents, schools, or the football clubs to nurture our children to be successful individuals.

It is the entire country's responsibility; each and every one of us has to play a part if we are to turn our country back into the "Island of Paradise" as it once was called.

In closing, to our children and parents remember this, if you do not remember anything else - an education is different from anything else in the world. You buy a car or a house, but it can be taken away from you.

You can win the lottery then spend all your money and end up poor. However, once you have an education no one can take that away from you, it is yours for life.