What a joy it is to be back home with St. George's!

After being away from my childhood club for some ten years, the long-awaited return has come. It is a pleasure to work with a pool of youngsters with so much raw talent and potential.

Looking at the abundance of quality youth at St. George's Cricket Club, it's just a matter of time before we produce a team of dominance like we had back in the early 90s.

St. George's have for many years been a dominating force in cricket in Bermuda. Many great players have played at this great club. What makes this club special are the fans and their expectations.

Many cricketers have tried to come and play in St. George's and many have failed, while others have come and succeeded and moved on to bigger and better things.

Playing in St.George's has helped me to have a strong mental approach to the game. Growing up around players like David Adams, Graham Fox, Ricky Hodsoll and Clevie Wade just to name a few, managed to instil in me and the players that surrounded them a strong belief system in having the confidence that we could beat any team that came our way.

An example of this that many cricket fans would remember was when Australia came here some 15 years' ago and St. George's gave them a run for their money, bowling them out for a mere 140 odd runs. Yes, you read it right, 140 odd, with Dean Jones, Allen Border, Steve Waugh etc., but unfortunately we ended up some 18 runs short of their total. Then a year or two later came Jamaica to Wellington Oval, scoring some 190 odd runs only to be destroyed by the St.George's team by seven wickets in a one-sided affair.

What was to follow was a success of winning numerous trophies in the Premier League, going undefeated through the whole season, winning the Camel Cup three consecutive years and a host of other trophies.

Now the club has this mindset that this is the standard that has been set at St. George's and if you are to play for St. George's these are the expectations. Plain and simple, St. George's expect to win trophies every year, whether they do or they don't. It is this mentality that for years has helped their players to be successful at the higher level. Just look for yourself at those that have come through the ranks of St. George's and played internationally for Bermuda.

What has helped St. George's for decades is that they have always had a very productive youth programme. Current and former players are always willing to put the time in with the youngsters, therefore the coaching staff for these age groups is of a high standard.

If you were to pass by and see St. George's training now, you may be shocked to see the host of young cricketers, ranging between the ages of 14 and 18. While there is an under-17 league for them, most if not all of them will get a taste of the First Division.

It is a pleasure to see so many young up and coming cricketers. MKai Hodsoll, Jeron Dickenson, Macai Simmons, Christian Burgess, Jonte' Smith are all good young prospects who we can expect great things from this season.

Then we have a few other young players who we are looking to introduce to the league for the first time like Zico Burgess, AJ Dill and CJ Marshall.

Too often teams focus solely on winning and often neglect the youth in their programme, hence the reason why so many young players lose interest in the game or move elsewhere to other clubs to play.

I urge clubs to believe in your young players and give them as much exposure as possible. The only way they can improve is by playing more.

The one thing I love about the game of cricket is that it touches on so many facets of life – patience, character building, discipline etc. It is our role as coaches in Bermuda to not only focus on cricket skills, but also everyday life as our country goes through these trying times.

PS – I would like to take this opportunity to thank Gus Logie for all the memories. He helped Bermuda achieve what most people thought was only a dream and for that you will always be remembered in Bermuda. Personally, and I know I can also speak for the players both current and former, we would like to wish you and your family the best in your future endeavours.