Hamilton Parish may be performing with credit in Bermuda’s Premier Division this year but two of their brightest talents have their sights set on the Premier League in England

Young professional footballers Deniche Hill and Sincere Hall came through the youth ranks at the Crawl Hill club before heading to England to play for Leicester City and and Hull City respectively.

While thrilled by the huge strides they have made, both players have not forgotten their roots at Parish,with whom they enjoyed considerable success in the Kappa Classic Youth Tournament.

“My greatest accomplishment as a Hamilton Parish player would have to be winning multiple Kappas,” said full-back Hill, who was signed by Leicester last December, in a Hamilton Parish newsletter.

Echoing his former team-mate’s sentiments, Hall, who signed with Hull City last May, said: “Winning the Kappa Tournament the number of times that I did was my greatest accomplishment.

That Hill and Hall have since progressed to the professional ranks owes much to their dedication and unwavering commitment to training.

“I trained about two times a week with my team and did extras whenever I could,” Hall said.

Hill added: “Most times I practised with the team twice a week but outside of Hamilton Parish I practised almost every day, whether it was with my father [Corey] or alone.”

As well as turning professional, the talented players have enjoyed the honour of representing Bermuda.

Hill made his debut with the senior national team during last June’s Concacaf Nations League matches after moving up from the island’s under-20 squad and it was during that tournament he was scouted by Leicester City under-23 coach Ben Petty, which ultimately led to him landing a professional contract.

“The advice I would give to young Bermudian children would be to shoot for your highest dream possible and if that fails you’ll at least still achieve greatness,” Hill said. “Also to always work hard and be committed to what you want.”

Hall made his Bermuda under-20 debut in November 2021, scoring in a 3-0 victory over St Vincent and the Grenadines in the Concacaf Under-20 Championship Qualifiers in the Dominican Republic, and he suggests taking pride in performances is crucial.

“Don’t give up and try to be the best every time you step out on the pitch,” he said.

Kyle Lightbourne, the senior national coach, believes both players have bright futures.

“I think both of them are up and coming and have a lot of potential, especially for Bermuda,” he told The Royal Gazette.

“They are at a level that’s way above our league today, that under-23 league. But they can’t settle for that, that is not the level they need to aspire to be at. They need to be at the top playing first-team football wherever that’s going to be.

“That’s where they need to push themselves to get to and that is only going to bode well for Bermuda. The more the merrier for Bermuda overseas playing at a higher level.”

Lightbourne, who had professional playing stints in the English game with a host of teams including Walsall, Coventry City, Stoke City, Fulham and Hull City in his heyday, would like to see more local clubs churning out players with the skills necessary to play among the paid ranks abroad.

”I hope in the future that every club is able to produce players that can go overseas and get that opportunity to play at higher levels,“ he added.

“That’s what football is all about, especially now with the entry into Great Britain. It’s never been an easier time for us.”