Bermuda100: Choosing one from 50 hopefuls

We just finish our tryouts and have now filled the final spot we have been searching for on the team.

The player is very talented and showed he has the tools that will help us be successful this season. 

Some players trying out may feel that the way professional teams conduct their tryouts is tough and I understand, especially when we have 50 players trying out for one spot. 

It is not easy but it is the only way to find what you are looking for, while it gives many of them a chance to show their talents. 

The guy we went for in the end was Levi Houapeu, a UMBC graduate who was nominated in his senior year for the 2010 Soccer News Net Men’s College Player of the Year. After college, Houapeu went to play one year for the Philadelphia Union.

Once we make a final decision on players or a player we will then help the others that did not make it find other teams to tryout for, especially if we feel they are good enough to play the game at a high level indoor or outdoor.

We make calls using the professional coaches network we have and give a good referral for those players we feel should be given another chance. 

Sometimes getting into the game is about who you know — and that saves players time in sending in videos or resumes. 

We are two weeks away from our first game and need to get the team ready for the battle ahead.

This weekend we are  heading to Syracuse for a pre-season game and then preparing for our first game away on November  16. 

Being the defending champions this season will call for a lot of focus from the players and coaching staff.

We need to make sure we come into the season protecting what we have and not getting complacent just because we have the title of champions.

This year we have a few new teams which include Pennsylvania and St. Louis — both of these have picked up some talented players and will be very competitive this upcoming season. 

For us, we only lost one player, which allows us to continue to build on last year’s team. 

We had signed two new players from Costa Rica’s national futsal team and a top offensive player whom played for the Wichita Wings last year. 

Now, with the new player  signed via our open tryouts, we are confident we would give a good showing this season and be in position for more success. 

As for me I will have a busy schedule bouncing back and forward with my charity, new business and my vice president position with the Center for College and Career Readiness. 

I will miss some training days through the week with the Blast due to my heavy schedule, which includes workshops with Baltimore Public city schools and time traveling to Bermuda to work with Bermuda100 hubs. 

It may seem like I have a lot going but I do enjoy each task I am confronted with. 

I get many questions on how I am able to do so much and whether when  I get tired I just want to walk away from it all and relax.

I respond only by explaining that it isn’t a job for me because trying to save lives has been a way of my life.

I love seeing others develop and have success through any support I am give them. 

Until next time! n

David Bascome is a coach at Baltimore Blast and founder of the Hope4Life Foundation and the Bermuda100 initiative, which aims to support schools, and recruit and train leaders in our community.