Naquita Dill and Shequita Parson are literally in a class of their own.

As students growing up at Berkeley Institute, neither could have envisioned one day teaching at the same school and playing on the same women?s football team.

But that?s exactly what happened to the two Lady Cougars? stalwarts.

Dill, the daughter of former North Village midfielder Calvin Dill and sister of Bailey?s Bay cricketer and North Village Rams midfielder Cal (Patches) Dill, teaches Health and Physical Education at Spice Valley Middle School, while team-mate Parson teaches Social Studies.

?All the students know I play football and that I?m a big North Village supporter,? said Dill, 30. ?They know I?m a big Village fan and that Ms. Parson is a Devonshire Cougars fan. And whenever our teams lose you can rest assured they will point it out to you.

?Most of the kids around this area (Warwick, Paget and Southampton) support Southampton Rangers or PHC Zebras and even when their teams lose they will still find something positive to say about them. They certainly let you know which team is the best in Bermuda.?

Dill, who is also the medic for Village?s Premier Division team, has been teaching at Spice Valley for the past five years and is also captain of Lady Cougars, the sole remaining football team in Bermuda yet to be defeated this season.

Dill began playing football at age six with Village?s mini-minor team at the former Desert (located opposite Victor Scott School on Glebe Road, Pembroke) and joined Lady Cougars (formerly Rude Girls) at age 14.

She also enjoyed a brief playing stint at Wolves in1997.

?My true inspiration came from my father and brother playing football in the backyard. Then of course there?s my mother (Beverly) who has never missed one of my games to this present day,? said Dill, who attended Massiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania, and Kean University in Union, New Jersey.

?Without my family?s support I might not be where I am today. They have always been my backbone.?

Dill can also draw on the experiences of godfathers Ralph (Gumbo) Bean, Fred (Pinks) Lewis, Wendell Dill and former Bermuda Cricket Board executive Michael Glasford.

The Lady Cougars skipper is the first ever local female to receive a scholarship in the US through football.

Cougars? team-mate Cheyra Bell and PHC?s Tschana Wade are the latest recipients of school scholarships, a trend Dill hopes to see continue.

?This has been a long time passion of mine and it?s good to see Cheyra and Tschana receive scholarships,? she added.

?This is good for women?s football in Bermuda where I don?t think we get enough exposure. A lot of people don?t really realise how much women have achieved in local football.?

Last summer saw Bermuda ? under coach Vance Brown ? win a bronze medal at the Small Island Games in Shetland.

Dill also represented Bermuda?s national women?s team in Haiti and the Bahamas in 2000.

?I think at the moment women?s football in Bermuda is in competition with so many other negative influences that it?s difficult to get women out to play,? said the former two-time All American footballer who has five goals to her credit so far this campaign.

?But I also think the future of women?s football in Bermuda looks promising and we have to continue finding ways to encourage more women to come out to play.?

Dill also coaches Spice Valley?s football and netball teams.

Parson, who is two days younger than Dill, is the daughter of former Devonshire Lions? striker Eugene (Sparks) Gilbert and niece of Ireland Rangers president Duane (Box) DeRosa and cousin of former Village forward Casey Simons and Boulevard?s Kevin (Snut) DeRosa.

Parson, now in her third year teaching at the Warwick school, is also a former 100m, 200m and long jump track and field junior athlete that has represented Bermuda at the junior Caribbean and Central American Games (CAC) and East Coast Invitational.

She is also a former Bermuda Pacers club member who began dabbling in football while attending West End Primary School and also at PHC at the minor level.

?I think the students find it quite surprising that I do play football and seem quite excited. What I try to do is give them my background as to how I got where I am today through sports and academics,? Parson told .

Parson?s story is a touching one as she had to overcome the death of her mother at a young age (19) while remaining focused on her goal to complete college.

?I always use that experience as an example for my students,? she added. ?My mom passed and it was a very difficult time for me. I actually sat out a year of college because I did not know what I was going to do or even how I was going to get back to school.

?But at the time Tafari Outerbridge (Village forward) mentioned my name to a coach at Bloomfield College and fortunately I received a full scholarship that I was able to use as as stepping stone to help me overcome a life crisis.?

In a twist of irony, PHC striker Wade lost her father (former PHC full-back Ossie (Chucky) Jones) at a young age. So Parson, who also attended Bennett College in North Carolina on a track and field scholarship, can empathise with her former track and field team-mate about some of the challenges that accompany growing up in Bermuda with a single parent.

?I would especially like to see Tschana succeed because I understand her situation (death of her father),? added the 30-year-old teacher, who is also a two-time Denton Hurdle Memorial Award recipient.

Parson also holds a master bachelors degree in business management.

So who and what influenced her decision to play football?

?Being with my uncles and cousins a lot,?she replied. ?I also grew up in a neighbourhood full of boys and at the time football was the only sport we played.?

Former PHC youth coach Cal Simons was also a big influence, persuading Parson to suit up for Zebras? minor team.

?That experience was a bit intimidating at first; for them to see a girl on the field or have to be substituted for a girl,? she recalled.

?But I did play just about every game and eventually earned the respect of the guys I played with. I actually formed relationships with them and so today I can say that I?ve played with someone like Aljame Zuill or Dyke Lawrence.

?I?ve accomplished all I can through soccer and now I think it?s time for the younger ones to experience this and for me to pass on any knowledge.

?And I love the game because it unites people and also helps to keep me sane.?