He transformed himself from a troubled young man to a professional footballer.

Now, after 17 years at the top of the game, David Bascome has a new mission — to save the Island's young men from drugs and gang violence.

Mr. Bascome, 38, plans to use his position as Commissioner of the Island Soccer League (ISL) to reach out to sports-mad youngsters and help them change their lives through an initiative called "Hope for Life".

His links with top clubs in the USA including his own team, the Baltimore Blast, means the eight- to 18-year-olds in the new programme will have increased opportunities to pursue professional careers overseas.

However, the less athletically-inclined will not be left out of the project, which is backed by $200,000 of Government funding.

They will also benefit from collaborations between Hope for Life and community groups across the Island. "I'm getting a chance to touch somebody, to reach out and help somebody.

"I'm getting a chance to be closer with the community and be closer with all these other programmes. It's a great feeling, words cannot describe it," said Mr. Bascome, who plays for the Baltimore Blast, runs a soccer school in Baltimore and delivers motivational speeches.

"There's too much talent out there, too much to offer, you would hate for it to be just a case if 'if this would've happened, this person would've been great'."

Hope for Life will provide information about the dangers of drugs and violence, teach young people better decision-making skills, and show them how to resist negative peer pressure.

Motivational speakers and ISL players will visit schools, prisons and hospitals to spread the message.

In addition, a brightly-coloured Hope for Life bus will take to the road from the end of this month to take the programme out into the parishes and provide a place for young people to hang out, chat with the ISL players, watch TV and do their homework.

According to Mr. Bascome, a father-of-three, the emphasis of Hope for Life will not be on preaching to young people.

Instead, it will be on listening to their stories and assessing their needs in order to help them make positive choices.

"We are so quick, so quick when a young man or young woman gets in trouble to label them, but we don't know their story," he said. "That's what I want. Stop me on the street and talk to me.

"The only fear I have is them being afraid to speak to me. I want to be there with them because they're living these lives and we need their voice.

"To help and support the cause of a young person to move forward, I've got to know how a young person lives. I've got to know what's on their mind, because that's the root of it."

Asked what he thinks has been sending some of Bermuda's young men off the rails, Mr. Bascome said he can't know for sure until he's had the feedback he's seeking.

However, he speculated: "We've got to highlight them more. We've got to recognise them and we've got to set these things up for them.

"My opinion on it is that it's idle time, idle mind and they're gone. There's plenty of programmes out there, but how do we capture them?

"They know what's wrong and what's right but how do we capture the mind of a young man or young woman who's going through some sort of destruction, who's rebelling against anything they may be going through?

"We have to ask these questions. I'm going and asking them."

He has personal experience that may help him understand the youngsters. His parents split up when he was young and his father, Herbie Bascome, went off to Europe to train to be a chef.

He grew up partly with his grandmother and partly in the Sunshine League Children's home as a result.

However, he is proud of his father for doing what he had to do — his training eventually led him to become one of the Island's top chefs.

"I want them to look at me as human first. I am human, you know, don't look at the completion of who I am without getting the substance of how I got here.

"It is a great feeling when you walk in and the kids ask for your autograph, but I want them to know there's substance to me. David Bascome has had substance in his life, he has been through some times, he's given something back to us," he explained.

"I've been through my trials and I've lived the life as far as being out on the streets.

"I've been through going to college and not taking advantage of my education and getting myself into trouble. I got locked up for two weeks. I've been through this, but you learn these lessons."

There are, he said, two ways of dealing with such problems — and he chose to turn a negative into a positive.

"Do I rebel or do I move forward? It has made me independent. It has made me take things on, it's given substance to me. It's more than kicking around a ball. It comes from my upbringing."

Since football was his saviour, he hopes the new programme will offer the same help to others.

"The game has been my safe place every time I was in trouble. When I was in trouble, when I stood on that field everything went away," he explained.

Players with the six-a-side Island Soccer League will be on hand as part of the Hope for Life programme to offer inspiration and advice to potential young professionals.

Mr. Bascome will also coach them on having the right attitude to the game before heading overseas to push for their big break.

"We can't send them if they're not prepared. We can't send them if they don't have the right professional etiquette and that's what we're trying to develop in the ISL," he explained.

And for those not into football, the Open Arms aspect of Hope for Life may appeal.

"This programme has been designed to help bridge a gap between youth development, business services, Government programmes and governing bodies of sports.

It will allow parents to explore other avenues for their children, if it has to do with getting their children evaluated for Math or English or just being a part of another sport," he explained.

Community programmes will be asked to donate ten hours of free services, which would be listed in a brochure sent out by Hope for Life.

"Just imagine getting a 40-page package in the mail that's got all of these programmes, and they're giving the first ten hours free.

"It's a programme that's going to catch everybody. We're starting off with the vehicle of the ISL but we have to broaden out," said Mr. Bascome.

• ISL players will visit the Youth Library in Church Street, Hamilton, tomorrow at 10 a.m. to participate in a Hope for Life reading programme.

They will also visit Victoria Park, Hamilton, on Saturday at 10 a.m. to sign autographs.