foreigner for the newly-created Director of Coaching position, one of at least two Bermudians who applied for the job yesterday spoke of the frustration at being rejected.

Current Howard University soccer coach Keith Tucker, along with former professional Clyde Best, failed to make the short list of candidates for the job.

Yesterday Tucker said that he was "disappointed in that the Island didn't see fit to give me the opportunity to show the experience received while overseas''.

Twice the BFA turned down Tucker's applications without ever granting him a formal interview or offering definitive reasons for the rejection.

"A lot of people think that it is only the coaches from the bigger countries who can come in and tell them how to play football,'' said Tucker, who has made a name for himself in Washington, having been responsible for numerous Bermudians receiving sports scholarships abroad at Howard and other institutions.

"While I can understand their way of thinking I feel that I have the required experience and ability from 12 years abroad, dealing with coaches, many of which are on the international level.

"I could pull the Bermuda system out of the dumps...I believe it was an English coach who put them there in the first place.'' As an example of the quality of those involved with the college game in the US, Tucker pointed to current United States coaching director Bob Gansler.

Gansler -- then as head coach -- guided an unheralded US bunch to the World Cup finals in Italy in 1990, this after being schooled primarily among the college ranks.

Meanwhile, Tucker plays a major role in the development of soccer in the Washington D.C. area, organising summer camps and creating clubs for youngsters in the often problematic 10-19-year-old age bracket. And this in an environment where he says most adults do not even want to know about soccer.

He is the chairman of the Washington Youth Soccer Association, that has brought all the city youth leagues together under a single "umbrella'' organization.

Voted coach of the year, after taking the Bisons to the NCAA finals a few years ago, Tucker also instructed the likes of Jamaican international Peter Isaacs, as well as other national team players Waidi Akamur and Ronald Simmons of Nigeria and Trinidad respectively.

Additionally he was once recruited by the US government to create various soccer clinics for the youth throughout the country.

"What the BFA are asking for I'm doing already,'' said Tucker, himself a former player for Bermuda. "I'm just curious to know what it is I'm missing...is it the big name or what?'' While the exact reasons for his rejection were not clear, one of the requirements asked for by the BFA was that the successful applicant have prior experience coaching on the national stage, something Tucker has not yet accomplished -- at least at senior level.

Another was the ability to implement a programme within the school system to aid in development from an early age, combining athletics with academics.

It is the latter area in which Tucker unequivocally excels, and one he said was of prime importance.

"You talk about soccer, but it's life we're really dealing with,'' he said.

"This director of coaching job is a positive step...but are you going to have soccer stars when he leaves or educated people.

"Not only does the BFA need to be involved, but the whole community. The whole Island needs to have the same build-up.

"My position is that nobody's going to put the love I would into the job. I just don't think they could be as dedicated as I would to my people.'' What continues to dismay Tucker is the small number of Bermudian student athletes who are being afforded the opportunity to gain entrance to overseas institutions.

Low SAT scores were noted as a major factor, but with an added emphasis on preparation for such examinations Tucker said that these could be improved.

"I have contacts here (US) and instead of the ones and twos getting scholarships, you could have 20.

"When I tell people about a player they normally take them.

"The BSSC exams are good enough to get children in any college in the US, but they need to approach their schoolwork just as they do soccer and do more training.'' Still the Bermudian is willing to bide his time, carrying out the programmes he has already implemented and instituting more to assure that soccer in the Washington area continues to flourish.

He is not deterred by the rejection from the BFA and says that if the director of coaching post came up again he would likely submit another application.

THE RIGHT STUFF -- "I could pull the Bermuda system out of the dumps,'' says Keith Tucker.