Antonio Pierce was never a brilliant soccer player, but he certainly wasn?t awful.

A Californian birth didn?t give him a great start in the sport although after a few summers in camps in Warwick, his skills got markedly better.

Over on the Island visiting his father Cleo Burrows, young Pierce spent two or three months each year between the ages of eight and 17 swimming, playing soccer, snorkelling and enjoying life in paradise.

One year his team won the inter-camp soccer tournament, but once his mum started letting him play football aged ten, there was only ever going to be one sport for him ? and one dream.

And now the 25-year-old is more than living that dream, his life is the one of an NFL player who gets stopped regularly on the streets of Washington where fans worship the Redskins with an unsurpassed passion.

Now in his fourth season with the NFC East team, the 6ft 1in linebacker is in the last year of his contract but is excelling under new coach Joe Gibbs and a revitalised Washington outfit looking to recapture past glories.

His performance in the season-opening win against Tampa, including a vital fourth quarter interception, earned him adulation from his team-mates on defence and the nickname ?Mr. Money Run? ? an indication that his colleagues believe he is worth more than his relatively unremarkable contract as an undrafted free agent.

?So far this is looking like a great year for me,? said Pierce, whose footballing ambitions have meant no trips to see the family here for the past three years.

?The attitude of the new coach is that whoever you are, whatever you earn, whether you are a big name or not, if you are training well and playing well, then you are going to get a chance.

?All I can do is try my hardest and see what happens but I am really enjoying football at the moment.?

Despite the size of the hits that he delivers, Pierce is no meathead and is widely regarded by the coaches as one of the smarter players on the team.

He has learnt to play all three linebacker positions and earned him the accolades of the coaching staff with Gibbs only to happy to crow of his rising star: ?He is super smart. Our defence thinks he can play linebacker at any position. He got lined up during the game several times in those critical situations when it gets real confusing, he got us lined up in the right places.?

It is these skills and knowledge of the game that are making Pierce an increasingly vital cog in the Redskins machine, an unheralded player making the difference for a team that have too longed relied on big names and big salaries to paper over the cracks.

After an apprenticeship that has seen him periodically drift around the fringes of the team, with only the occasional start and a prolonged spell on the special team unit in the past couple of years, Pierce looks to be coming good as he did in his rookie year ? a perfect example of hard work and making the most of relatively humble NFL beginnings.

Despite an impressive stint at Arizona ? where he notched 77 tackles, three sacks, one interception, two forced fumbles and one blocked kick in the 11 games of his senior career ? he remained undrafted.

But he was then offered deals by four teams, the Giants, the Eagles, the Bengals and the Redskins, his eventual choice ? and he has never looked back.

?This is all I ever wanted to do,? gushed Pierce, whose father is a regular visitor to the FedEx Field to see his son perform.

?Being an NFL player is a dream come true, there is nothing else I would rather have done. It?s an exciting life doing this and I really enjoy it.?

Individually, this could be Pierce?s year, but what are the team?s prospects?

?I think we can do something special,? continued Pierce, who has recorded 11 solo tackles in his two games this season, narrowly behind last season?s mark of 14 over the entire year.

?There are still a lot of things we can improve on but if we keep concentrating and keep doing what the coaches tell us then we can get somewhere.?

It has been three years since Pierce made it back to Bermuda because of all his footballing commitments although he has pencilled a return visit in for January ? although one thing could stop him.

?I want to come back then but if I have to reschedule for the play-offs, I won?t be complaining,? he added. ?I?m sure my family will understand.?