Southampton Rangers, last season’s most successful team, are putting a strong focus on youth development in the hope of sustaining the club’s rich tradition.

Rangers won the Premier Division and Belco Cup last season but the team is ageing, according to Ricky Brangman, the head coach, whose team return to action next month.

Other than Sheldon Caesar and Alex Dore, both studying overseas, there are very few youngsters coming through at the club.

Other clubs in the past 20 years have also declined because of a lack of a solid youth programme, namely Devonshire Recreation Club, Western Stars and St George’s who were the top teams in the 1980s and Nineties.

“The team is not really that old, Janeiro [Tucker] and Kwame [Tucker] have just gone 40 and everybody else is a little younger,” said Brangman.

“I’ve been here three years now and it’s very disappointing that I can’t go to a junior game.

“We have an under-11 team coached by Olin Jones and Ryan Belboda and I saw them playing on Wednesdays and they look pretty good. We want to see if we can start another junior programme at the club, so that we can have a good youth team.”

Brangman came through the South Rangers youth programme many years ago when Lee, Sheridan and Eldon Raynor, Quinton Sherlock, John Tucker and Colin Blades were all in their prime.

Now his son, Derrick, is one of the young players giving the club hope for the future.

“Sheldon and Alex are in their teens, Derrick and a couple of others are in their 20s and some others in their early 30s,” Brangman said.

“I’m asking the community to work with us and bring their youngsters to play some cricket. Let’s help them to play sports and encourage them.

“Janeiro and I will be the under-14 coaches, Ryan is the under-8 coach and Olin will do the under-11s. We’re looking for an under-14 team and I know some people are interested.

“We’re trying to put something back into the club because people say when sportsmen retire a lot of them don’t want to put anything back, so we’re putting back before we get out of the game.

“Sheldon, Lee and Eldon were all good role models, George ‘Friday’ Bremar was my junior coach and Shiraz Ali came and helped out so there was a lot of knowledge.

“I know some parents want their children to play for Rangers but they are concerned about them going around the bar area, but I can assure them that’s not going to happen.

“There’s no need for them to go around the bar, we have a snack bar for them downstairs selling things like chips and sodas.”

Rangers could be without one of their key players when the new season starts, with opening batsman Dion Stovell linked with a move to rivals Willow Cuts.

Rangers play their first match against Western Stars in the Twenty20 tournament, a trophy they won early last season [for the 2014 season] only to be dethroned by Bailey’s Bay a few weeks later in last year’s final.

“I don’t have a problem starting off the season with T20 to get the cricket going,” Brangman added.

“The only problem I have is the Bermuda Football Association season doesn’t allow time for the clubs to get their wickets done.

“Rangers’ [football team] last two games are home games and we could have been closing our ground now [to get ready for cricket].”