Bailey’s Bay head coach Gus Logie will have even more responsibilty at the club this season.

The former West Indies Test player now has overall control of the youth and women’s programmes, with director of cricket Irving Romaine delighted that Logie has agreed to increase his presence at the club.

“Gus Logie is available for another year, so he will be Bailey’s Bay’s head coach,” Romaine said.

“Gus will again be in charge of our senior cricket team and we are very fortunate to have someone of his stature at the club.

“This is very exciting, especially with the youngsters getting coaching from Gus Logie. These are exciting times at the club and we are just trying our best to improve cricket on the island.”

Logie, for his part, is thrilled to be back for another season at the Sea Breeze Oval club and is excited to build upon the foundations he laid last summer.

“I am looking forward to continuing the work that we did last season and to somehow continue to build some champions within the system, not just for Bailey’s Bay, but for Bermuda cricket,” he said.

“What we have seen in the last few months is interest at Bailey’s Bay, not only from senior players but some youngsters coming through, and we want to continue to build on that.”

Bailey’s Bay wrestled the Eastern Counties Cup from holders St David’s in August during Logie’s first season at the helm and he is keen to continue the pursuit of excellence.

“You set high standards and dream big, and that’s what we introduce to our young players as well, to dream big,” he said.

“One of the things we talked about is in order to fulfil those dreams you have to have teamwork, so one of the themes this year is teamwork makes the dream work.

“I think we have a good blend of players and that’s what’s it’s all about. We are confident and comfortable with some of the players we are going to have back in the system, and are expecting one or two new faces as well.

“I think it augurs well for us that we have individuals wanting to join and understand what we can produce. We also have young players in the set-up who did well last year and are looking forward to an extended run this season and we are looking forward to giving them that.

“The interest is there and we are hoping to continue to work hard with individuals to make sure they realise the expectations and their own dreams. The players talk about wanting to succeed, not only in retaining the Eastern Counties Cup but also about winning championships, and that’s what we are about at this point in time.”

With optimism around the club building, Logie has urged his players to embrace a professional mindset and winning mentality.

“There was once talk going around that we are not too interested in the 50 overs or the T20 and that all we want to do is win Eastern Counties,” he said.

“But as a coach I would like to win everything, so it’s a mindset that we want to develop this year and when you enter a competition you should be in it not only to compete, but also to win.

“It’s a professional mindset we want to develop and that entails preparation. That’s where the serious side of it begins; the quality of preparation and fitness levels which we want to improve. We certainly want to improve the skill level of the players and their technical and tactical ability.”

Logie is also keen to point out the sacrifices that must be made off the pitch to guarantee success on it.

“We want to talk about lifestyle choices and life skills, so generally we want well-rounded individuals playing for Bay and we are trying to have a holistic programme this season,” he said.

“We are trying to build a support system around the players so that they can benefit from it and we want to see not only good cricketers but good human beings. We want to see people who are leaders in their community because that’s what’s it all about and that’s what we want to produce at Bay.

“It’s a dream, but we have the team around us and if we can get the teamwork and the support from everybody, I think we can realise that dream.”

Logie, 62, led Bermuda to ICC World Cup qualification for the first time during his stint as national coach and was pleased with the team’s recent success at the ICC T20 World Cup Americas Sub-Regional Qualifier in Argentina.

“I just want to congratulate the national team on their success,” he said.

“I know it’s going to be a tough year for them, but a very interesting one, and I believe if they continue to put in the hard work they have been putting in they can certainly overcome it. It’s about all hands on deck and whatever we can do at Bay to support that effort, we are going to do.”