THE budding stars of the Bermuda Hockey Federation will be flying to Barbados today for a developmental tour intended to hone their skills in one of the island's fastest-growing sports.

Nineteen young players between the ages of nine and 19 will be making the trip and over their week-long stay they will play five games against selected Barbadian teams.

BHF vice-president Liz Osborne, who is primarily responsible for the league's youth development programme, helped to organise the trip.

She said the league approached both Trinidad and Barbados when seeking an overseas venue to help ramp up training of the youngsters.

"We contacted both the Trinidad and Barbados federations in April advising them that we waned to organise a tour to their country," Ms Osborne said. "Barbados were most responsive and we have worked with the Barbados Hockey Federation since May to come up with a suitable itinerary and programme for the trip. In addition to the (games) schedule we are hoping to have a combined training session with the Barbados Youth so that our coaches and players can learn from each other. The touring group will also watch some of the Barbados league matches while they are down there."

Ms Osborne said some 25 promising young players were approached about the tour in the hopes of identifying 20 to make the trip.

"As long as the boys showed commitment to training, were disciplined and showed dedication they were eligible for selection," she said. "We didn't actually have to cut anyone in the end as all the players and their parents have been very supportive of the tour."

As well as developing the skills of the young players, BHF hopes to strengthen bonds with hockey organisations in the Caribbean and establish alternating country tours between Bermuda youth teams and their Caribbean counterparts.

Ms Osborne said the squad is very excited about the trip, which will mark the first exposure to international competition for about half the players.

"The goal of the trip is to give the players exposure to competition and to learn and improve their game," she said. "Our primary goal is that all these players improve and, more importantly, really learn to love the sport and be motivated to continue with hockey into the future."

The squad will be facing off against Empire Youth tomorrow in their first match and will then play Combermere Old Scholars Youth Team on Sunday, Deacons Youth on Tuesday, All Stars Youth on Wednesday and Select XI on Friday.

"I would expect the competition to be fairly tough but they understand that this is a developmental tour and we have asked them to bear this in mind when organising competition for us," Ms Osborne said. "Barbados has strong senior sides in our region and have had a hockey facility for about 10 years now so they are ahead of us in terms of skill and youth development."

In preparation for the trip, the players ? whose average age is just shy of 14 ? have been training two to three times a week for the past eight weeks.

"About half the team have experience in playing in the men's league and have worked to share their knowledge and experience with the younger players," Ms Osborne said. "The younger players, for their part, are developing fast."

The team has been coached by Men's Federation Team coach Nigel Pichery as well as Simon Van De Weg and Andrew Travis. Only Travis and Pichery will be making the trip with the boys, however.

The ease with which this team was assembled is a reflection of the hard work that has recently been put into youth development by the BHF and the boost given to sport by the opening of the Astroturf pitch at National Stadium in November 2004.

"The appeal of hockey has definitely grown in the past year," Ms Osborne said. "Prior to November 2004 we were playing on substandard grass fields and inside gymnasiums. The lack of facility coupled with competition from other sports/activities did make it difficult to attract young players and provide a good 'product' to those wishing to get their kids involved in the game.

"During the 2004-05 season, we provided coaching sessions on Saturdays for kids from 7-14 for a nominal fee, made possible through our sponsor, the Bank of Bermuda Foundation, and numbers were definitely much higher than previous years.

"The pitch allows children the ability to practise basic skills that just wouldn't be possible on a bumpy grass pitch. BHF club members were also able to provide some after-school coaching for some of the schools in the area including Prospect Primary, Dellwood and Warwick Academy and hold the first ever primary interschool competition.

"The new pitch has definitely peaked interest and I would encourage the schools to make use of it whenever possible and for anyone to get their kids involved in this great game."

The boost of energy and funds into the sport ? Bank of Bermuda Foundation is also sponsoring this tour ? has allowed it to compete for players alongside the Island's two top sports of football and cricket.

"Field hockey is a great sport that is attractive to athletes because it blends teamwork and number of sports together into one," Ms Osborne said. "For example, cricketers and footballers always adapt to hockey well because it translates almost as a blend of the two (or maybe its the other way around). Hockey also adds a social dimension and a positive environment that other sports can't match.

"Add a top-class facility to the mix and the makings of a long and rewarding sporting career are made in field hockey."

Hockey's growing popularity with youngster is rubbing off on others. "We have also seen more men showing interest in the game and we have even had some parents of the kids we coach start playing," Ms Osborne noted.

The sport still faces its hurdles, however.

"We still have the challenge of getting the sport into the schools," Ms Osborne said. "We held a clinic for all the primary school PE (physical education) teachers and some middle/senior school teachers back in September and we gave our free equipment to every school which participated. I'm just not sure how much that translated to action ? this is something we need to assess."

From the boys participating in the Barbados tour, at least, the BHF is expecting great things ? they will continue to train as Bermuda prepares its national under-21 men's side.

"They have developed into a close-knit team over this training period and we hope the tour will serve to enhance the camaraderie even further and the players return hungry for new challenges," Ms Osborne said.

"The ultimate goal is that this squad will form the nucleus of the training squad for the 2008 Junior Pan American Games. It is the Federation's intention to enter an under-21 team in that tournament.

"There are some players who were unable to make the trip for various reasons and we expect these boys to be part of the future of the under-21 team as well. The team will continue to train when they return under the coaching of Simon Van de Weg and Andrew Travis. Barbados is the first of the overseas tours we expect the squad to go on in preparation for the Pan Am Games."

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Logan Alexander, Gregory Rose, Alexander Godet-Fisher, Joshua Iris, William White, Neil Wilson, Shannon Simons, Chris Chapman, Carlos Lima, Marcus Uddin, Brian Ventura, Andrew Smith, Tyler Smith, Lawrence Doughty, Benjamin Sheere, Trey Durham, Hubert Butterfield, John Lake and Diondae Symons.

They will be accompanied by team manager Catherine Godet, assistant manager Maria Pichery and coaches Andrew Travis and Nigel Pichery.