The Bermuda Hogges right now are in the middle of a three-week break from competitive action, but that doesn’t mean we’ve been sitting idle.

After the home game against the Charlotte Eagles on Wednesday, June 6, the matches come thick and fast and we’ve got to be prepared both physically and mentally for what will be a demanding schedule.

We’re training most evenings up at Malabar in Dockyard which boasts two fields and is absolutely perfect for our needs. It’s quiet, spacious and the surface is pretty good so we can get on with what we have to do with no distractions and with pretty much nobody hanging around on the sidelines.

On a negative note, news that winger Domico Coddington is staring down the barrel of yet another lengthy lay-off from injury has not gone down well in our camp. Having just come back to fitness right at the beginning of the Hogges season following time on the sidelines during the domestic season, to re-injure his foot like he has is a blow both to him and us and we’re certainly hoping for a quick recovery.

He’s one of our more talented players and we’d love to have him available again within six weeks maximum. But with injuries like he has we’re certainly not going to rush things.

From a personal point of view, depending on how we do against Charlotte I am toying with the idea of getting myself fit enough to take a place in the starting eleven.

I don’t really want to do it because this team is about development more than anything. But if that’s what it takes to give the team more confidence then I’ll do it because it’s important we don’t go through our first season in the United Soccer League just drawing or losing games.

We’ve got Stevie Astwood and Lloyd Holder who have done well at times for us up front, but if it looks like we’re in need of just a little bit more cutting edge and leadership out there, then I won’t hesitate to take a play a more integral role.

I’ll probably need a couple of games to get up to proper match fitness, but I’m not a million miles away by any means.

And though I’ve been doing all the physical work shoulder to shoulder with the rest of the squad, I still won’t be one of the hundreds who will brave the heat and humidity tomorrow in the May 24 Half-Marathon Derby.

I’ll certainly be on the road outside my house though, cheering on the runners with my wife and family and trying not to eat too much — we members of the Hogges squad are on a pretty strict diet these days!

Suffice to say that I want to wish all the readers of this column a very happy holiday and I very much hope that all the runners enjoy themselves and manage to finish the race!