Devonshire Cougars midfield maestro Domico Coddington appears to be reaping the benefits of playing in the Canadian Professional Soccer League over the summer months.

After having a say in all three of Cougars? goals during the big cats? 3-0 win over North Village last Sunday, the 20-year-old Bermuda national team member was yesterday chosen as the season?s first recipient of the AT&T Wireless Premier Division Player of the Week award and presented with a new cellular phone and a month of free local service by the new sponsors of Bermuda Football Association?s Premier Division.

Over the past summer Coddington made the difficult decision of aborting national team duty at the height of the World Cup qualifying campaign in pursuit of a personal goal to aspire to the pro ranks along with Village ?keeper Zane Hendrickson at Durham Storm, located on the outskirts of Toronto.

And Coddington, widely considered as one of the Island?s brightest midfield prospects, has no regrets.

?It feels great to be named player of the week!? the youngster exclaimed. ?I think playing out in Canada for the entire summer has been very helpful because I have been able to maintain a high fitness level over the summer months.?

Though pleased to have been singled out for the award, Coddington attributed his team?s 3-0 win over Village on Sunday to a ?team effort?.

?The entire team stepped up,? said the right-footed player. ?As soon as we lost those two players (Kori Goddard and Ricardo Brangman, both sent off) we all stepped up and played as a team.?

After making several appearances for Bermuda during this year?s World Cup qualifying campaign, Coddington raised more than a few eyebrows when he opted to depart for Canada to play professional football.

?I really wanted to play against El Salvador,? he admitted. ?But I had to make a decision and paid the price.?

The youngster had proved a valuable cog in former national coach Kenny Thompson?s World Cup squad, suiting up against Panama, Montserrat and Nicaragua.

Coddington now hopes to lead Cougars to a major cup title this season.

?The vibe at the Den right now is really high,? he said. ?We have so many players and a lot of new young talent coming up.

?Everything is clicking because we have so much depth this season and so we should do okay.?