The eleventh annual Shawn Goater/David Bascome Pro Soccer Clinic got off to an encouraging start at the National Sports Centre yesterday as more than 80 schoolkids suited up for the first morning session.

The week-long camp, sponsored by the Bank of Bermuda, is comprised of two daily sessions that offers youngsters a chance to learn first hand some of the fundamentals of the game from two of the Island's most celebrated professional players.

While the advanced group (ages 10-18) are put through their paces from 9 to 11 a.m., the beginners (ages 6-10) are given their chance to show off their skills from 6 to 8 p.m.

And there is also a parental interactive training session for children between the ages of four and five. Overall the camp this year boasts in excess of 220 players.

Lending Goater and Bascome a hand are top local striker Kenny Mills, Augusta State University coach Mark Jennings and Balir Shakir and Jahnai Raynor, the latter himself a product of the decade old camp.

"The Bank of Bermuda is a proud sponsor of the Shawn Goater/David Bascome Pro Soccer Clinic and we have actually been involved as the main sponsor since its inception," said Bank of Bermuda administrator Karen Madeiros, who was also present during yesterday's opening ceremony.

"It's just not the soccer skills or drills that the guys (Goater/Bascome) teach these kids. It's also the discipline factor.

"They are very organised and set high standards and the bank is very supportive of the principles that they try to instil in these kids. So we are extremely happy to be a part of that."

"Basically what we are doing in this camp is breaking down every element of the game," said Goater.

"Obviously they come here and expect to run up and down and play a game but we want to pass on the football knowledge that we have.

"We want them to be professional because that's the environment we are in and around and see every day. We breathe and live it, so that's what we want to bring back here.

"We want to pass on quality information so when they are with their clubs and schools they can keep those thoughts in their mind and improve faster as individuals."

Bascome added one more crucial ingredient for success - repetitiveness, which he feels is essential if players want to play cohesively as a unit.

"Every team have to stay together as a group even when they are going to the side to get a drink of water," said Bascome. "They all have to do it together to create that kind of a cohesive atmosphere.

". . . Everybody says let's try and develop some kind of cohesiveness with our teams, but you have to do things repetitiously and that's what helps to develop cohesiveness.

"We feel that you have to do things over and over for that to happen.

"A lot of these kids have been here before, especially the advanced group . . . so all of this is nothing new to them, they already know the procedure.

"They come on the field and our job is to provide them with a structured environment and basically then we can tell if these kids need more discipline."

Former Scottish professional striker Graham Connolly was on the Island last week conducting clinics for local youngsters.

Connolly, who once played for Scottish league teams Dundee United, Kilmarnock and Ayr United, was invited for the second annual Grass Roots Soccer Camp held at Berkeley School.

The week-long programme was attended by nearly 60 youngsters while local coaches Leroy Wilson (Wolves), Quincy Aberdeen (Devonshire Colts) and Stephen Coddington (Devonshire Cougars) also took part.

Mark Jennings organised the event along with his former pupil at Augusta State University, Kevin Kennedy, who is now soccer director at Augusta Arsenal Soccer Club.