PERHAPS the most surprising aspect of North Village's league championship triumph last Sunday was the fact that it's taken the club so long to achieve that success.

It's 23 years since the Red Devils (that's how they were commonly referred to back in 1979) last lifted the title, and for a team who perennially challenge for honours and consistently play some of Bermuda's most attractive football, that represents an astonishing drought.

Why league trophies haven't come their way more regularly is something of a mystery, although it could be they've been victims of their own philosophy. Their insistence on playing attractive football hasn't always produced the right results.

Regardless, few neutral soccer observers on the Island would begrudge Village their latest moment of glory.

The current side doesn't quite match up in class to that of the triple-crown winning team of `77-78 or the side that won the league title again a year later. But then again what team of the last two decades has?

Ralph (Gumbo) Bean, Wendell (Woolly) Baxter, Wendell (Joe) Trott, the Dill brothers, the Calderon brothers . . . the list of enormously talented players of that era is endless. The `70s team was one of the best, if not the best club side Bermuda has ever produced _ although a few Somerset, PHC, Social Club and even Devonshire Colts stalwarts might beg to differ.

However, the current crop of players and coaching staff do have something in common with their predecessors. On and off the field, they work as a team. And it shows.

Without doubt, Village run one of the best junior and developmental programmes of any local club, and manage to do so on a limited budget without their own facilities.

They instil the values of discipline early in a player's career and refuse to tolerate those who think they might be better than others or bigger than the club itself.

The results are there for all to see as is the loyalty repaid by the players themselves.

Many of Bermuda's leading players began their careers at Village and remain forever grateful, Shaun Goater being the most glaring example.

If all of Bermuda's clubs could be run with the same degree of professionalism and with the same work ethic as witnessed at Village, Bermuda football generally might be at a much higher level than it is now.

That's not so say others aren't trying. But more than a few could learn an awful lot from the Village programme.

Their success last weekend was richly deserved.

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RUMOURS abound on a small island such as Bermuda, and one of the most disturbing brought to our attention this week regards this newspaper's coverage of junior golf.

According to our sources, and there have been more than one, a number of parents are apparently of the belief that the accomplishments of certain youngsters playing overseas are being ignored while those of others are being highlighted.

We have no idea where the rumours started or who is continuing to perpetuate them.

But let's set the record straight.

As with all sports stories, those relating to junior golf are judged on merit and nothing else. If we are fortunate enough to learn of a youngster's success overseas and it's deemed newsworthy, we'll do our best to inform our readers.

But with so many talented young athletes these days scattered at various colleges and universities across the US, Canada and the UK, it's not possible to keep track of all of their performances.

In that regard we need a helping hand from the sportsmen themselves or their parents. And providing the information they offer can be verified, we'll be more than happy to pass it on to our readers.

- ADRIAN ROBSON