Overhyped expectations are causing mediocre Bermudian footballers to fall flat on the bigger stage, says sports educator Clinton Smith.

Smith, who is the Department of Education's PE head, said many hopefuls ended up sitting on the wall blaming the world when their dreams of stardom were shattered.

He said a more realistic approach was needed when soccer players went abroad for trials.

"My pet peeve is the national governing bodies who put youngsters on a pedestal and make them think they are much better than they are,'' said Smith.

"But they are just big fish in a small pond -- by 18 some of them are sitting on the wall, smoking weed, thinking about how they used to be a superstar.

It's a cop out, an excuse. Parents are living vicariously through their children. It's `my daughter this' and `my son that'.

"We need to put it into perspective.

"I get a lot of negative feedback from parents who say I am being pessimistic but I am saying football is not as glamorous as it's made out.

"So you are not doing anyone any favours by setting unrealistic goals a lot of times in Bermuda.

"You are setting these guys up with dreams and fantasies.

"There's one individual who takes great delight in elevating himself as the big agent for aspiring superstars without doing any kind of research. It's almost criminal to do what he does -- the Mr. Do-gooder.

"It's not a big thing to get a trial -- anybody who can kick a ball can get one. You don't have to be a superstar to get a trial.

"To a Bermudian travelling to London it's a big thing but it's really not.

It's taking advantage of people's ignorance. It is big when you do what Shaun Goater did. But it took more than a trial to get where Goater is.'' Goater had succeeded because he combined his raw talent with a good work ethic, said Mr. Smith.

"He played for Whitney Institute at BAA Field and I knew he had the pedigree.

I taught Kyle Lightbourne and he had the pedigree from day one.

"It's about talent and hard work and luck. There are players even better than Shaun Goater and Kyle Lightbourne who haven't made it.

"My problem comes when you have kids who are reasonably intelligent who sit around wasting time thinking about being superstar professionals but when they don't make it they sit on the wall and blame the world because it's passed them by.

"They will never make it if they don't have the skill, the fortitude, the work ethic. To be a professional you have to make great sacrifices.'' Smith said lack of fitness played a part in the downfall of some Bermudian hopefuls.

"A guy might be a good juggler of the ball or playing against players smaller than himself but there's no point in sending him to England and setting him up for a fall when he is totally unfit.

The recent performance of a much-hyped Dandy Town youngster had given him cause for concern.

"He was exhausted after 10 minutes and after 15 minutes they should have taken him off,'' said Smith. "These guys are supposed to be in shape -- and what does that say about the guys not playing football?'' And Smith said he was fed up of the blame being put on schools for the failures of the national cricket and football side. He said this often happened following the curriculum revamp which dropped the emphasis on the popular sports in favour of giving kids the widest variety of options.

"We are not an incubator for national programmes -- if you want highly skilled footballers or cricketers the onus is on the association to do their homework.

"I would say one of the biggest contributors to skill level is the availability of open spaces.

"Every afternoon not long ago kids would come home and have a pick-up game of football or cricket in the neighbourhood. But now either the spaces are no longer there or they have been infiltrated by negative elements such as drug dealers who then attract drug users.'' Smith said: "If sports organisations want to see their sport improve they will have to have people in place to see there is safe supervision of children. To see that it's a safe environment.''