This weekend my team, the Baltimore Blast, travelled away from home to take on the Philadelphia Kixx and came away with a great 23-14 win. The scoreline does not really say how the game went or about Philadelphia's team.

Philadelphia have been playing at another sports arena due to their old arena the "Spectrum" being knocked down. Their new home arena has a much smaller field which took us time to get adjusted to. The size forced both teams to play without much possession and focus heavy on set plays – there was much more physical contact and counter attacks throughout the whole game.

We controlled the first half and took an early lead 15-2 going into the locker room but in the second half we allowed Philly to come back into the game and pull the score within seven points. But time was on our side as we held on to our third straight win.

The victory puts our record at 8-7 and sitting in third place, still one game out of first.

Our next game is against Philadelphia this Friday – and it is a game that is important for a couple of reasons. We need to win and keep moving forward if we want to make the play-offs and we will be using this game to promote the ISL/Hope4Life All-Star weekend in Bermuda from July 16-19.

As the ISL moves forward towards its fourth year, we are looking to introduce many great things that will highlight the players and country.

I feel there is no reason why we cannot make this event a tourist attraction and encourage visitors to come to Bermuda and see our soccer talent.

With Grotto Bay being the ISL official hotel, my affiliation with the Baltimore Blast and networks with legends of sports it makes it a lot easier to sell packages to fans.

The 2010 All-Star weekend will be a big event as we not only plan to have a game and gala but also put on a concert with local talent and some of the legends of hip hop coming in to perform.

With this promotion at the Baltimore Blast game on Friday we hope to encourage fans to not only take part of the ISL events but get a chance to experience Bermuda as a whole. We know there will be many challenges in making this a yearly event for tourists, but with last year's success it gives us great encouragement.

The ISL/Hope4Life 2010 All-Star weekend will see a Major Indoor Soccer League select team coming back to take on ISL All-Stars. There will be international and local entertainers performing at the Gala and All-Star game and a youth skills competition as well.

With having the weekend around Eastern Counties game it would give tourists a great experience of two of our greatest sports – soccer and cricket.

At the Blast game on Friday we are having some of the greatest sports legends flying in to help promote the ISL weekend in Bermuda. We also are giving away many prizes to the fans – with the big prize being plane tickets and accommodations for two for the All-Star game and Gala this summer.

As I finish this column I want to let all the players who may be looking to be a part of the ISL in 2010 to be prepared for many changes. We will be in the community each week making appearances and helping to bring back the respect, responsibility and unity which we had many years ago. You will have to think really hard before you sign new contracts because one of our main missions this season is to help give young people hope. And to do this you will have to take on the responsibilities of being a true role model and carry yourself each day as a professional.

There will be a low tolerance for lack of commitment and off-field disruptions – you will be judged heavy on your efforts on and off the field.

During the 2010 ISL season each player will have to sign contracts to get paid – the players will also see greater incentives to play but need to pull their weight.

The next few weeks the ISL will be announcing their schedule, official training grounds, title and league sponsors, draft schedule and the release of the new ISL/Hope4Life theme song.