So successful have young Bermudian football players been at the South Kent prep school in Connecticut that head coach Owen Finberg plans to come down to Bermuda again early next year to recruit more players.

Five Bermudians were part of the team which recently won the New England Championship and now Finberg wants more.

Tre Ming, Shaquille Trott, Shakhai Trott, Tahj Bell and Anthony Hunter are all members of the squad which included five Brazilians, one South Korean and 14 Americans.

South Kent was also the school Reggie Lambe attended before signing a professional contract with English Championship outfit Ipswich.

While saying he is extremely pleased to see Lambe doing well as a professional, Finberg said: "The number one goal for us is move them on so they can earn their college degree.

"Every once in a while we will have a boy like Reggie who goes professional. We also had a Swedish boy who turned professional.

"But for the most part the guys are going to move on and play at the college level. We want them to earn their degree and set themselves up for life after football.

"Reggie played for me and is doing well at Ipswich. He has taken advantage of his opportunity and done well. Reggie gained a lot of experience here especially about the physical nature of play and he certainly played in some big and important matches for us. If he continues to grow as he has done he will have great success."

Finberg said he hoped to be in Bermuda during February to look at more young players. "I will come down to scout some players and look for the next group. I set things up with the BFA and perhaps will conduct a clinic and watch some local games. I also want to have a look at the BFA's national academy which has been set up there. Bermuda has some very good raw talent."

The coach has been especially pleased with the five Bermudians who played for him this year.

He said: "Tahj (Bell) is a returning senior and was also part of our championship team last year. He has been a huge part of our success. He is a naturally talented goalkeeper and has taken advantage of the coaching and training here – he gets better every day. He had a very strong season for us this year and continues to improve as a player.

"Anthony (Hunter) has also done a very good job for us as a creative wide midfielder. He has great speed and that comes from his mother I believe."

Hunter's mother is Debbie Hunter, formerly Jones, who ran the 100 metres for Bermuda in the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

Coach Finberg said: "He certainly has taken those genes and used them well. Anthony has done well in his first year for us and he is adapting to the physical nature of the play.

"He is starting to add that into his game along with his speed and skill – he started for us in many matches throughout the year."

Of Tre Ming, Finberg said: "He is a younger player but he has great vision on the ball and is very creative. He is one of our starting centre midfielders and he is adding bite to our attack."

Of the Trott brothers, who are the grandsons of former national footballer and cricketer Winston (Coe) Trott, Finberg said: "The Trott boys have done well. Shaquille is our back-up goalkeeper and did well in limited action and Shakhai is the baby out of the bunch.

"He is a freshman but he is a very talented young player and played some significant minutes for us at right back. He is going to be a good player for us in the future."

Finberg said he had been working with Bermuda athletes for about eight years now after being in contact with Richard and Robert Calderon. Richard Calderon is now the BFA president.

"Every year since 2002 we have had at least one player from Bermuda – this year we have five.

"I think we have helped the guys gain a lot of success not only on the field but most importantly in the classroom as well.

"When they come here they have to be mentally mature. The structure of the day is very important from assembly early in the morning, to classes all day and study hall at night.

"That structure of discipline lends itself to guys understanding how to prioritise their time, they learn what is important. The maturity rate is rapidly increased by being in this environment. A number of things are asked of them but they also live in an environment where the faculty genuinely care about them – on and off the field.

"Attitude and respect is important here. They know they are representing their school and family."

With the school season now finished because of the winter weather, Finberg said the players join local teams and also do a lot of work indoors.

"Our main season is in the fall. We started at the end of August and we just finished winning the championship. Now we work indoors focusing on technique, speed and strength as well as agility. We also get them hooked up with good local teams so they can develop."

South Kent compete in the New England Preparatory School Soccer Association (NEPSSA) and were ranked number one out of 50 schools.

Coach Finberg joined South Kent in 2004 after four highly successful years at West Nottingham Academy in Maryland.

In addition to coaching at South Kent, Finberg has also worked with the Olympic Development Program (ODP) of US Soccer. He has coached internationally at the Gothia Cup, Dana Cup, Lake Como Cup, Rangers Football Club Invitational, Watford and London International Festival of Football, and the Manchester Football Festival.

South Kent is located in Litchfield County, Connecticut and has been college preparatory school for boys in grades nine through 12 from 1923.