Some of the Island’s best high school talent will put themselves in front of college and university coaches when the Bermuda School Sports Federation take a school select team to Florida tomorrow to compete in the IMG Invitational College Showcase at the IMG Academy in Bradenton.The Bermuda Select team, made up of boys from CedarBridge, Berkeley, Warwick Academy and Mount St. Agnes and joined by William White of St. Andrews College, will compete in the Under-17 division against some of Florida’s elite youth teams.The Bermuda team will play five matches in six days, including a game on Friday against FC Florida and two more on Saturday against Plantation at 8am and Davie United at 2pm. Upwards of 50 coaches are expected to attend the tournament.The BSSF are partnering Bermuda Football Association to make the trip possible and the team will be accompanied by BFA National Academy Director, Richard Todd and national coach Andrew Bascome who have been helping to prepare the squad.Also leaving with team are assistant coach Dean Minors, tour manager Richard Norris and Darrin Lewis, head of the delegation.Capital G, who have supported the BFA’s prep school tours over the last few years, have endorsed this venture as the lead sponsors. Additional donations have been received from the Bermuda Union of Teachers as well as small private contributions.“In the past the BSSF have invited coaches to Bermuda for the annual All-Star football match,” said Lewis, the BSSF chairman. “However, the BSSF believes that taking student-athletes to a tournament of this magnitude is the best way to showcase Bermudian student-athletes.“The BSSF selection process involves a demanding set of criteria which every player must meet in order to travel with the team. The goal of the tour is to highlight college prospects and not just footballers. It is hoped that this will provide opportunities for our students to obtain athletic scholarships to further their academics through their athletic talents.”The criteria calls for the students to:Have a 2.0 GPA minimum;Have SAT, ACT or PSAT score;Represent their school football team;Attend training sessions/meetings;Have overall satisfactory deportment;Pass the mandatory drug test.In a similar showcase in Raleigh, North Carolina in 2009, the BSSF high school select team went undefeated in their matches and attracted a great deal of interest from coaches which resulted in 75 percent of the players having scholarship offers. Some 50 percent of those athletes are now playing at the college level.During the upcoming tour the students will also have the opportunity to visit nearby university campuses, and following the IMG tournament the Bermuda team will travel north to face Montverde Academy.“Bermuda has an existing relationship with Montverde Academy,” said Lewis. “Maintaining the partnership with Montverde was an integral part of our planning. Successful BFA Academy players Donte Brangman, Jair Minors, Marco Warren, Akilah Furbert and Tristan Hall all previously attended Montverde Academy. Currently attending are Quintonio Lema, Dakai Grant, Jahquan Smith DeShields and Mariq Hill. Players have gone on from Montverde to be recruited and play at NCAA division I and II schools.”Added Todd: “I do want to emphasis the difference between a tournament and a college showcase, a tournament we enter to win and be competitive and in a showcase event it is about giving opportunities for all players to be seen and recruited. It is the main emphasis of this tour and to give the National Academy staff the opportunity to look at comparable levels of competition within the United States.“It will be a good test and measure for us with the National Academy, to get a gauge of where the level of our players are and what are suitable competition levels moving forward.”BSSF squad: Jordan Casarano (CBA, gk), Rory Dublin (CBA, gk), Jah-kaya Stewart (Berkeley, defender), Ramsay Saggar (Berkeley, defender); Terrance Webb (CBA, defender), Nico Gibbons-Douglas (CBA, defender), Mikal Simmons (CBA, defender), Deondre Trott (WA, defender), Calon Maybury (Berkeley, midfielder), Calon Minors (Berkeley, midfielder), Demetre Daniels (CBA, midfielder), Machi Battersbee (CBA, midfielder), Raequon Rochester (CBA, midfielder), Kiunno Cann (WA, midfielder), William White (St. Andrew’s College, midfielder), Solomon Ming (MSA, midfielder), Caldre Burgess (CBA, attacker), Chae Brangman (CBA, midfielder), Uzziah Bell (Berkeley, attacker).