The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas men’s national team is set to take their training regimen to the next level as they continue preparation for the 2017 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.

The side will leave for Switzerland on July 11 and will travel throughout Europe for a six-week training camp.

Team captain Gavin Christie said the team intends to take full advantage of the opportunity to improve their skills across the board as they prepare for the biggest tournament in the country’s history.

“It’s a huge opportunity. We will be playing at the highest level for six weeks -  playing on the professional beach soccer circuit, playing against top teams with top coaches. It will be the life of a professional. We expect to eat, sleep, drink and eat beach soccer and it t will help us get to the next level with more games and more training at a very high level,” he said.

Heimanu “Manu” Taiarui, the No. 1 beach soccer player in the world, now serves as a coach for the Bahamas men’s national beach soccer team in their World Cup Preparation.

Christie, who has served as team captain for the past five years, said he has seen the level of the team grow recently with the infusion of a new coaching regime and he expects that trend to continue in Europe.

“In order for us to get to that next level we have to train and compete at the next level. In the little but of time we have had top coaches here we have seen the level of play raise a bit, so we imagine that when we go to training camp it will improve even two fold and three fold,” he said. “One of the challenges we will have to look at is what will we do when we come back, but the federation has been  working on a very vigorous programme for that return. There will be lots of games, possibly some more travelling, some more teams coming in, but once we raise the level, we have to keep that high level.

National team veteran Lesley St Fleur said the trip is paramount for the team to adjust to playing together and adequately preparing for the level of play at the World Cup.

“Well with training camp I expect a high quality of training, high quality of games. This trip is very important and we need it as much as anybody. We recognise that we are playing at a higher level,” he said. “We have to be well prepared because this is a totally different from what we may have been accustomed to. For those six weeks we have to be mentally prepared to work and soak up everything we can.”

After the success he experienced last year, St Fleur looks to continue that trend with the national team programme.

On grass, he led Montego Bay United FC to the championship in Jamaica’s Red Stripe Premier League and on sand played with Italian club Lazio in a series of friendlies leading up to the 10th edition Beach Soccer USA Cup.

“For me personally, [training camp] is going to help a lot because we are in preseason now, so this is basically my preseason training for when I go back and play at the higher level. This camp will definitely be a benefit,” he said. “As a team we have been training together, the core of the team has been bonding for years.”

The youngest member of team Bahamas, Dwight Darling said the Euro camp will be another step toward some lofty personal goals.

“This is an amazing experience for me. I’m the youngest on the team so there’s a lot I have to catch up with and there’s a lot I have to do. The guys have been supportive, they have been pushing me to reach my goal, and my goal is to be in the starting five of the World Cup team. I know I have a lot of work to do and stay motivated,” he said, “With this camp we get to bond more as a team, we will know what it’s like to act as a professional team. We are like a family, we will get to know each other more get to know each other personally so we can become United. There’s power in unity and once we get united, that’s it.”

Darling, a student at Florida Atlantic University, said the team is intent on performing at an elite level before the home crowd.

“We are going to be the host country so I think we have to put on a good show, but I want to represent for my country as well, I want to win,” he said,  “This is home soil, the only goal is to win.”

The FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup will be held in Nassau April 27 - May 7, 2017.

The Bahamas got it first taste of what’s in store for them in 2017 in April when they played a friendly match against No. 6-ranked Switzerland in Nassau as part of the Kalik Light Cup. The team finished 13-3 on day one and stepped it up to finish 9-6 on day two.

“This camp is obviously very significant in our preparation. In order for the team to compete at the World Cup in the top level of beach soccer, the camp will expose them to several of the top teams in Europe and that will give the guys an idea of what they have to measure themselves against as the rest of the world arrives to the Bahamas. Four of those teams out of Europe will likely be here so it will be an early test,” Bahamas Football Association Secretary General Fred Lunn said.

“We’re 6-7 months away from the draw, which is going to be significant for us when they name the countries that are coming. We will have a few other events prior to that that will be hosted at a world class level so I think the team is starting to become aware of the magnitude of this event. The trip to Europe is a realization for all of them and for us.

Lunn said the current roster of team Bahamas features a cross-section of veteran and youthful players.

“When you look at the veterans that have been around a lot of those guys started playing when they were 7-8 years old back in the early 90s and now we have some of the younger  guys we see now coming up the ranks. It’s been a long road in the development of the sport,” Lunn said, “We don’t have all of the facilities, obviously we have beaches in the Bahamas but the correct width and depth is a challenge. We are getting more of our clubs involved. This team has a great cross section of clubs in the league so their support is there. I think when this World Cup arrives and the younger kids see the game played at this high level there will be a boom in the sport, similar to what is happening in Tahiti after they hosted the World Cup.”

According to officials, the 2017 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup will feature 16 countries that will qualify to field full teams for matches that take place over an extended 10-day period. Each team will bring a complement of 25 persons or more. Because of the length of the competition, economic benefits are being touted as in the multi-millions of dollars.

FIFA is known for the positive imprint it leaves on communities and its top officials hinted The Bahamas would continue to benefit as it has with contributions that include the beach soccer field on the harbourfront near the Paradise Island Bridge, the only one of its kind worldwide.