Port Authority president Ian Rolle had a fun start to his work week this week.

Instead of checking into his office in downtown Freeport he first went to the rugby club in Settlers Way and literally kicked off the island?s sixth Premier League soccer camp ? watched by 150 cheering kids dressed in this year?s camp colours of sky blue and gold.

After showing great style and not a little skill with his right foot, and then posing with all the campers, he talked to organisers about how impressed he had been by what he had seen of the event.

Three leading professional coaches from the UK are working with a rolling roster of around 30 local coaches to provide a world-class level of skills development for the enthusiastic kids, many of whom had been counting the days to this week ever since last year?s camp closed 12 months ago.

It was a measure of their enthusiasm that by last Friday almost three times as many youngsters had signed up as at the same point the year before. Organizers had warned that because of the arson at the club, which destroyed equipment and uniforms, numbers would be strictly limited. No one wanted to miss out.

Tom Hartley, who works as a coach for the UK?s Football Association on a special programme aimed at developing England international players of the future, is in his first year at the camp and has been very impressed by what he has seen.

?I had been told by the other guys to expect a good level of enthusiasm but I have actually been amazed by the attitude being displayed. That applies to the local coaches as much as to the kids. Everyone genuinely wants to improve their skills and their knowledge. They are positive about everything they are told and it is really refreshing for those of us whose job it is to train people week in, week out.

?I have also been taken aback by the hospitality shown us by local people. I had been told to expect a very warm welcome but it has been really great. We have had a fantastic time off the field.?

Tom joined camp GB coaching veteran Jamaican-born, former England international striker Luther Blissett and fellow FA coach Jamie Goldbold for the trip to the island this week. Jamie was a very popular camp leader last year and jumped at the chance to come to Grand Bahama again. He was the architect of the coaching manual which has been the basis of the children?s camp work during the week.

The camp has become an eagerly-awaited part of the island?s social and sporting calendar. The visiting coaches play a big part in this but so too do a range of big-hearted local businesses whose donations and sponsorship help in various ways.

Prior to this year their generosity had meant that around 150 needy or otherwise deserving children had been able to join the camp. This year that record has been kept up with almost 30 youngsters being given sponsored places.

The list of supporting businesses reads like a Who?s Who of local companies ? Star General Insurance, Pelican Bay Hotel, Polymer International, the Pub at Port Lucaya, Cafferata & Co, Coldwell Banker James Sarles Realty, Sunny Isles, GB Port Authority, Bahamas Hot Mix, Care Maintenance, The Uniform Place, Records and Archiving Management, Paint Fair, Newport Builders, GB Tank Cleaning, Island Java, Columbus Communications, Management Services, and Millies? Car Rental, and GB Power Co.

The camp ends at 3pm Friday June 26. The last event will be a prize giving with trophies handed out to the most deserving kids in each age group. The coaches will decide who will get a trophy based not just on skills but on commitment during the week, sportsmanship and team playing.

Every child will get a certificate personally signed by the visiting coaches and a camp T-shirt monogrammed in the colours of the Bahamas.