St. Fleur of Bahamas thriving on sand and grass

ALAJUELA, Costa Rica – For Lesly St. Fleur, 2021 has already been a busy year of competition and there is plenty more to come.

The Bahamas man is one of the rare players in the Concacaf region that takes part in different competitions. In the case of the 32-year-old, not only is he a member of the Bahamas National Team that took first place in its group in the 2019-20 Concacaf Nations League, but he is also the captain of the Bahamas Beach Soccer team that is currently participating in the 2021 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship.

St. Fleur has led the Bahamas team into the knockout round after scoring seven goals in the group stage and will face reigning CBSC champions Mexico in the quarterfinals.

“It’s been a good experience. I have been at this for a while now, and it really comes down to hard work and dedication, putting in the work every day and training. I am a leader for the team and the captain, so I have to lead my teammates,” said St. Fleur in an interview with Concacaf.com following Bahamas’ 7-2 group stage loss to El Salvador on Wednesday.

“If I don’t perform well, the team won’t perform well, so the responsibility is on me. I have to put the rating up high and compete. If I compete, my team will compete,” added St. Fleur.

Whether St. Fleur is representing his country on sand or on grass, the thing that does not change is his level of effort.

“For grass it’s different and for beach it’s different, but whatever it is, I have to go and put in the work and support the team. It is my job to do my best and once I do my best, my team will be supported and that’s how we get along with each other. We’re a family, we help each other out,” said St. Fleur.

The seven goals scored by St. Fleur in the 2021 CBSC give him a total of 41 career goals in the CBSC, good for third place on the all-time list.

St. Fleur is also the all-time leading scorer for the Bahamas National Team, with 10 goals following the three he scored in the 2019-20 CNL, with all three coming against British Virgin Islands.

“It makes me feel very good because of all the hard work I put in. To be honest, I never thought I would be up there, but I never gave up. I continued to work and do what I do best: score goals for my country, put my country on the map and it’s my job to get the country noticed,” said St. Fleur.

For the Bahamas Beach Soccer Team, it has also made the job of Head Coach Luis Escobar easier knowing that he has a veteran leader like St. Fleur on the squad.

“Lesly has such great experience playing beach soccer and grass as well, and the experience and confidence he gives the guys is so good. He is the captain and he shows that with his performance and makes sure the team plays well together,” said Escobar to Concacaf.com.

There is still plenty ahead for St. Fleur in 2021, including a potential trip to the 2021 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Russia should Bahamas reach the Final of the 2021 CBSC, and the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup Prelims in July.

St. Fleur is keenly aware of the significance should Bahamas reach the Gold Cup group stage for the first time in their history and the Beach Soccer World Cup in Russia.

“It would mean a lot to me because we have never been so far on grass, so for grass it would be awesome. It would be good for the country to go somewhere and qualify. We have never played so many games in our life and we feel happy that everything came around.

“For beach, our goal is to qualify and make it to the World Cup. Right now, we are on a mission and even with the loss today, it is a lesson, so we continue with our part and just move along from there,” concluded St. Fleur.