I thought it was all over… well it is now!
So 13 straight years, assistant to Richard Padun at U6 in my 1st year, got the coaching badges and got the bug. From U7 to U18 took over and coached my boy Connor and the Foleys through to the bitter end!
It hasn’t been dull, there’s been a lot of painful hangovers and a lot of times when it’s ensured it has curtailed my weekend nights’ activities! The younger years when training was always on an early Saturday morning. Then matches on a Sunday morning to follow it could hurt. I recall turning up on the rec on many an occasion putting out poles in a straight line (or so I thought) only to look back to see the boys would be doing the better part of a ski slalom. Pitch lines always did help!
I was lucky, I kind of inherited the ‘early adopters’ and a strong team for the age group where there was no tricky team selections to be done. We won a few 5 and 6 a-side competitions along the way in the summer tournaments, I always felt it was worth entering a couple of those as I always remember as a kid how much I enjoyed them and the boys certainly did enjoy them. Always created a good family vibe with the parents getting to know each other and sharing a beer or two in their deckchairs!
Picture of the early years including Tony Shearman’s son Tom (with ball on head) and my boy 2nd from left on back row.
It was an interesting time because my boy’s year found themselves as the guinea pigs all the way up the year groups as the Surrey FA adopted the ‘non-competitive’ league structure and started managing team sizes at certain age categories and moving the rules up each year to my son’s frustration.
It didn’t mean the games were non-competitive it just meant they chose not to publish divisions until later years to ensure they could vet results and move teams around divisions to an equal playing standard. Yet the National Press picked this up and completely misconstrued what ‘non-competitive’ meant and I found myself on the Nicky Campbell 5-live show of a morning defending and explaining what the Surrey FA, quite rightly, were trying to do.
Then we start getting to the serious years, U11 and above, where leagues do get published and you have bigger goals, larger teams and the offside rule. Really made me laugh the year we had to start the offside rule. Looked at the parents who nervously looked away realising there was a job to be done on a Sunday, and not just drink coffee, turn up late and avoid putting up nets. Yes they had to understand the offside rule and run the line! The boys, of course, as soon as I started to explain the rules already knew it! Clearly Sky have done a good job over the years explaining that one.
Teams and Managers can take Sunday matches very seriously, I never got worked up on a Sunday, it’s Sunday league football after all. None of them were going to be pro and I just wanted all the boys to enjoy it, get good at it and importantly leave with a life skill which they could use in later life. If you just look at the number of Vets teams that Claygate has, it just shows what a great sport it is and a great social life it can also supply. That’s what I wanted for my boy and all the others who played for me.
So in all that time, we managed to stay in the Premier division, just one off the top flight, with just the one relegation in those years and I’m really proud that in EVERY match I coached every boy got on the field for a good portion of the game. I didn’t mind if results were slightly distorted by the boys’ ability on the pitch. The boys all knew where they stood in the team and inevitably over the seasons, I lost some of the better ones to stronger teams and the weaker ones opted to leave and play for a lower team. They made the natural selection, it always seemed to work for me, so there was a steady rotation but my boy Connor was always supportive of me doing the job so I stayed. He lasted the course!
When Connor was U16 I did seriously consider stopping but then Covid hit and I just felt sorry for the boys, I just wanted them to exercise and play football. It was so important at that time and so Covid made my mind up, to just finish the job to U18 and see it through.
During all these years, we’ve never had a decent cup run but in this final year, it looked like all that perseverance might pay off! The County cup started with a favourable draw and so it went on with good results and a penalty shootout win against our arch rivals Met Police in the quarter-finals. Though Connor didn’t thank me for making him the 4th penalty taker and I have to say I did breathe a huge sigh of relief when he slotted his penalty home.
But it wasn’t to be! I thought cup glory would beckon but Kew Park got the better of us in the semi-final and we lost 1-0. But that’s football.
So I’m done…a big thank you, to Tony Shearman and Mike Cross who have been along this journey most of my way within the club. Supporting me over pitch issues, club issues and ‘debates’ with the Surrey FA over various things.
But I couldn’t have done this alone and so I do have to thank my assistant coaches over these years. Martin Koetze (the most enthusiastic person without any football skills!), Gary Haughey (the most relaxed coach I ever met) and Kevin Madden (the most enthusiastic with football knowledge!).
And finally my boy Connor, never easy being the son of the coach. We both had our moments but we got through it and have a lot of good memories to share plus my long suffering wife Carla who shared many of those moments!
So what now? Sleeping in on a Sunday morning or a trip to the garden centre? I don’t think so, I will be back to referee for the club and shall be watching any game on the side lines, I can’t help it, it’s in my DNA.
Come on you Claygate Royals!
Mark Hays