Seeker SPORT ISSUE
03 JANUARY 2013
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DAVID JAMES
Saving graces
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BOURNEMOUTH – SOUTHAMPTON – GILLINGHAM
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Our mighty minnows A ccording to FIFA there are 4,850,569 football players in the UK, over 4.1 million of those in England and the FA Cup is the competition that best embodies football’s claim to be the people’s sport. Every season 762 clubs enter the FA Cup with preliminary rounds for nonleague clubs starting in August. We all have our special FA Cup memorie – Giggs’ goal against Arsenal in ’99 is one of my favourites. The times when the minnows of non-league football humbled mightier opposition – Stevenage Borough, then in the Conference holding Alan Shearer’s Newcastle United to a draw at Broadhall Way after they moaned Seeker Sport is published by Seeker Editor: Steve Cook – steve@seeker.uk.com Deputy editor: Nick Churchill – nick@seeker.uk.com Associate editor: Dawn Cook – dawn@seeker.uk.com
Steve Cook Editor Seeker Sport
about the stadium in ’98, or Hereford United beating the Geordies 2-1 in 1972 despite Malcolm Macdonald putting Newcastle ahead in the 82nd minute. There’s always an excitement around the third round draw, when the Premier League teams enter the fray – who will the big boys get? Non-league football: Richard Button – richard@seeker.uk.com Golf: Kevin Nash – kevin@seeker.uk.com Photography: Steve Cook Siân Court – sian@seeker.uk.com Advertising: Tracey Parrack – tracey@seeker.uk.com
Will your team get a glamour tie against United, Chelsea or one of the other top sides? So when the Cherries were drawn against the Premier League’s Wigan Athletic to set up an interesting trip north to the DW Stadium thoughts turned to potential glory on the road to Wembley. The Cherries have done well against north-west opposition before, who could forget the 2-0 victory over Manchester United in 1984. The Latics may be two leagues above us but with the belief in the Bournemouth team at the moment and after a great run of results in the league I really fancy our chances – next stop Wembley?
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words: nick churchill pictures: steve cook
A
s a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, David James MBE has every right to invoke its motto, For God and the Empire, as he helps push Cherries towards their Championship dream. He was awarded the medal in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to football and charity – the David James Foundation helps communities in Malawi – capping a glittering 23-year career that is enjoying something of a rebirth at the Goldsands. Being David James though, he wants to place his trust and Cherries’ promotion credentials in something a lot more tangible than an order of chivalry that’s almost a century old. In other words, he’s working as hard as he’s ever done to perfect his game.8
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7“I’m here to do a job,” he states, emphatically. “There’s a mission – for me it’s to improve and to get back in the Championship and to get Bournemouth up there. I’m not here to graze on the grass, I had two not so glorious years at Bristol City and I want to get better.” A long time advocate of sports psychology, James readily admits football is an obsessive business, but where others surrender to hyper anxiety and self doubt, his own close attention to detail is channelled into minute analysis of each and every game. “Video analysis is pretty standard now, which is something that has come down from the Premier League. It’s instant – you come in at half time and there’s often things for you to look at on a laptop. After the game you get the DVD straight away so you can watch the match and start analysing it on the bus home. “I go through every match with Mossy [Cherries’ former keeper, now goalkeeping coach, Neil Moss] looking at every instance where I am actively involved – not just saves and kicks, but where I stand at other times where I can affect an outcome. I need to see where I can improve or if there’s something I could have done better or differently.”
‘I’m not here to graze on the grass’ But there have been times when this pursuit of excellence has lead the 42-year-old James down some dark paths. “There was a period of time, particularly when I was at Liverpool, where we could be winning 3-0 and there’d be a penalty and we’d come out 3-1 winners and I’d leave the pitch raging. I mean really raging, ruin a weekend raging. It didn’t even have to be my fault they’d scored. Sometimes it wasn’t enough if we’d won and I’d kept a clean sheet, the tiniest mistake could set me off. I was horrible to be with, I feel sorry for my family in retrospect.” But isn’t that a symptom of the elite athlete’s ultra-competitive mentality? “Yes, but it shouldn’t be like that. I need to know why things happen, I need to have explanations. As a fan you can be cheering a player one minute then shouting and moaning at him the next, it’s a mood thing, everyone understands that. Some
players play like that as well, but it wasn’t very good for me. You make one mistake and beat yourself up about it then you make another and it gets worse. It goes the other way as well though, you do something brilliantly then you think you’re unbeatable – you might be for a while but it comes as a shock when you find that you’re not. “I’m not at my best if my emotions are up and down, I need to be level when I play – once something has happened you let go of it immediately and move on. There’s a saying that’s very true, at least for me – ‘To lose emotional control is to lose objectivity.’” Can you take that away and apply it outside of football? “I wish! About 10 or 12 years ago I employed a sports psychologist to do some imagery work with me and that’s where the visualisation techniques come from. I use them to put myself in a place where I can be8 seekersport.co.uk seekersport.co.uk 5
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7 in total control and not get carried away emotionally.” Would you have talked as openly about this stuff 10 or 12 years ago when you first started working on it? “Absolutely not. I have broached the subject once or twice in public before and it’s still frowned upon to some extent. What’s changed now is that a lot of clubs outside the Premier League now have sports psychologists available to the players that want to work with them and that’s a good thing.” It seems nobody was more surprised than the 53-times capped England keeper to find himself between the sticks at AFC Bournemouth. After being released by Bristol City at the end of last season, he trained with Exeter City to stay “football fit” and he had offers, but nothing to tempt him away from his home in Devon, where he can be close to his family. “I called [Richard] Hughsie who I was with at Portsmouth when I heard he had signed here after being out
of the game for a year. It was just a catch up call, but he said good things about Bournemouth, about the set up here and the facilities. I didn’t think too much about it until my agent asked me about Bournemouth.” James was actually on pundit duty in Abu Dhabi commentating on Premier League games when his agent called to ask what he thought of Bournemouth. “I was thinking I had been retired from the game – I knew I was physically and mentally able, but you need somewhere to play and being number two or three at Premier League club is not something I thought I’d be very good at. I came up for a look around and so they could have a look at me and two days later I was playing my first game – not a great day, we lost 2-1 to a late goal.” But what impressed the keeper was the mood of the team – the performance merited a better result and the players knew it.
“Make no mistake, this is very much a team and they already had that before Eddie and Jason came back to be fair. Maybe they weren’t getting the results and the fans were getting edgy, but there was always a good team spirit. “I’ve been in dressing rooms where the players are all getting changed in little cliques and it can be tough to bring it together on the pitch, but here it doesn’t matter if you’re an old head or one of the younger lads, the conversation just flows between us, it’s very natural. “I came in and didn’t know anyone here, only Hughesy, but nobody treated me differently because of who I am and what I’ve done in the past, it was great like that.” You must have known a bit about Fletch... “Fletch has been great. He told me the story the other day of how he came up to my house when I was at Liverpool. He came up with Jamie [Redknapp]. Hilarious!”
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CherriesvsWigan fA CUP PREVIEW
Manager Eddie Howe has described the return of striker Brett Pitman as a ‘huge coup’ for the club. Pitman was a key part of the Cherries side who won promotion against all odds from League 2 under Howe in 2010, contributing 28 goals to the cause. However, having attracted a great deal of interest from other clubs, the 24-year-old left the Goldsands Stadium at the start of the following season for Championship side Bristol City.
But the striker made a sensational return to the Cherries in November in a loan move with the view to a permanent switch this month – a deal that Howe believes could prove key for the club. “I’m really pleased that Brett has decided to come back and we have been able to get him,” Eddie told Hot Radio. “We have tracked his career and it’s been one that we’ve always admired and liked, both on and off the pitch, so to bring him back here is a huge coup for the club.”
CHERRIES ANd tHE fA CUP
tEN tHINGS YOU dIdN’t kNOW ABOUt
WIGAN
z Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic first took part in the FA Cup in 19091910 z Their first tie was a preliminary qualifying clash with Bournemouth Gasworks, which ended 0-0, Boscombe winning the replay 2-1. before losing 3-2 to Poole in the next round.
z Wigan is believed to have started life as the Roman garrison town of Coccium and was granted a charter by Henry III in 1246.
z One of Cherries’ most famous games was the FA Cup third round 2-0 demolition of Manchester United in 1984.
z Well-known Wiganites include indie bands The Verve and The Railway Children, entertainers George Formby and Ted Ray and actors Roy Kinnear and Sir Ian McKellen.
z Five years later they met again in the fifth round, drawing 1-1 at Dean Court before narrowly losing out 1-0 at Old Trafford.
z Famous Wigan food products include Heinz baked beans, Pataks Indian foods, Potters herbal remedies, Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls, and De Roma ice cream.
z The furthest Cherries have ever got is the sixth round in 1957 when they beat Wolves at Molyneux and Spurs at Dean Court en route to, you guessed it, Old Trafford where Busby’s famous Babes won 2-1. z Cherries have quite a history with Manchester United, also having met them in 1949... and losing 6-0. z It’s 20 years since Cherries last reached the fourth round, losing 3-0 to Ipswich Town. z Cherries have travelled to Wigan before in the Cup – in 1986 when they lost 3-0. z Having first met in Division Four in 1979, Cherries’ record against WIgan is: P36 W13 D9 L14 z Just 11 years ago Cherries and Wigan were in the same league.
Last month’s Seeker Sport cover star Marc Pugh has committed his future to the club by signing a new three-and-a-half year contract. The deal means that the busy winger will remain at the Goldsands Stadium until the summer of 2016. Pugh has been a fans’ favourite since he joined the club from Hereford United in June 2010 when the Cherries fought off a host of competition for his signature. He made his debut on the opening day of the 2010-11 season and the following term the former Burnley man finished as top scorer, making a clean sweep at the end of season awards, including the prestigious Micky Cave supporters’ player of the season award.
z Wigan Pier, once a musical hall joke, has been restored as one of the UK’s top heritage attractions, winning 15 national tourism awards. It initially referred to a small jetty on the Leeds-Liverpool canal. z The Road to Wigan Pier, George Orwell’s unflattering portrait of the town at the height of the depression in the 1930s, upset many locals. z Thomas Beecham first manufactured his famous pills in Wigan. z Marks and Spencer was born in Wigan when Michael Marks joined forces with Thomas Spencer in 1894. z Wigan’s war memorial in the grounds of the Parish Church was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, who was also responsible for Liverpool Cathedral and the old-style red telephone boxes. seekersport.co.uk 9
SeekerCherries
Russell Jolley, owner of The Conditioning Centre, is a fully accredited S&C coach by the UK Strength & Conditioning Association (UKSCA), Head Strength & Conditioning coach for sportBU at Bournemouth University and coaches hundreds of athletes every week.
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fletch
with Steve Fletcher the Cherries legend writes every month in Seeker Sport
T
here’s a lot of discussion around town about Wigan and the FA Cup, but we’re not talking about it – the gaffer and Jason and the staff won’t allow it. Not yet anyway. We got off to a poor start so even though we’ve been enjoying some good form we’re still playing catch-up in the league. We’ve got a busy Christmas period and it’s important to take each game as it comes – I know they’re cliches, but they’ve got to come out. The league is our bread and butter business and even though we’ve been the form side lately we’re still outside the play off places going in to Christmas and that’s got to change. The good thing is we’ve got a really well balanced squad with older players like myself and David James that have been around a bit and some experienced players in their mid-20s who’ve been in the game a few years. Even the youngsters here have seen a lot in the last couple of years and that matures you as a player I think. There’s a very level-headed feeling that extends throughout the squad so nobody’s going to get carried away. And yet we’ve got to go to Wigan with a realistic approach and be optimistic. Don’t get me wrong, going to the DW Stadium won’t be easy and there’s no way Roberto Martinez will be taking us lightly, he’ll have done his homework, but it’s not like going to Old
11 seekersport.co.uk
Trafford or Anfield where the best you can hope for is to give a good account of yourself. I think we can go to Wigan and get something. Some might see it as a shock, but shocks like that are a lot more common than they used to be. So why not? It means whoever plays has got to be at the top of their game and play exactly as we train. Then we have to hope Wigan rest a couple of their star names or have an bit of an off-day. We can do it though.
I think we can go to Wigan and get something
And I wouldn’t want anyone to make the mistake of thinking we’ll be out to bring them back to Dean Court where maybe the game could be televised. There’s no denying it’s a good financial day for the club to be drawn against Premier League opposition, but as players we’ll want to go up there and get the job done.
Can we do it? Of course we can. Will it be a distraction? No, because we won’t let it become one. We kept our heads when things didn’t go so well at the start of the season and the gaffer and Jason are there to make sure everyone keeps their feet on the ground now. Meanwhile, I hope everyone had a great Christmas and we’re still giving you plenty to cheer about in the New Year! seekersport.co.uk 11
SeekerCherries
pictures: STEVE COOK
Cherries 4 Oldham 1
November 17, Goldsands Stadium
Charlie Daniels celebrates his goal
Shaun MacDonald
Lewis Grabban 12 seekersport.co.uk
Harry Arter
Josh McQuoid
SeekerCherries lewis Grabban’s goal
Cherries 1 Colchester 0 december 15, Goldsands Stadium
pictures: steve cook
Wes Fogden sees his attempt narrowly miss
Marc Pugh Brett Pitman
lewis Grabban seekersport.co.uk 13
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harry arter Cherries 14 seekersport.co.uk
picture: steve cook
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Raising Scott
First team regular, inside centre Scott Chislett is in training for the 2013 London Marathon and needs your help to raise money for CLIC Sargent – the UK’s leading cancer charity for children and young people. Training for a marathon is a hard slog and considering Scott will be doing his long training runs on a Sunday after putting in a shift for the first team on a Saturday, it makes what he is doing all the more impressive. To support Scott visit his fundraising page www.virginmoneygiving.com/ ScottChislett
Black day
Social scores C ongratulations to Bournemouth’s very own TeamNoisy – for pushing Lions into British rugby’s top ten most active Twitter accounts! Bournemouth made its presence felt at number eight, a place ahead of Premiership side Bath and six berths in front of fellow top tier sides Gloucester and London Welsh. Considering Premiership sides have paid press officers whose job it is to keep their clubs in the spotlight, Lions’ high ranking is no mean feat.
David Dunn’s side are the highest ranked National 2 South side in @ RossiT’s Rugby Twitter Stats, ahead of Redruth in 12th and Hartpury College at 13. Of the third tier sides, only Preston Grasshoppers of National 2 North are making more noise – currently in third place behind Premiership sides Sale Sharks and Wasps. Lions’ new followers vs league average places them just off the table in 22nd.
An imperious display saw Wimborne’s All Blacks take the Dorset & Wilts Intermediate Cup in some style, chalking up with an emphatic 41-8 win over Weymouth at Swanage & Wareham’s Bestwall ground. After Weymouth took an early lead through a penalty, Tom Moysey scored and converted a try to hand Wimborne a 7-3 lead over their Southern Counties South rivals. Two more tries put the Leigh Park side in a commanding lead before the break. Their dominance continued into the second half as Moysey chipped over the top for Scott Maidment to touch down. Converted tries from Moysey and Tom Napier and a Moysey penalty meant that Weymouth’s second-half try was little more than a consolation.
Shock loss
Ellingham & Ringwood’s surprise home defeat to London Three South West’s bottom side Sandown & Shanklin prevented the Es returning to the top of the table. The 33-27 reverse ended a run of form that had seen them top the League.
Bournemouth Lions’ under 16s are proud to again be sponsored by Nuffield Health this season. Photo courtesy Alex Williamson Photography
But there was better news for Ellingham & Ringwood ladies who notched up a 65-14 victory over Tottonians.
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SeekerRugby pictures: Alex WilliAMson PhotoGrAPhY
Bournemouth Lions 30 taunton 27 November 10, Chapel Gate
Gavin hart
scott chislett
rory trow
20 seekersport.co.uk
sam hardcastle
Ben stevenson
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View dugout fROM tHE
with David Dunn dIRECtOR Of RUGBY, BOURNEMOUtH LIONS
A
nother busy month has come to an end at Chapel Gate, home of the Bournemouth Lions Rugby Club and our league position is now looking much healthier. With the halfway point of the league programme approaching, we are delighted to remain broadly on course to achieve our targets for the season – although the manner in which we have achieved our points has been less predictable! If victory over Southend at home could be described as relatively comfortable, our first away win at Clifton was a tense, nail-biting affair. We worked hard to put ourselves in a winning position against Taunton, but their comeback was another real lesson to us all that these games are played for the full 80 minutes and teams can attack from anywhere on the pitch. They nearly caught up and spoiled our party. We were bitterly disappointed to lose to Cornish All Blacks who overcame our slender lead in the last moments of the game. That said, the lead changed hands no fewer than five times during the game which was very exciting for our neutral followers. In addition, several of their players had played in the Championship and their experience at this level showed. We enjoyed a mini break at the end of November thanks to our scheduled game against Rugby Lions not taking place and the first day off for the whole league. The players enjoyed some different activities including gym sessions at the Junction Gym and boxing classes as well. Our medical team has worked
Bournemouth Lions’ Youth and Mini Section has more than 300 members taking part in rugby with numbers growing each week. The club encourages a family approach, which sees more and more members supporting the First XV home games. The section also supplies players from the Youth and Mini teams to act as ball boys for all First XV home games – and no less than ten of the First XV squad have come up through the Youth and Mini Section. “It is testimony to much hard work and dedication by a large number of people
picture: Peter suMMers
tommy Booth is taken out by a southend player on his way to scoring a try.
hard to repair the injured players and I got a shock when I actually saw one of the back row boys without a black eye for the first time in six weeks! In addition to our playing programme we have kept one eye on the autumn internationals and England’s magnificent win against the allconquering New Zealanders shows us all that any team can win any game on their day. On a personal note it was wonderful to see our good friend Mike Prygos’
son Henry, formerly of Bryanston School, make his debut for Scotland against the All Blacks and score a try for Scotland against South Africa.
over many years going all the way back to the days of the section founder, Derek Ward, in the 70s,” says David Dunn, director of rugby.
able to play and compete at a level we have never attained before.”
So, with two games to play against the bottom two teams, we are optimistic of holding down a mid table league position at the league’s halfway point. The second half is always more difficult as everyone has seen us once, but at least there won’t be any surprises for us and we may be able to cause some upsets ourselves.
“The section has given the opportunity to literally thousands of youngsters to enjoy their chosen sport and I would like to think has contributed to the unprecedented success the club enjoys today.
However, the relationship between the Firsts and the Youth and Mini Section is not a one-way street. First team player Callum Forrest has been helping coach the Under 16s this season and has made a valuable contribution to developing their skills in preparing them for the rigours of the modern game.
It is a matter of some pride that we have produced any number of players who have played First XV rugby at Bournemouth and at higher, even international, level and that we are now
“Callum is one of a number of senior players who are helping with the coaching throughout the Section and we are delighted to have them aboard,” adds Dunn. seekersport.co.uk 21
SeekerFootball
Getting a kick out of dual roles
A
words: RICHARD BUTTON
semi-professional footballer with Southern League Wimborne Town and a commercial executive with League One AFC Bournemouth, Tom Jeffes is a man who lives the game round the clock. In fact, the 26-year-old striker‘s footballing double life means he sometimes has to make the switch between the two roles without being able to go home first. “My life revolves around football,” says Jeffes. “I’m 100 per cent committed. I’m at the (AFC Bournemouth) ground at 8:30am. And if Wimborne have an away game in midweek I have to meet up with the squad straight from work. That’s why I turn up for games wearing my business suit.” Jeffes’ work with the Cherries embraces a wide range of duties. It includes arranging advertising and sponsorship
and visiting schools to talk about projects being organised by the club. But his role with the Magpies is far less subtle – to be a complete pain for opposition defenders. “I’m the target man when playing for Wimborne,” he says. “I have to get stuck in, win headers and provide assists.” Jeffes admits his dual footballing careers offer tempting choices for later in life. “In the long term my job at AFC Bournemouth offers opportunities for me Tom Jeffes in action to get on. As far as playing the game is for Wimborne Town concerned one day I would like to move into team management, either at Wessex or Southern League level. “Meanwhile, Wimborne Town are a fantastic club to be involved with. I’m enjoying my time there.”
Replacing Matt
Verwood Town boss Adie Arnold is on the trail of a replacement for influential defender and skipper Matt Delaney who is set to emigrate to the United States in the New Year. The 26-year-old Merseysider has been with the Potterne Park outfit for the past three years and played a key role in the side’s promotion to the Wessex Premier Division last term. “He was the missing link which took us out of the (Wessex) First Division,” said Arnold. “Matt has great leadership qualities and has brought belief to the side. “He is head and shoulders above players at this level of the game and is playing two leagues lower than he should. He’s an intimidating player on the pitch and a lovely bloke off it. “Matt is going to be difficult to replace, but I’m putting a couple of feelers out,” he claimed. Meanwhile, Arnold is delighted with the progress his side are making at the higher level: “The season’s going well. We’ve cut out the silly mistakes and are finding our feet.” 22 seekersport.co.uk
Promoting Poole
Matt Delaney
Ask goalkeeper Nick Hutchings if Poole Town are good enough to win automatic promotion this term and the answer you get is a resounding ‘Yes!’ The 27-year-old sports scientist and Dolphins shot-stopper is totally confident the Tatnam men can finish the season as Southern League Division 1 South & West champions, ending a 30-year absence from the Southern Premier Division. “We started the season strongly and then had a bit of a blip,” said Hutchings. “It won’t be easy because there are a few sides quite capable of finishing the season as champions, but if we compete to the best of our ability we will win this league.” Hutchings fully understands that consistency is going to be the key. “Last season we were in mid-table coming up to Christmas. Then we lost just twice in 24 games and finished the season as runners-up. “If we can get our consistency back there’s no reason at all why we can’t win this division and be playing in the Southern League Premier next term.”
SeekerFootball
Great Scott
Ringwood Town manager Peter Alvis is hailing the influence of midfielder Scott Hancox as he bids to revive fortunes at the Wessex League Division One outfit after a slow start to the campaign. “Scott is our biggest influence out there on the pitch,” he said. “He’s a holding midfielder, very strong and doesn’t give the ball away easily.” Hancox is one of several former Ringwood players tempted back to the Canotec Stadium by Alvis. Others include Phil Midson back from Verwood and Tom Yates and Shaun Leadbetter, both snatched back from Bournemouth Poppies.
Karim Lammali
Welcomed by the competition
S
triker Karim Lammali has been welcomed into the Bournemouth Poppies ranks – by the man he’s been brought in to cover for! With frontman Scott Joyce out of action since late October after breaking a collar bone at work, Poppies boss Ken Vaughan has replenished his forward line by bringing in Lammali on a dual registration from Poole Town. And Joyce was first to roll out the welcome mat. “Karim is a good player,” he said. “He is a talented lad who works very Bashley stalwart James Stokoe is insisting the side can challenge for a play-off spot after shaking off a disappointing start to the campaign. The 27-year-old, pictured, claims that it is a change in playing formation and the return of injured players which has revived fortunes at the Bashley Road ground. “With all the squad fit we have the players capable of coming off the bench and changing a game,” he says. “We couldn’t do that when we had only 14 or 15 players fit. We’re also playing a different formation with three in the middle now. “That’s affected me personally as I’ve dropped back from attack into midfield.
hard and you can always count on him to score goals.” Joyce, who is hopeful of being back in action in the New Year, admitted he hates being sidelined: “It is absolutely horrible. I just want to get out there and start playing again.” Dual registration deals are common in non-league football and allow players to sign for two clubs provided they are in different leagues. In this instance Lammali will be available for the Wessex League Poppies provided he is not needed for Poole’s Southern League campaign. The change in formation gives us a bigger physical presence in the middle of the park.” Stokoe, who netted 15 last term, admits that playing in midfield prevents him from doing more of what likes doing best – scoring goals – but as long as it works for the team he’s more than happy to comply. “I’ve always enjoyed playing up front because I want to score goals. But I’m happy to play midfield as well, particularly if it helps the side.” Despite having suffered that poor start to the campaign, Stokoe is confident that a top five finish in the Southern League Premier is still within Bashley’s grasp.
Hurt Hammers
Hamworthy United manager Simon Browne has one big wish for 2013 – a fully fit squad and all his players available for duty. The Hammers boss, already working with the tightest of budgets, has seen his side hit by injuries and player unavailability. Reserve and youth team players have had to be drafted in to make up the numbers, leading to inconsistency during the first half of the campaign. “In the New Year we could do with another couple of players and the team keeping fit between now and the end of season,” said Browne.
Church champs?
Christchurch can end the season in glory crowned as Wessex League champions, defender Dave Legg is insisting. The side went into the holiday period strongly placed in the Premier Division table. And Priory’s established habit of enjoying a good run during the second half of the season could see them finishing as the league’s top team. “We have the best side since I’ve been here,” said Legg. “In previous seasons we’ve started slowly but done well after Christmas. “This time round we’ve enjoyed a good start,” added the 25-yearold. seekersport.co.uk 23
SeekerGolf
On Course
W
hat a year this has been for Dorset phenomenon Georgia Hall. Just 16, she is Europe’s number one woman amateur golfer, and ranked in the world’s top five. That’s right ... there’s only a handful of women on the entire planet, from America to Australia via South Korea, with its seemingly never-ending conveyer belt of superwomen, that can stand alongside her at this moment. Georgia, the only junior member at the prestigious Remedy Oak club at Holt, near Verwood, has simply surged up the world rankings after a sensational season in which she won a string of major tournaments, including the British Girls Championship at Tenby. She says she wants to emulate one of her heroes, Rory McIlroy, by turning professional at 18. “It has been a really good year,” she adds, with typical understatement. “I have been very consistent, had some good wins and it’s been a great experience playing some big competitions which I’m going to learn from.” Hall, a student at Oakmead College in Bournemouth, got her season off to a glorious start, recording a unique treble by
Georgina hall with the impressive roehampton cup 24 seekersport.co.uk
with Kevin Nash adding the Critchley Salver, at Sunningdale, in May, to earlier successes in the Hampshire Rose and Roehampton Gold Cup. She went on to finish runner-up in the English women’s amateur final and was a semi-finalist in the British women’s amateur and French lady junior championships. She was co-leader in qualifying at the European girls’ team championship with a 36-hole score of 11 under par, helped England win the women’s and girls’ Home Internationals and represented England in the women’s World Amateur Team Championship. But it’s not just what she achieved on the course that makes her stand out. Take her reaction to her omission from the Great Britain and Ireland Curtis Cup team, for example. Charley Hull, another prodigiously talented English golfer, was controversially left out of (or, more accurately, “disinvited from”) the team to take on the US for accepting a place in an LPGA Tour major in America. Why? Because she didn’t show for practice at Nairn, in northern Scotland, a requirement for selection, as it coincided with the Kraft Nabisco event. Georgia, however, did make the long trip to the windswept shore of the Moray Firth... and fared extremely well. But Hull had high-profile supporters fighting her corner, including fellow Woburn member and Ryder Cup ace Ian Poulter and former British Open winners Karen Stupples and Catriona Matthew. The result? Charley was reinstated (or should that be “undisinvited”?) while Georgia missed out on the action as first reserve. So what did the Dorset girl do? She simply wished her friend the best of luck. Now that’s class ... especially in an age when seemingly every sports star resorts to Twitter to vent some serious spleen as soon as the chips are down.
SeekerSport
stars of the future The Sams, Walrond (left) and Allen, with Bournemouth’s Team GB Olympic beach volleyball star Zara Dampney
Seeker Sport editor Steve Cook with Pat Adair
Badminton
Seeker Sport is proud to be sponsoring one of British badminton’s brightest hopes.
picture: BECKY HOWARTH
BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Net results
F
ollowing the heroics of Team GB this summer, two teenage beach volleyball players from Dorset are spearheading the push for glory in Rio in 2016. Sam Allen, from Bere Regis, and Sam Walrond, from Poole, are both LeAF Elite Academy athletes at the LeAF Studio School in Bournemouth and competed in the World School Games in November in Cuiaba, almost 1,000 miles from Rio on the edge of the Brazilian rainforest. Under the watchful eye of 2012 Olympians Dan Hunter and Ben Pipes, as well as Volleyball England community development coach Andy Jones, Dorset’s boys in Brazil are products of the ground-breaking LeAF Elite Academy, part of a federation of academies that also includes Oakmead Technology College and Elmrise Primary School, where students combine full-time sports training with their academic studies. “They’ve trained hard and both of them went to Brazil as a direct result of the LeAF Elite Athlete Academy
facilities being here, especially the beach volleyball centre which is the only one of its kind in the country,” says Andy Jones. In the four-day tournament, the Sams came up against the best young players in the world, winning their first two matches and narrowly losing by two sets to one in their third round match against the champions of the Espirito Santo region. “We’re incredibly proud of what the Sams have done,” says Andy.”They’re just two of many outstanding elite young athletes we have here and their achievements will inspire the others. Some will be in line for Rio, others are more realistic for 2020 or 2024.” Sam Allen is studying A-level maths, chemistry and physics. Sam Walrond is studying A-level maths, biology, PE and geography. Both are undertaking an Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence Level 3. www.studioschool.leaf. bournemouth.sch.uk Tel: 01202 774640
Under 19 starlet Pat Adair, from Poole, hopes to become a fulltime senior player next year after completing his A-levels and has started the 2012/13 season in fine form, reaching the quarter finals of the Dorset Open Senior Singles after beating the number two seed and then narrowly losing 24-22 in the third set of the quarters. He also reached the third round of an Under 19 International tournament, losing out to an England international. He plays for the Dorset County Seniors first team and trains up to four hours a day, six days a week. “My aim is to get back up the rankings and to perform well at the Under 19 Nationals in March,” says Pat. “If I can do that I will go full time next season, to see if I can get into Team GB and train at the National Badminton Centre in Milton Keynes. “I haven’t really thought about the next Olympics, but who wouldn’t want to go to Rio?”
Sportshall
The second match of the Dorset County Sportshall League was held at Canford School last month. In the girls’ event Wimborne AC Whizzkids poured on the pressure and led Bournemouth AC Belles by 130 points, with Dorchester AC in third; and in the boys’ match Wimborne nosed ahead of Poole AC with Poole Runners in third place with one match to go. Charlotte Ayton 23.5s (WAC) and Ilona Sheerin (BAC) 24.0 were the pick of the two lap sprinters. seekersport.co.uk 25
SeekerSport
amanda burger
S
port and exercising in cold weather places extra demands on the body, increasing the potential for sustaining injuries such as muscle sprains and strains, even hypothermia and snow blindness. And with snow sports being a popular choice of recreation the risks increase many times over in alpine environments. For instance, heat loss can be a major problem – a drop in core body temperature of just 1°C causes the muscles to shiver, which can lead to low blood sugar levels (hypoglycaemia) and reduced sporting performance. However, with sensible planning, adequate preparation and proper equipment many of the dangers can be avoided. My top tips for avoiding cold-related injuries are: z Protect against hypothermia and frostbite by wearing warm and waterproof clothing and footwear appropriate to your sport. z Remember that you can still get sunburnt in cold and cloudy weather, so cover up with clothing, apply sunscreen to exposed skin and wear close-fitting sunglasses.
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intulo health
z Thoroughly warm up and cool down to reduce the risk of muscle sprains and strains. But you don’t have to be throwing yourself off the side of a mountain to get injured in winter weather. Running in the wet and cold, for instance, can lead to blisters as a result of the friction of wet socks and badly fitting footwear so make sure your kit is up to the job. Warming up is even more important at this time of year as cold muscles and connective tissue have less elasticity and are therefore more prone to injury. Falls are also more likely when sporting performance is reduced in cold conditions and this increases the likelihood of these soft tissue injuries. Of course, the best way to avoid many sports-related injuries in winter is to maintain an adequate fitness level all year round. Condition the muscles particular to your chosen winter sport for at least a few weeks or months beforehand. For example, downhill skiing places great demands on the Amanda Burger, Intulo Health quadriceps, so condition these muscles with regular pre-season training sessions of step amanda@intulohealth.com aerobics or stair climbing. www.intulohealth.com 07789 810752
SeekerSport
words: NICK CHURCHILL
darts
You had me at
ARROW
S
cotty ‘Dog’ Mitchell will he hoping to bury his Lakeside hoodoo as he flies the flag for Dorset at the 40th anniversary BDO World Professional Darts Championship in January. “This is my fourth visit to Lakeside and I’ve died a death every time,” says Scotty. “Just like in any sport, players and teams have their lucky venues and their bogey venues where nothing goes right for them. It just happens that mine is the biggest darts venue on the circuit!” But the farmer’s boy from Ripley, near Bransgore, who qualified joint fifth with world number one Steve Bunting to join the sport’s elite top 32 at Lakeside from January 5-13, is determined to change his luck this
speedway
time and has been working with a sports psychologist to keep his demons in check. “If you think about it, more than any any other sport, darts is all about you and your bottle. You only need to be one dart better than your opponent to win, the margins are that fine, so anything that helps you keep your bottle is incredibly important. “I’ve been working with a sports psychologist for about a year now and I’m definitely feeling more positive about my game and my abilities now than I was before. “People say I get nervous at Lakeside because it’s a big event and there’s TV cameras there, but I don’t feel that I do. We’ll see.” Scotty turns out every month for Dorset’s county darts team and also
The top two stars from the 2012 Sky Sports Elite league will be back in harness in 2013 with the Poole Coastal Aluminium Pirates, boss Matt Ford has confirmed. “I think this is the news many of our fans have been waiting for and I am delighted to say that terms have been agreed with both Chris Holder and Darcy Ward – arguably the two must-see riders in the world – to continue their careers with the Pirates,” Ford told the team’s website. “Without a shadow of a doubt they were the backbone of the team last year and provided us all with so many amazing moments.
runs his own landscape gardening business. “I grew up on my dad’s farm, but when foot and mouth broke out we had to dive sideways so that dad could stay on there. That’s when we started the gardening. “It’s a long way from driving a tractor across the fields surrounded by nature, to lining up in front of a couple of thousand chanting darts fans at Lakeside. I love it though.” With the exposure that Lakeside could bring him – more than two million viewers tuned in to last year’s final – Scotty is poised to see darts become more than his full-time hobby. “Well, you never know. I’ve been lucky enough to win enough at it to pay tax on it – in fact, I probably pay more tax than Starbucks!”
“The fans simply love them and they are very much a package I believe. 2013 will be a big year for them both, Chris in defending his world title and Darcy having his first stab at the crown and it is terrific that they both will be wearing the skull and crossbones in 2013.” The good news was tempered with Ford’s revelation that Pirates will have to do without Krzysztof Kasprzak next season. “I can’t praise him highly enough and had the
Darcy Ward numbers worked out for us then I would not have hesitated to have him in the side too,” said Ford.
seekersport.co.uk 27
SeekerSport
canix
T
here are times in life when the cheering crowds of the London Marathon just lose that thrill and running around Poole Park starts to lose its charm. Yes, my fellow runners we look for a new experience. Some have tried the famous Mid Summer Madness, a 20-mile event over the south Devon coastline in fancy dress. Others have turned to the dark side, back – to-back Ironman Triathlons or Ultras like the South African Comrades. Me? I went running with dogs! About three years ago a friend suggested I check out the new sport of CaniX (canine cross country). After one race with a borrowed dog I was hooked and now compete most weekends with my own dog. This new sport consists of tying a dog to the front of you on a special lead and harness then belting round a crosscountry course. Its origins are from mushing, sled racing and the like. In the summer the racers wanted to keep their dogs fit and decided to exercise by running. The sport has a large following in Europe with some teams gaining sponsorship and competing as semiprofessionals. Distances vary from 2km to halfmarathon but the usual distance is around 5km. A series of races takes place from September to May and this includes an international event. Like their owners, the dogs come in all shapes and sizes from purposeful Snow Dogs to Jack Russells. There is even a class with two dogs and Bikejour, where the dog pulls you along on a mountain bike or an offroad scooter. So there I was with Rufus, my twoyear-old Hungarian Vizsla, lined up for a health and safety briefing before the start of a very wet Moors Valley CaniX. The briefing is more for the dogs’ benefit than humans, you are reminded not to pull your dog, warn other runners you are overtaking, control your dog, don’t let it get in a fight and pick up poo! After the briefing there is enough time to warm up and watch some of the competitors on mountain bikes. The circuit, looped its way for just over 5km around Moors Valley adventure park, taking in some of the gravel paths and off-road sections between the pine trees. All too soon it’s time to line up and start in number sequence. Dogs and
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Running goes to the dogs! words: mike hirst Poole Athletics Club
picture: chillpix
runners are separated by 10-second intervals.
relax and think about conserving your energy, it’s just full on until you finish.
Then we’re off – 27 kilos of pure muscle and sinew accelerate away from the start line as Rufus picks up speed until I am trying desperately to keep my legs moving at the pace he wants to run. A quick look at my watch and we are running a mile in 5mins30!
You do, however, need to concentrate hard on the route that is marked with blue squares and red circles.
We are soon catching other runners and dogs as I call out which side we are about to overtake. With luck your dog passes without incident and locks on to dogs ahead. Although he’s a youngster, Rufus knows what to do and homes in on some dogs half a mile in front. Unlike a normal race you don’t have time to
Challenging underfoot with tree roots that can trip the unwary, Moors Valley is one of the best CaniX races with fast gravel straights and narrow sandy sections between the pines. After 20 minutes Rufus and I are within sight of the finish and while we are not moving as fast as at the start we cruise into the finishing funnel with a credible 22 minutes placing us at the front of the old gits. If you fancy having a go at CaniX and own or can borrow a suitable canine partner visit www.canix.co.uk
SeekerSport
picture: HELENA DARVELID/ VESTASSAILROCKET
Sailor swift
SAILING
A
Weymouth-based sailor has set a new sailing speed record after almost 10 years of trying.
Pilot Paul Larsen and VESTAS Sailrocket 2
Paul Larsen clocked up an average speed of just over 59 knots – with a peak speed of 63.5 knots – smashing the previous record of 51.36 knots on a 500m run at Walvis Bay in Namibia
and is now waiting for the feat to be verified by the World Sailing Speed Records Council. “I’m buzzing and I know it is just going to get better. I will have this for life now,” the excited sailor told reporters. “We’ve had to break the boundaries of sailing – like the equivalent of our
sound barrier – just over 50 knots. We just kept hitting this glass ceiling and the other day we just smashed through it and we just went supersonic.”
athletics
cricket
speedway
Glyn Davies of Wimborne Athletics Club has been awarded the Ron Hill Ambassador of the month award by national publication Athletics Weekly in recognition of his work for young people with disabilities in several parts of the county, as well as his work with the club and Team Dorset.
Resourceful cricketers took to the pitch with giant sponges to soak up surface water and help ensure a successful season despite the deluge.
Elite league rookie Rohan Tungate is looking forward to experiencing top flight British speedway next season.
This and other stories were shared at the annual Dorset Funeral Plan Cricket League presentation. It was a wonderful night for Wimborne Cricket Club in particular after they triumphed in the Premier League and Division 2 and were runners up in Divisions 4 and 6 South and East.
The 23-year-old Aussie has been named by Coastal Aluminium Pirates in a doubling up role with Premier League outfit Ipswich.
The growth in membership this year has been such that the club’s annual awards evening had to be split in to two. In his opening remarks chairman Peter Impett highlighted the work of the volunteer coaches, officials and administrators and estimated they were giving at least 3,500 hours per year to the community. Milestones in the year included having four members carrying the Olympic torch, success at Sportshall, in cross country and in road running, and the start of regular sessions at the Blandford Camp track.
John Ridout, League treasurer and chairman of Wimborne Cricket Club, said: “Wimborne’s success was the result of considerable hard work and investment in the junior players over the years. “We all wished that Jack Douch, who sadly died this year after a lifetime supporting the club, could have been present to witness the achievement.”
Walvis Bay, on Nambia’s Skeleton Coast, is a favourite with speed sailors drawn there by its flat water and strong winds.
“Matt [Ford, promoter] first spoke to me at the end of last season and I was really keen to join Poole then and once he offered me a team place I was happy to accept straight away,” he told the team’s website. Ford has also confirmed former U21 world champion Maciej ‘Magic’ Janowski as a starter for next season. “With Magic we have bought him on a full transfer with Jason Doyle going in the opposite direction,” he said. seekersport.co.uk 29
SeekerSport
final Whistle
with Mick Callaghan
Co-promoter of funnybone Comedy Club and a host of other music and entertainment events, Mick Callaghan is also a seasoned sports coach, PE teacher, actor, director, golfer and family man. Who better to grace Seeker Sports each month with a few witty quips, pithy epithets and general bon mots from his sporting life?
I
n a year that saw one of the best sporting events ever staged take place here on these shores, a race around Europe that brought a nation together to support one man and his bike and a European team that rescued a victory from the jaws of defeat across the pond, I feel it is my humble duty to use this column to celebrate the seedy underbelly of all that positivity? So, to that end I give you the Seeker Sport Bad Sports Personality of the Year Awards Before I give you the person worthy of the title, let us look at one or two other special commendations. Tantrum of the Year goes to Marcos Baghdatis who broke not one, but four racquets, one after the other at the Australian Open. Funnily enough, the umpire waited until after he appeared to calm down after breaking the fourth before giving him a warning for racquet abuse! Unsporting Sport of the Year goes to the normally uncontroversial world of badminton, specifically the teams from China, Indonesia and South Korea. In a fiasco that saw four couples attempt to avoid having to face the world champions in the next round, they shocked the crowds by playing shots worthy of kids playing across a washing line in the garden. However, they all achieved their goal – they were all unceremoniously put on the next plane home! Preliminaries over, it’s time to unveil the Seeker Sport Bad Sports Personality of the Year Award. In third place, Kevin Pietersen takes his place on the podium of infamy – when a man puts his own career ahead of his team and his teammates, it’s certainly not cricket. In second place, Lance Armstrong takes a worthy runners-up medal. His fall from grace in a sport we all had doubts about may not be so surprising, but the alleged level of deceit, bullying and intimidation behind his “success” is genuinely abhorrent. The ultimate panto villain though comes from the sport I so love and hate at the same time. As ever, there’s a number of contenders but standing head and shoulders above them all is... by Paddi John Terry. hutchings-clark We all know that racism is not to be tolerated and www.paddi.co.uk no matter what is said in the heat of the moment is not an excuse, however my big gripe with John Terry is that it took him a whole year to say sorry. If you are wrong, be a man and admit it. Terry needed my father to take him to one side, sit him down and share the words of wisdom he used to say
30 seekersport.co.uk
to me when I had taken it upon myself as a child to bring a sport into disrepute: “Man up and move on son.” So, maybe as a nation we could make a New Year’s resolution that in 2013 we all just take the words of my late father and whatever hand sport or life deals us, no matter how unfairly we feel we have been treated, let us all just “Man up and move on”.
SeekerSport
seekersport.co.uk 31
“I thought about the recession and decided not to participate”. - Sam Walton, founder of walmart One major industrial advertiser summed it up best: “When times are good you should advertise. When times are bad you must advertise”. - Source: Making a Recession Work for You from the American Business Press “Savvy advertisers know that their ad spending has more impact when their competitors are spending less.” - Alex Kroll, Advertising in a Recession “The business who maintains his main normal level of promotion when his competitors have reduced theirs soon finds that his expenditures represent a higher percentage of the total expended by the group. Our records show clearly that there is no surer way to gain an increase in competitive share of market.” - A.C. Nielsen, Sr. Advertising in a Recession Call us now on 01202 779604 or email info@seeker.uk.com
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stand out from the crowd