I'll see you in the field

Hello everyone, hope you're well! I know I've vanished off the radar for a few weeks now that the regular season has taken its bow, but I hope you can forgive that as my Hockey love level usually reaches saturation point at about this time of the year and for my own sake I have to have a bit of a 'come-down' period; but I'm pleased to say that come this Saturday we are back in business as the hockey returns for the annual club tournament!

For those that have never come across this tradition before (and frankly, where have you been?) the club tournament is an all day grass hockey extravaganza and all round great day out/ piss-up. I've been playing in it since the age of 14 and after many years of getting thoroughly battered actually made it to the final last year. It was a losing appearance sadly but as a team I think we all accepted our medals for moral winners owing to the fact that by the time the final came around the majority of the team had ingested so much cider we couldn't see straight, and we were just being civil by allowing our opponents to win because they felt sorry for them trying!

The tournament is classic tour hockey, by which I mean mixed men's and women's teams. It is looking like this year (barring any late tapping up) I'm going to be hooking up with the cornerstone of Sale teams, the one and only 'Dream Team' run by my Dad; hopefully I'll be able to bring some 1st team class to proceedings, but after a few weeks off and a few more pounds on the scales I'm not sure that all will go quite to plan.

I'd urge anyone who is craving a bit of action or just a bit of a social to get themselves down this Saturday (14th April) to the club, we'll be playing and drinking all day on the grass hockey pitches, which some strange people also call the cricket pitch. Last year the weather was very kind to us and it was sunny all day. This year it's not looking like we'll be basking all day in the heat but hopefully the sun will pop out just long enough for H to get sun burnt (which is about 15 minutes normally).

For those wondering how hockey is different on grass, well the rules are all the same but when playing on grass the concept of a slick, flowing, passing game is usually shelved in favour of a more direct approach. As a forward this involves me standing on the edge of the opposing teams D and waiting for the ball to bobble from a 16 yard hit all the way through 20 players sticks and reach me, at which point I will also miss it and hope to tap it in when the keeper also misses it. It's not pretty but it gets the job done (which is also what I believe the Bishop said to the actress).

So please, grab yourselves some cider and some camping chairs and come on down. Hope to see you there. Viva Dream Team!

Curtain Call

The show is officially over folks. It's tailed off a bit in terms of thrills and spills at the end but this season's journey, which began all the way back in last July (A mere 8 months ago), has reached it's final resting place. I remember back then setting out with all of the burning ambition and confidence of a team certain of its ability to achieve its promotion goal ready to take the fight to the league 22 times in a row, and I stand here slightly ragged and worn, but on a field of victory, proud of myself, and more importantly, proud of my team.

It represents a coming of age for our team I believe (yes, even the older players). It was the proof that we can triumph, proof we needed. Whilst the memories of moments where we won this league will boil down in our minds to great goals, skills, tackles or saves, the finer truth is that the win has come over the hard work that has been going on for the last 2 seasons. Ever since the moment where we got relegated a few seasons ago when it was sink or swim for the entire club. We chose to swim, and it has turned out OK right about now! Of course, it's not enough. The quantum leap that we made in this campaign has to be matched and improved upon as we go forward. I read an article recently written by a man who had interviewed a slew of multiple Olympic champions. They all said that it was the thrill of the journey that equipped them with the ability to repeat it, rather than the prize itself. I hope that we can understand and adopt that mentality. I have enjoyed all of the improvements we have made this season, and my own personal improvements. It has been my most productive season on terms of goals by some way, and I am determined that is not something which is going to be a flash in the pan.

As for the last game, well if you didn't know, we lost. I think the mood was one of disappointment rather than dejection and devastation. Our opponents, chasing us for so long had a major point to prove and turned up highly motivated. Now in an ideal world we'd have matched that fire; but being 2nd for so long and wanting to stick one over us just simply outshone our motivation of having a 16 point lead rather than a 10 point lead at the end of the season. A shame yes, but worse things happen at sea. Lest we forget that there has not been a single moment from the start of the season when Sale hasn't occupied that top spot. That's a pole to flag championship right there, I've had the 'beating top of the league' achievement and I know where I'd rather be stood right now.

So what now? Well most immediately we have to deal with the section annual general meeting (AGM), on Friday night. I'd urge all members who read this to please make an effort to attend. It is the most important meeting of the year and a great chance to get your voice heard and also volunteer yourself to help out, there are always positions available on the committee so why not spare some time and help out? Any effort can only help us to improve and move forward together as a club, which is the only way we want to move forward.

After that it's the presentation evening! We'll be handing out the top scorer award and the much sought-after players player award will be revealed (I do know the result already, obviously I'm not going to say it here, but let's just say that H won't be taking the shield home this season sadly for him). Of course a few jars of the finest will be had too! If you're not busy in the Saturday I urge you to come down to the pitch at Parrs Wood at 13.30 to watch (my)Dad's Army the 3rd team try and win the league, they've had a great season and hopeully can polish it off with a championship.

After all the sobriety (AGM ) and merriment (presentation night) comes the well earnt break that we deserve. Of course the Hockey never really stops and between tournaments, tours, and summer league I'd expect you can all get as much (or as little) of a fix that you want before we come back around for pre-season training and the trials ahead.

As for me and this blog well I have to admit that I've immensely enjoyed writing about our journey and sharing my thoughts and whims. I'll be honest, when I started I thought that there was a chance I'd be ridiculed constantly for my efforts but all of the compliments and constructive comments I've received have been genuinely humbling to hear. I am lucky to have such a good readership and am hopeful that there are some of you our there reading this who find the sport of Hockey a little more appealing and interesting than maybe you once did. I'm certainly not going to stop writing now. I think the next you will hear from me will be sometime next week where I'll offer up a 'season in review' edition similar to my x-mas special where I'll talk you through some of the best moments of the season as well as the most ridiculous too! After that? The Hockey world is my oyster and I'll hopefully give some insight into what we get up to in the 'off season' including summer league, tours etc. and maybe even some Olympic stuff, in case you can't tell I don't really know what I'm going to do yet.

Well that is for the future and for the now I'll just sign off by saying thank you to all of you. Yes you! You who is reading this right now, thank you for reading it and I'll see you soon in the bright tomorrow!

The weary today, The bright tomorrow

Now as I write this we'll have pulled the curtain down on training for this season. Which in party terms is the equivalent of the lights flashing and everyone preparing for a rousing last dance. You may all have you're own preferences for this ritual, in my 18 year old days we used to emerge into the early Mancunian morning to the sound of 'Hey Jude' or 'Don't look back in anger', only to burst into street side choruses of 'Oh Manchester!.... (you should know the rest)'. I've always had a soft spot for a bit of New York New York myself, in true party fashion. The point is the only thing that remains for us to decide is on what note to end on. Musically 'we are the champions' has got to be a good shout, of course I don't mean musically though.

 Not at all, this weekend we face 2nd place and it's the perfect game to end on. It should be a fierce battle of wills with both teams wanting to prove they have the beating of the other. They have been chasing us all season and while they never quite got close enough to us to trouble us they are the best team we have come up against this league season and I hope that plays out true again on Saturday. I think that now with one game to go I can admit that the weary signs of a long and intense campaign are showing. I'm certainly feeling them. It's not a complaint really, it's more something to be proud of. The following quote from legendary NFL coach Vince Lombardi explains what I mean quite eloquently:

“I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfilment of all that he holds dear, is the moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious”

Beautiful words, and true for our team. The achievements of our campaign our given to no single moment, but rather they were forged through the fires of industry with the heat of our will, and we hammered that league week after week into brutal submission. With one more hammer strike to fall our eyes are all on the horizon for the next challenge. That challenge is to do it again but in a harder league against tougher opponents, to challenge ourselves and each other to improve and to once again embark on that journey towards glory again. But not yet. Indeed I want to warn against pushing too hard, we all deserve to bask in our victories and relax our play, we know how to play and I've no doubt every man is up for the challenge coming. To keep banging on the war drum isn't going to help us and indeed I believe it sows doubt in much the same way that a man who continually talks about the large size of his manhood sows rumours of a child-like endowment. So with that in mind I'm taking a fresh attitude into my game this weekend and that is to STFU, using what I know and the confidence I have; go out there and enjoy the final song of this wonderful opera that has been our season. The fat lady is singing, and I'm joining her on stage!

Champions, Champions, Champions

I've thought long and hard how to title this post, but frankly I cannot come up with anything better than the above. The statement of fact: we are the champions!

And I'm tempted to stop there. What more can be said? We have won our league. It is the first time we have been promoted in 9 years and the first time we have won a league for 16 years, and those are facts! I've been part of running this team for three years now and am truly proud and privileged to see this day come. I can remember all of those dark days and those bad losses, all of the times when we questioned why we were doing this to ourselves week in, week out. I can recall the pain of relegation and the humiliation of losing to inferior teams. Now those trials stand quiet in a corner, their time is through. For now we have achieved and now we are on the up and coming back, now we can say we have achieved EXACTLY what we set out to achieve.

I may as well take you through it then. The stage was set for a procession style victory on Saturday, 1st vs 11th should be a no contest right? Well, we were all nervous beforehand, you could feel it in the air, the elephant in the room we all kept telling each other to ignore. Complacency was our biggest threat that day. In a weirdly ironic way our opposition helped us by fielding one of their strongest sides of the season, their challenge was enough to get us going and we got into our stride and waltzed into half time 4-0 up, happy days. I think even the most cautious of people (and coach was trying his very best to be cautious) would say that the tie was over by then. The second half stood in stark contrast to the first, it was frustrating and we never really got going (I personally played very poorly), so it was then that as the final whistle sounded at 5-1 there was almost an air of anti-climax... almost. Soon the champagne started flowing and the smiles were out in full force, there was a party atmosphere in the changing room which even the old Jamaican man who had been to the gym and had the misfortune to change when we did wouldn't begrudge us. Further celebrations proceeded and I'm fairly confident I can say a fun time was had by all (from what I recall), I know it was had by me, even if I did fall short of my Christmas party level of drunkenness!

Chief among proud facts for me is the fact that we have led the table from day one... to day finish. For the observer it was a Vettel grand prix win, as dull as anything, for us, we don't care. I'm also proud to be able to say all of this about our dominance with 3 games to go, the gap at the top of our table is bettered by no other team in our entire league structure, and we still have the opportunity to improve it! And improve it we shall aim to do. The fact is that we now have a range of goals (or side quests for those of you who enjoy a bit of skyrim) left to achieve. I'll now list some: Finishing with a 100% home record, scoring the most goals in the division, conceding the least, having the divisions top scorer in our side, and finishing on an 8 game winning streak having dropped 4 points all season. All lovely aims, all achievable I believe.

So even though the party is over the band are still playing, and this weekend they're working overtime as we've got a double header on Saturday and Sunday, the pressure is off and now we can enjoy it, but then again what am I saying? I've loved every minute of it anyway...

More next time on the bright future for us but for now let me leave you with a picture of the 2011/2012 Division 5S Champions...

A Date With Destiny

So here we are, having travelled so far and worked so hard for so many weeks, we have finally risen over that last rise and now our goal is in sight. Real, actual, sight. I woke up Sunday in a beautiful world, a world where only one more win shall separate us from the league title, the prize for which we have striven these many months, and striven we have. We have had to battle and rally, we have been down in the trenches as well as flying high on the winds, we have been staring down the barrel of a gun and we have been putting teams to the sword. We have had to have words both with ourselves and each other, we have had to stop having words with umpires and now here we go, crossing the line once again and hearing the bell ring out as it does in those long, incredibly dull, athletics races. One more lap to go.

We have had to fight complacency and arrogance all season, not because we are vain and lazy, but because we didn't want to bastardise our confidence into something that works against us. We haven't so far and I thoroughly expect that to be the case next week, the stakes are no higher than normal and the challenge will be the same as always; win the game. I admit the team talk in terms of motivation might be a bit easier than normal, because frankly if you can't get motivated by the words 'win this game and we win the league' you don't deserve to be in the room.

I hope we can match and build on our play from last week. Our dominance in a 5-2 win was great against a team that really deserves to be pushing higher up the table, and that beat our chasers the week before. It was great to see Neil re-igniting his claim for top scorer of the division and hopefully he'll take back sole possession of the top spot this weekend. My only concern for us were the two sloppy goals we conceded. Although there was much 'debate' about the second goal and why we shouldn't have let it in I must admit I was more surprised by the first goal, to my memory it was the first time we had conceded on a break from the other side this season. Now let me say that I think the back line has been outstanding all season and the rock on which our fortunes have depended but having only come away with 2 clean sheets since the Christmas break I would hate to see their superior stats chipped away at by some late season fatigue setting in (and if you're wondering boys, yes, that is a challenge).

As for this weeks game itself, we couldn't ask for a better setting. Having been denied the chance to win the league at home we instead must travel up the road to the commonwealth pitch at Belle Vue (in my opinion the best quality pitch in the region) to take on our opponents and (for the geographically uncertain) local rivals in an away game. Except, I don't want this game to have any away feeling to it whatsoever. For all those who have backed us all season I implore you that come Saturday don't head down to William Hulme (sorry 2's) but travel the extra 2 miles up the stretch and come and live the moment that we have all been waiting for, there is even a stand for gods sake! All hockey associates should know where Belle Vue is, but if you don't play, or are an idiot it is ... HERE. Push back is 3pm sharp!

So please come one, come all, bring replica shirts, flags, signs, rattles, bells and vuvuzelas and show us some love because we've got a date with destiny and we wouldn't want you to feel left out.

Once more into the breach

I love it when a plan comes together. No I'm not in the A-team I'm merely echoing the satisfaction that can be gained by achieving exactly what you set out to do. Last week we did that; travelling all the way out to Wales. The preparation was going to be key to the execution and we were able to both prepare and execute, from the first minute when we went 1-0 up, to the last minute when we finished 6-2 winners we were able to stay composed and in control, there were moments of doubts when concentration dropped and some unnecessary moments of madness we could really do without but overall I'm really happy with our results. I think I said last week that this was our hardest remaining challenge, I'll now go on to explain why I was lying all along.

Firstly, by virtue of other results, we now stand a mere 5 points away from being able to claim ourselves as league champions and promotion winners. 5 points, for the mathematically weak among you, translates into just two more wins. We're in the position due to ourselves of course but have had our lives made easier due to 2nd place chasers being put to the sword last weekend. The beauty of this is that their conquerors, with fresh blood dripping from their sword, are now the opponents that stand between us and a title clinching date with destiny a week later. A tough team that we struggled to put away earlier in the season I know that this time we will be looking for a much more comprehensive result, and to any thirst for giant killing that may have got their blood up and our proud selves worried I simply say, it will not be our fate.

Forgive the dramatic language but this represents what I believe to be our final hurdle and our final chance to fall and I do not want complacency nor arrogance to seep in like the poison they are. Our achievements are good, we currently enjoy a gap at the top of our division not bettered by any other team in the entire league structure and boast the finest stats across the board for our division. Our dominance has been proved by those numbers, but the proving goes ever on, and I'm relishing these last tough few steps on this long road to success. So to Saturday and to battle once more, I look forward to us getting the job done once again.

Keeping it simple

And so we returned back to the pitch, as the cold lifted and the Sale train kept on rolling. Four stops now until safety, Six stops until home. That translates to 4 more wins for the league title and 6 more wins to finish us off. The truly astute of you will have recognised that this means we came away with another victory on Saturday. You would be correct, 3-0 was the score. It was a strong showing for us, satisfied was the outcome, though we fall short of ecstatic.

Why?! I hear you cry. Well, 3-0 is all well and good (with 2 from yours truly, more on that later though) but 3-0 was all we managed against opposition that offered pretty much no threat. Now I feel sorry for the opposition seeing as their captain decided to bin them off at half time when they were 3 down leaving them with just 10 men (if this happened on our team that captain would turn up at training only to find coach waiting to insert the match ball somewhere it would certainly obstruct play). The opposition were left with little choice but to play for pride and keep the score down. They managed that and fair play to them, I should have probably scored at least one more but I'm not going to let that get me down. I was the proud recipient of a man of the match award for the first time this season, and I'm going to use my contribution as a metaphor for the road ahead.

Saturday was a typical Sale win this season, do the damage early doors and wear the opponent down through goals or passing and then toil to add to the tally later on. We play our best stuff when we play it simple. It's a common misconception that playing it simple is easy. You have to work hard. You have to move when you pass, get free for an easy ball and know what you want to do with it when you get it, anticipating what those around you are going to do. It takes concentration, fitness, and determination. A simple rule to follow is to know where the easy pass should be, front and square. If you're on the ball look front and square, nothing on? pass back. It you're off the ball get free and get front or square either to the man on the ball or to the man front or square to the man on the ball. Repeat in rapid succession whilst moving towards goal. Score. Win game. Repeat weekly. Top the table. Write blog. Simple!

I scored two of the simplest goals ever on Saturday. Standing on the back post I got the ball hit at me and then put it in from less than a yard out... twice. Now it did help me that my marker was having a nightmare and I did very nearly get a third the same way (I assume he got a bit of a dressing down at half time because the penny seemed to drop in the second half). But just being in the right place, at the right time, to receive the right ball is all we need to do to win this league and I will be waiting on the back post and the penalty spot for all of the remaining games to make sure that is exactly what happens and I hope the other lads do the same in their respective positions.

Next week takes us back to Wales in a difficult away trip against a side who are always strong at home. We didn't travel well at all the last time we crossed the border, falling to our only loss of the season. This makes the trip a potential banana skin and I'm hoping we'll be heading out there with a real sense of purpose and wanting to hammer home our determination... in as simple a way as possible of course! Nothing is more important than getting those wins, our fate is in our hands and that is always the best way to be!