Woody delivering some wise words of advice Photo c/o David Kissman
‘Woody’ has been part of the Beeston Story for a quarter of a century. He joined the Bees in 1991, age 15, after receiving phone call from a strange man who had a rather odd question, “Hello, my name is Griff. Do you want to win a medal?”.
Woody recalls his first ‘Beeston’ experience, {Do I want to win a medal?… What sort question is that?}. I replied, “I have geography homework that needs handing in on Monday”. Griff replied, “I’ll take care of that, pack your bags!”.
“I’ll never forget that phone call! I did what I was told and packed my bags for an away trip to Plymouth for the U21 County Championships. I met the team at the Club where I was introduced by Griff to the bus driver, John Hayes, a geography teacher from Nottingham High School! That was my homework taken care of! After a weekend of hockey I came back home to Wollaton with a gold medal.”
25 years on Woody is the most capped and most decorated Beeston player with 393 appearances for the Bees and a collection of medals. He is now the Beeston men’s 1st team Head Coach and his young team will be reaching for the sky this weekend as a win would see them sat top of the table.
“The lads have had an excellent start to the season, with an average age of just 21, they have proved they are capable of playing some very mature hockey. At the beginning of pre season I told the lads to reach for the sky. We now have 9 points from 9 which we are very pleased about, however, we are taking one game at a time.”
The Bees travel to London this weekend to face reigning champions, Wimbledon, who are also undefeated this season. The match takes place at Kings College School at 2pm on Sunday.
