Half term/time report (take your pick…)
Well, what a start to the season…As I write this now, on a damp Monday morning in Waltham Forest, we sit, undefeated, 2nd in Division 1 on the Southern Mens League, with Portsmouth the only other team to remain unbeaten and scoring more events points. We meet them on July 30th at Bedford, so if you are reading this, you are old enough to compete for us and you are fit, myself, my VC, Mr T Clench and Signore JG may be coming round to recruit you…Make yourself available!
So far, we have blooded a number of young athletes (so far, Billy S, Nick Armstrong, Luke Francis, Joe Gunton and Jake Hill), with the old guard standing (or in Phil Hawkin’s case, just about…) firm and always improving, the return of the Welsh Wonder, Graham Holder, strengthening the already mighty throws division and our West End star, Chris Stanton, maintaining his high levels of performance, while still discovering new events to try. Already, PB’s have been smashed, SB’s are tumbling all the time (yours truly has hit 3 in 3 matches) and the overall spirit within the team is a feeling that we are the best in the league at this moment in time. We also seem to have a great deal of strength in depth, which is something we have lacked over the years. It is a credit to the coaches bringing through this young talent that they are part of a successful team, while also hitting personal targets in tough competition.
I’ve said this before, but our team spirit is second to none in the league, with this point being made at Abingdon during our victory lap with the new team mascot, Harvey! Other highlights include JG and Junior Smith becoming weights for Jack Miller’s starting blocks at Newham; the welcome return to the track of Luke Brown; the return of Sir James (Jim) Clench to track officiating (with clipboard nearly being thrown); a 5k race which saw 3 athletes join halfway through and a leaky steeplechase at Abingdon and the most banter filled journey home from said match, along with a song which Luis Crane will be singing solo if all goes well!
Next match is July 9th at Twickenham St Mary’s, gives us chance to rest, train and compete in some open meetings to stay sharp. There is one at Dartford on the 15th of this month.
I am always proud to be the Captain of the team, but this season has been the best I have ever had while in this lofty position. It makes a grumpy thrower happy to lead such a committed and dedicated group of lads (for example, Tom for putting his body on the line at Newham last match after his own fault of listening to Luke ‘Always Injured’ Brown for trainer advice! and Martin doing the 400mH at the same meeting with about 5 minutes warning) into matches and be rewarded with the performances I have seen so far. The performances match our spirit and camaraderie, which has become, I believe, a driving force behind our team. Only halfway through though chaps, let’s keep this momentum going.
I will finish with this… Gentlemen, we stand on the verge of greatness. Stay fit, stay focused and there is no reason at all why we can’t make the promotion match…I’m not going to tempt fate by being overly optimistic, but we have the chance to create history within the club. Let’s grab this chance and make it happen!
In JG and Bexley we trust!
Shaun Medlen (El Capitan)