Tributes Paid To Greenkeeper

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Tributes Paid To Greenkeeper: Tributes have been flooding in to a multi-talented sportsman who has been described as “marvellous with people”.

Former Norwich City player and Thetford Golf Club member and greenkeeper Richard ‘Dick’ Scott died on February 11 aged 76.

Born on October 26 1941 in Thetford, on his 17th birthday he became part of Norwich City’s ground staff and played for the youth team and reserves. The right half made 36 appearances and scored three goal for the first team during his spell with the Canaries between 1961 and 1963, and was part of the 1962 League Cup winning team.

A spokesman for Norwich City Football Club said: “We are always saddened to hear of the passing of any former Canary. Dick was a local player that worked his way to the first team through the ranks.

“Our thoughts are with Dick’s friends and family during this difficult time.”

He moved to Cardiff City where he was honoured to play in the same team as Welshman John Charles and also had spells at Scunthorpe United, Lincoln City, King’s Lynn Town, and Thetford Town and Rovers.

Outside of football he was married to Judy for 56 years and had two children, Timothy and Veronica, and three grandchildren, Alex, Maxime and Robert.

“He was a great joker and was always making people laugh,” said Mrs Scott. “He was marvellous with people. He was a character.

“Everyone has got their own little funny stories about him. He was very strong minded.”

Mr Scott was a member of Thetford Golf Club from 1978 until 2005. He was head greenkeeper and was involved in planning and construction at other clubs in Norfolk.

The club’s manager Malcolm Grubb said: “Dick was a multi-talented sportsman and a very capable golfer.

“He represented Thetford in many inter-club county events with considerable success. He was also a very competent head greenkeeper, helping to build Thetford’s reputation as having one of the best-maintained golf courses in the area.

“He will be fondly remembered at Thetford Golf Club and will be sadly missed.”

A tribute from Mick Askew said: “I had the pleasure of his company for around two years as he built and designed Richmond Park Golf Club [near Watton]. A true gentleman and a very talented man in all aspects of sport.

“So sad to hear of his passing I have lots of memories of our time together. My condolences to his family.”

He and his wife spent 15 years of their retirement in Cyprus and returned to live in Stanton, near Bury St Edmunds, last year.

Mrs Scott added: “Richard always thought he was fortunate because he earned a living from sports that he loved. And on retirement he spent 15 years in the sun in Cyprus.”

A celebration of his life will take place at Bury St Edmunds Crematorium on February 27 at 10.30am. All are welcome to attend.

A get together will take place after at Thetford Golf Club.

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Groom’s Mower Wedding Entrance

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Groom’s Mower Wedding Entrance: Usually, the bridge will make the show-stopping entrance on her wedding day, however one groom from Co Down had a different idea.

Scott Watson has become a social media hit after his unusual wedding day entrance was posted on Facebook.

A greenkeeper by trade, the 23-year-old thought it would be fitting for himself and his groomsmen to make their entrance on the main tool of his trade – a ride-on lawn mower.

And what better soundtrack to accompany the footage than Scott’s favourite song and country music fan favourite, Hit The Diff.

The brilliant footage, taken by the couple’s wedding videographers Formally Casually Video Productions, has racked up more than 100,000 views on Facebook.

Speaking to Belfast Live, the Annahilt native said the entrance was his little input into the special day when he married long-term partner Emma Coulter.

He explained: “I’m a greenkeeper by trade, so lawn mowers and tractors are what I spend my life on, so I thought it would be something different for the big day.

“Emma basically planned the whole wedding and I just said yes to whatever she wanted so this was my one idea that I wanted to do on the day.

“I had seen other videos of boys arriving on tractors and things so I thought the lawn mowers would be something different and with the help of a friend of ours who runs a hire company we were able to get all the lawn mowers the same colour and the vintage tractor in the middle to set things off.”

The couple, who live with their two daughters in Saintfield , married on December 16, but the grand entrance didn’t go completely without a hitch.

Scott added: “Where that wee church is in Inch, it’s down a wee lane so to get the shot of us arriving we drove up to the brow of the hill and turned round to get us coming down.

“But as we reached the top of the hill, a couple of the lawn mowers ran out of petrol so it was a whole session to get them filled up and get us back down to the church.

“I think the reaction [on social media] has been class, it’s mad, Emma can’t believe how many people have watched it, I think the last time we looked it was 104,000, crazy. We haven’t got the full Wedding video yet so we’re excited to see it all together.”

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New Pitch A Hit At Castle Park

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New Pitch A Hit At Castle Park: Several hundred thousand pounds was spent by Doncaster Knights on a brand new main pitch at Castle Park over the summer and it’s proving to be money well spent.

“We are into February now and the pitch is still looking good in the areas where you traditionally get some wear and tear despite Doncaster Phoenix also playing on it,” said head groundsman Lee Blagden.

“Whereas with a traditional grass pitch the grass roots are just below the surface the roots on our pitch go into a synthetic matrix mat and that makes them much stronger and less prone to damage.

“Everyone loves playing on a well-grassed pitch at the start of the season and what the new pitch – which is 100 per cent natural grass – is designed to give you is a similar surface throughout the season even though you do lose some of the grass.

“Due to the fact that we open the pitch up with a machine called a procore, which goes down five inches, it helps to avoid compacting the soil and softens the blow when players are tackled and hit the ground hard.

“The work we do also helps players’ boots dig in a bit more and gives them a better footing. With the pitch also being level and having no ruts it should help reduce ankle and knee injuries.

“We’ve been lucky with the weather so far this winter. We’ve had the rain but because of the new drainage system, which is absolutely fantastic, the rain drains away very quickly and we’ve had no puddles or soft areas.”

This week’s weather, as was the case in late December, has posed different problems.

“Because it is 100 per cent grass you have exactly the same situation as with a traditional pitch if you’ve got frost,” said Lee.

“As we’ve done in recent years we cover the pitch with covers, which we’ve done this week, if frost is forecast.

“The covers we use will generally protect against frost down to around minus 5.

“We also use them if snow is forecast.”

Although the end of the season is almost three months away, Lee and his team don’t intend to let the grass grow under their feet whilst doing just that.

“We are looking at doing an over-seed later this month at a time when the team haven’t got a home game which will probably take about two weeks to come through,” he said.

“We use a dimple seeder and that opens the ground up and lets you put a couple of seeds in and then it covers it to keep the birds away.

“We’ve already started to see some growth when we had a few warmer days towards the back end of last month.

“If I come across any areas showing wear during the winter months, and the weather is warm enough, then because of the new sprinkler system we’ve installed under the pitch we can put some new seed on the surface and it will germinate and grow.”

Although Lee and his staff are delighted with the way the pitch is looking, he says there is more work involved than with a traditional pitch.

“I would say there is double the work,” he claimed. “For a start you’ve got to make sure that the pitch is clean both after training and after matches.

“We’ve some mowers which are like a basic home mower and we go up and down and clear all the debris (old grass, mud) off the pitch so all the root base and leaf is all clean

“With it being a sand-based pitch you’ve got to try and keep your sand and plant clean.”

Lee and his staff are also charged with the upkeep of the five other pitches on the Castle Park site used by the junior section and the various senior teams below Championship and Midlands Premier level.

Knights also train on the outside pitches during the week in addition to two 40-minute sessions on the main pitch (weather permitting) and the weekly captain’s run on a Friday.

Doncaster RLFC have also used the facilities, though not the first team pitch, during the last couple of months for pre-season training

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FA Groundsman Awards Open

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FA Groundsman Awards Open: Each season The FA runs a nationwide competition to find the Groundsman of the Year.

Now in its 15th year, the Award was set up to recognise the contribution of these unsung heroes of the grass roots game and encourage the development of groundsmanship.

 

These annual awards provide a great opportunity to recognise and reward Club Groundsmen at Step 7 (Kent County Premier Division) and below. The majority of football in this country is played at grassroots level, and quality pitches are therefore essential for the development of football at every level.

Grassroots groundsmen, the vast majority of whom are volunteers, play a huge role in ensuring pitches are in their best possible condition, week in, week out. The Awards were set up to recognise the contribution of these ‘unsung heroes’, who work in all weather, all year round, to make sure that thousands of matches can take place on a high standard of playing surface.

Any club wishing to nominate their groundsman need to complete the nomination form and return this to Darryl Haden, Football Development Manager at the Kent FA no later than Friday 2nd March 2018. Nomination forms can be submitted via email at Darryl.haden@kentfa.com or via the post to:

Darryl Haden
Football Development Manager
Kent FA, Invicta House
Cobdown Park, London Road
Ditton nr Aylesford
ME20 6DQ

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Win Dedicated To Ex-Groundsman

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Win Dedicated To Ex-Groundsman: Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe dedicated the club’s win over Stoke to long-serving club stalwart John Harriss who passed away last month at the age of 88.

A minute’s applause was held in memory of John, who joined the club staff in 1970 and became head groundsman and then referee liaison officer.

Ex-Cherries bosses Harry Redknapp and Sean O’Driscoll, together with a host of former players, joined mourners at his funeral at a packed Bournemouth Crematorium on Tuesday.

His wife Deirdre, son Shaun, daughter Nicky and grandchildren Rich, Rachael and Clare were guests of the club at Vitality Stadium on Saturday.

John, who spent 37 years tending the pitch at Dean Court, died at home just hours after watching on television as Cherries toppled Premier League big guns Arsenal on January 14.

Howe told the Daily Echo: “The minute’s applause was very emotional for me because immediately you think of John and all the memories come flooding back.

“Every week, without fail, he was there by our side, cheering on the team and always knowing what to say whether you had won, drawn or lost. His outlook and reaction to me personally never changed.

“Then, you go back to the days when you were an apprentice and trying to make your way in the game. You look for people to support and help you and he was one of the people who did. I have never forgotten that and never will.

“He has an incredible family and it was really nice to share this moment with them. I saw them during the week and we spoke about stories of John and shared memories with them.”

Perhaps fittingly, the Harriss family looked on as Cherries wrote another chapter in the club’s record books by extending to seven games their unbeaten run in the Premier League.

And like most of John’s 79-year association with the club, it was eventful as Cherries mounted a stirring second-half comeback to take the points.

Goals from substitutes Joshua King and Lys Mousset cancelled out Xherdan Shaqiri’s early opener as victory saw Cherries climb to ninth place in the table.

Discussing the game, Howe said: “Mentally, it was a big challenge for the players. We beat Chelsea on Wednesday and then played again on Saturday.

“After the high of Chelsea, we didn’t start well and it is not easy to respond in the right way. But we have a really good feel about the group at the moment.

“There is a good team spirit and a lot of quality. That was highlighted by the fact the two substitutes came on and made such an impact.

“Would we have come back earlier in the season? – I’m not so sure.

“But the fact we are in the middle of this run and producing performances, you have it in the back of your mind that you can.

“It is reminiscent of times gone by when we have had the spirit to come back from losing positions and that is a great quality to have. We have done it a lot in this run and the challenge for me is to maintain and harness that and try to improve it if we can.”

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