Surbiton Spotlight:
Andy Bell (Sparticans Captain)
By Ollie Fitch
Ollie Fitch interviews Andrew 'Belly' Bell, captain of the SHC Sparticans...
What was your original hockey club?
Banks Hockey Club in Darwin, Australia. I started playing on grass pitches and each club would pitch a big marquee on the edge of the playing fields so you had some shade. And a place to BBQ of course! We got our first water based pitch around 1988.
Why did you join Surbiton and how long have you been at SHC for?
I stopped playing hockey when my eldest daughter was born, but when she turned six I brought her down to Surbiton to join the juniors as we lived around the corner. I heard about Back to Hockey so went down to see what it was about, which is where Richard 'The Gaffer' Curtis pulled me aside and asked if I'd like to play for the Sparticans. I joined in the 2016/17 season.
How important are the juniors to adult teams?
Incredibly important. Any club should not just be about the elite players, or those juniors who aren't on that pathway. It is important to foster and continue to help players grow no matter the team you play for. Having juniors in our team not only provides a much needed injection of pace, but keeps us older players on our toes and attempting, with hilarious degrees of success, the new tricks they have grown up with. But we do have a few things we can teach them too.
What are your main goals for this year?
Winning the league.
Describe your team to an outsider…
A properly social team who play a good standard of hockey (in patches), really enjoy a competitive game of hockey, always play to win, and enjoy staying around for match teas, home or away, a beer, and the all important debrief where our Moment of the Match and Spartican of the Day trophies are presented (hand carved from wooden fenceposts by Matty Anderson). We've had some great wins in league and cup games over the years against much younger sides who probably fancied themselves when they saw us warming up!
What is the most important part of a matchday for you?
Playing hockey of course!
Describe Surbiton in three words?
Better than Richmond.
