Cornish leads the charge as summer recruitment starts early

LONDON, UK – With three months remaining before the start of the 2010/11 season, the English National League South is already taking shape. The majority of teams have announced at least one signing as coaches across the league scramble for signatures.
It was the eloquent Henry James who once said: “Summer afternoon – summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language”. Indeed James probably didn’t spend his summer afternoons on the phone to agents, players, potential sponsors, volunteers and ice rink managers whilst at the same time supposedly taking a break from a league that demands increasing commitment.

The role of Head Coach in the English National League (ENL) has now become a twelve month affair. Gone are the days of the three month break, where a tan could be attained and personal relationships mended. In fact the term coach is not really accurate anyway because in my experience, these guys in the ENL are so heavily involved in their clubs, they are also dealing with the sponsors, the marketing and the logistics (bus companies, equipment suppliers etc) for the season along with the highly important player recruitment.
This brings us nicely to the on ice preparations for the upcoming ENL season. I am sure I am not the only one slightly taken aback by the standard of players announced so far.
Milton Keynes received a great boost with the return of Ross Bowers to their line up along with fellow returnee Aram Todd and new face Jamie Line. Lewis Clifford and Darryl Morvan have stated the Thunder have no intention of struggling like last season,   and if they can pick up, as yet, unsigned local talent like Jamie Randall then I think they are heading in the right direction.

Wightlink coach Jeremy Cornish has taken a different approach to recruitment to the other teams by announcing his full roster already. He has made a previously chippy team an outright tough team and I think most teams will travel to the island with extra supplies in the First Aid kit this season. My only worry would be if any of these players their mind prior to the season starting and leave the Raiders in the lurch. Invicta have been victims of this type of thing in the past with the infamous ‘Sarno Affair’, but then they won the league that year so clearly it didn’t affect them too much. Watchorn and Hopkins are both good pick ups from Bracknell, and Nathan Taylor is a great signing from Whitley Warriors.
Play-Off champions Bracknell Hornets are seemingly a victim of their own success. Coach Gareth Cox was moved upstairs to take charge of the Bees in the English Premier League and has since taken half of last year’s squad with him. It will be interesting to see how the likes of Galazzi and Tribe adapt to a higher level of hockey but I am sure they will be fine. It hasn’t all been bad news for coach Ben Pitchley though, with the   return of local boy Dan Hughes and former forward Danny House both returning to the Hive for the Hornets this year. Luke Reynolds has also made the switch back to Bracknell after spending last season at Wightlink.

Chelmsford have been very active already in the transfer market with Dean Birrell looking to build on the strong finish his side had last season. He has managed to hold on to prospects like Novak and Connolly yet at the same time added new faces such as Danny Cox and Matt Turner from Romford Raiders and Tom Long from Basingstoke. Birrell will be looking to add a goalie and probably an import to his squad I would imagine before the puck drops in September.
Speaking of Romford, they seem to be rather quiet which is understandable given the upheaval at the club. After a disappointing season last year in the EPL the Raiders’ fans will be expecting the team to challenge at the top of the English National League. The retention of Danny Marshall as a player is great news for the Raiders, however given the extra responsibility of coaching he is going to have a difficult balancing act.
Reigning league champions Invicta Dynamos have made an impressive signing with Callum Fowler joining the fold from Peterborough but it will be interesting to see how they replace last season’s departures. Hanging on to Andy Smith will be a must and Kev Parrish will have to unearth two more quality imports in order to challenge for the title again. To be fair he has a good record with recruitment from abroad so there is no reason to doubt him.

With Romford and Invicta traditionally recruiting from the same catchment area, expect to see players wield increasing powers when negotiating. Defensemen in particular will be keenly sought after and I wouldn’t be surprised to see both sides convert some of their existing forwards to the blue line this season.
Cardiff pulled off one of the strangest signings of the summer to add to their usual returnees, with the signing of Steve Maile. If ever there was a signing to suit a team’s style then this is it. Maile is gritty, composed and plays with enthusiasm and all of these behaviours can be attributed to the ENL Devils under Mark Cuddihy.
Oxford secured their usual local talent with the signatures of the likes of Green, Elliott, and Francis however the most important signing for them was the Coach Ken Forshee. With Swindon and Bristol both chasing players, Forshee has the contacts and the nous to make the City Stars an attractive proposition. Very little news has been released from Swindon so at the moment they remain an unknown proposition.

Richie Hargreaves took his Bristol organisation to a new level a couple of weeks ago when they announced that they would be flying Henrik Sahlin into the UK to take up one of their import slots. The Swedish forward has a good pedigree and should be one to watch this season. Rumours that former Haringey defenseman Ali Band and possibly Cardiff forward Alan Armour are due to join the Pitbulls for next season bode well for the newly promoted side.
Finally we come to Streatham Redskins. Barry Spours has shown his intentions already this season by capturing Joe Johnston from Invicta and I know he has a few more surprises up his sleeve, one of which will be announced this week. As for me, well I struggled last season coming back from injury so I will be skating during the summer to see if I can do a job next season. Hockey is no fun if you are struggling just to get through games so I will put in the training, sit down with Barry and decide what to do for the best, both for me and the team.
Thanks for reading
Carrsy
Contact the author: david.carr@prohockeynews.com