Hargreaves pleased with Bristol’s season so far

BRISTOL, UK – After a much heralded entrance back into senior hockey at the start of the season, Bristol Pitbulls are proving that with hard work on and off the ice, hockey can be a success in the UK’s eighth most populous city.
 
In a city where rugby and football rule the roost, club talisman and spiritual leader Richie Hargreaves has ensured that the Pitbulls have received exposure amongst the UK hockey community and more importantly within the local press. Less Dalai Lama and more Jackie Moon, Hargreaves admits he would have no issues with wrestling a bear before face-off if he thought it would pull in more punters to the Frogmore Street rink.
 
At the midway point in the season the Pitbulls lie fourth in the league with games in hand as they look to gain promotion to Division 1. The team has won eight of its opening ten league games with Hargreaves and his brother Mike leading from the front:
 

“The season has been highlight reel stuff so far. It’s has been going great for us as we’ve only lost three in twenty odd games, which isn’t bad for a team that has only been around for four months. People expected us to do well this year and walk this league with the contacts I could bring in, but I didn’t want this team to be about names. I have seven guys who played recreational hockey last year and another seven or eight juniors who play regular shifts. We play three lines and my goalies take turns for the starting spot. All my guys pay to be here; we are having a blast and enjoying the ride,
 
“I am kind of lucky in that the Bristol public have no recent experience of senior hockey so the expectation level is different. The standard of hockey is more or less irrelevant, as it becomes more about the excitement of the game for the less savvy fan,
 
“In the summer I looked at building a team that could compete no matter what was in front of us. We can play a skilful game, or we can play physical as I don’t believe in throwing all your eggs in one basket. I’ve tried to develop three balanced lines and all my guys play a role on the team. We’re a puck position team that works and skates hard, so we do the little things right and the score takes care of itself”
 
The pre season expectation was well founded given Hargreaves career in the game. He iced at the highest level with both London and Basingstoke, and also picked up silverware in his time at Slough in the EPL. Truth be told, he is a standout at this level and at such a young age, some might say he is wasting his talent in the lower reaches of the ENL:
 
“As a player I worked hard on and off the ice. I would like to say I was a complete player, maybe not the best, but someone who would do a job. I’ve been very lucky and I’ve played with some really good players over the years and I would love to take all the praise for it. But the short of it is, that those guys carried me (laughs),
 
“I won the EPL Cup with Slough in the Coventry finals and I felt I was in good form and physical shape. I had some really good offers from a couple of Elite league teams and various other EPL clubs, but I needed a new drive, a new focus you could say and that’s how the Pitbulls started”
 
It was then that Hargreaves realised just how much work was involved in setting up a hockey team in a city that hasn’t seen a senior team since the Bulldogs folded after only one season in the nineties:
 
“I didn’t realise how much work needed to be done so a summer wasn’t enough. I took my time, missed a season and made sure I got it right. By this time my brother (Mike Hargreaves) was playing in Oxford and talked me into playing again. I owe Oxford a lot as they helped me start my senior career (with the ill- fated Fox-Blades) and they also gave me my first coaching role. The organization was fantastic as they knew my intentions of leaving in the summer but never judged me for that”
 
Apart from assembling a competent roster, Hargreaves main challenge was to attain the buy in of Bristol business and also the general population. Various promotions and off-ice events have pushed the Pitbulls into the spotlight and Hargreaves is positive that this sort of marketing is the way forward for his team:
 
“Over the years I’ve learnt a lot from marketing, and what sells in other organizations that I’ve been a part of, so what I’m doing isn’t new. I understand that it’s just important to be successful off the ice as it is on it. I have a great core of guys as well as volunteers who want to see this succeed as much I do,
 
“Although the team has been only up and running since August, I’ve been working in the community since April. Our community programme has been has been so successful we have already visited forty schools to give talks and participate in after school clubs,
 
“We have raised money for a number of charities including Meningitis UK, World Hunger and also donated Nintendo Wii’s to a local children’s hospital. Most recently we were asked to hand out an award to a 10 year old boy who has been battling cancer at the Bristol Evening Post awards night. It was quite something to be rubbing shoulders with the likes of ex England international rugby player Mark Reagon, comedy legend Eddie Large, Eastenders stars Joe Swash and Kia Tonkin along with Bristol city’s manager Gary Johnson,
 
“Our newspaper coverage has been unbelievable and has been a huge reason for our awareness and success here in Bristol. We are still building and everyday is a new adventure for us but I think were heading in the right direction”
 
So was it simply a desire for a new challenge that inspired Hargreaves to form the Pitbulls, or was it something deeper and more heartfelt? Most players are happy to bank the pay cheques until retirement and to the casual observer over the years, Hargreaves would be an ideal contender for that career route. He has kitted up for a number of teams over the years including; Cardiff, Swindon, Basingstoke, Slough, Isle of Wight and Oxford amongst others, added to which his personality has never given any clues of the drive inside him. To team mates he has always been the joker, the archetypical dumb hockey player always up for a laugh or a prank. The guy you want in your locker room to keep the atmosphere light and the spirit high. In short he is the last guy you would expect to be taking on such a big project with the serious challenges it brings.
 
To really understand Hargreaves off the ice, you simply need to look at the strongest aspects of his game on the ice. Former team mates will testify that when they needed somebody to stand up for them, Hargreaves was first in line. Toughness on the puck, in the corner and also with the gloves off are his trademarks, and that’s what attracts the top teams to hunt for his signature.
 
It’s the fighting spirit and home town pride that are the real reasons behind Hargreaves’s mission at Bristol:
 
“I never had the chance to play for my home town, as I was too young at the time of the Bulldogs. My playing career has always been on the road and since I was fifteen years old, I’ve had to don the jersey of another city. I’m not complaining, those clubs made me the player I am today and I’m very grateful. I like to think that one of my best qualities as a a person is that I’m passionate in whatever I do. As a player I would like to think I never cheated anyone who watched me play, and the passion for the game kept me motivated for all these years,
 
“I’ve always said that one day, if it hasn’t been done already I will come back and help put Bristol back on the ice hockey map. The game has been good to me and I felt it was time to give something back. I know how hard it is to come from a small club, not knowing where to start, who to contact, having no options and for those reason a lot of kids finish skating at an early age. Mike and I were lucky but we worked hard and we were rewarded with long and enjoyable careers. Bristol deserves a team and it is a privilege to help provide one”
 
Richie is not the only Hargreaves family member impressing on the ice. His brother Mike opted to join him at Bristol this year after a number of years playing at a higher level, and to add to the mix his sister Becci is player coach for Swindon Topcats womens team and also coaches GB women’s U16 team
 
Affectionately known as ‘Killer’, Mike was always going to be part of the Bristol project and Richie is obviously delighted to have his brother along for the ride:
 
“Mike had his first kid this year so he was looking to be closer to home. We’ve played together for many years, so us talking about doing this in Bristol has been on our minds for years. I think everyone in my family has a say in this team but Mike was always going to be a part of this one way or another,
 
“He understands, as do a few others on the team what it’s like to be on the road your whole life. Since the start of June people have come forward and asked what they can do to help, this club is about them and whilst I do get called Jackie Moon (after Will Ferrell’s character in the movie Semi-Pro), I know that I couldn’t do all of this on my own and they all make it worth it”
 
So as Division 2 heads towards the business end of the season, few neutrals would begrudge the leagues newest team a shot at promotion. Whether this season will be too soon for them is anyone’s guess, however one thing is for certain. It won’t be through lack of trying from “Jackie Moon” and friends down at Frogmore Street.
 
Thanks for reading.
Carrsy
 
Contact the author david.carr@prohockeynews.com