OXFORD, UK: It’s over thirty years since Scott Gough headed down to Oxford from his native Scotland with £35 in his pocket, looking to carve out a career on the ice with the City Stars.
Left to right: Jo Mundy, Scott Gough, Greig Box Turnbull, Kenny Redmond
After a long and decorated career with the Stars as both a player and a coach, interspersed with spells at other teams, Gough was unveiled as the new team owner last month, as he extended his association with a club who’ve had a rollercoaster ride since his initial arrival in 1986.
Owning a hockey club in the UK is a thankless task few opt to take on, but for the softly spoken Glaswegian the motivation comes from the affinity he has built for the club over four separate playing spells and a stint behind the bench last season alongside fellow Scot Kenny Redmond.
“I was only 17 when I moved down to Oxford” admits Gough, who turned 50 this year and has a stand named after him at the rink.
“It was the old Heineken days when teams in the UK travelled from the top of the country to the bottom and I was asked to join the club in their second year. I thought why not, and headed down with John Mattassa (former Stars goalie). We were put up in a team house and fell in love with Oxford and the people who supported the club.”
“The Sin Bin Crew were a bunch of avid supporters who all still watch hockey to this day along with Andrew Hall from the Rose and Crown. These people looked after us both. Unfortunately Oxford went down a league so I moved on to Swindon for two seasons to maintain league one hockey, and then onto the new Bracknell Bees team, winning the league in the second year”
“I then moved back to Oxford to play with long time buddy Dan Prachar and Don Jamieson and won the League in the first season back so stayed loyal to the club for another four seasons until some club issues saw me move over to Chelmsford and Solihull Barons while the club restructured. I moved back again for another four great seasons until 1995-96 when we won the league again and my son Dale was born.”
“I then decided to hang up the skates to focus on family and work. That was really hard at 27 but the correct decision, as its allowed me now to undertake the challenge of running the club, something that’s always been a dream and now it’s here I can’t wait to get going.”
“I did come back out of retirement after a six year break to help Dan set up the new Stars in 2003-4 season and played another three years, so it’s a special place for me and I could never really stay away, so having this new opportunity allows me now to give something back to Oxford and all the fans and volunteers that make it a special club place to be on game nights and team practice.”
Early days with the City Stars
The focus on work away from the rink led to Gough starting Mediaplant with a couple of ex-work colleagues, a business that has now grown into the biggest independent media manufacturing company in the UK, supplying some 12 million CD and DVDs to publishing companies and the music industry along with all the associated print and packaging plus more recently, USBs, and Video brochures to Blue Chip type companies.
It’s his experience away from the rink and on the ice that gives Gough the confidence he can make a success of owning a club that has seen highs and lows since it was formed in 1985.
“To be honest I’ve jumped at the chance to do this” explains Gough, who settled in neighbouring Wiltshire with his family.
“In terms of experience I will be looking at this from both a hockey player’s point of view and applying my experience that’s been moulded through my business life”
“I’m confident this, along with the new Management team we now have in place, will build on the recent success of the club. I trust in the team around me and believe it will be the foundation of great years to come in Oxford.”
“James Schall along with Russell Shrives and Greig Box Turnbull have worked tirelessly over the last couple of seasons to get Oxford back in the spotlight, but both James and Russell have business and personal commitments that just won’t allow them the time to do what’s required going forward with the Stars.”
“This is where the opportunity came from, and they’ve been fantastic in the last week or two handing over sponsor information, points of contact, and various other things that have helped us move quickly to restructure for the new season, so I can’t thank them enough.”
The new management team consists of Box Turnbull, who was previously the MD with Oxford United and will continue looking after sales and marketing, Jo Mundy who will be General Manager, Ian Dibley who manages a team of some 35 volunteers on game days and of course Head Coach Redmond, who has been a friend of Gough’s since the age of twelve.
In one sense, the Stars found themselves at a crossroads this summer. The team won the national championship and Wilkinson Conference, but lost in the Play-Offs and subsequently opted not to step up to the Britton Conference above. It was a decision that was met with a mixed reaction, with some hockey fans wondering how the Stars could top such a successful season back in the Wilkinson, and what ambitions the team had.
Gough and Redmond pick up the silverware in 2017/18
“We are looking for a treble to improve on next year and also to start a new academy structure for the junior club so we have local Oxford players coming through the system who will be the future of the club” explains Gough.
“People have asked why do we not go up a league and that’s simple. The budget differential between the two leagues is huge, teams in that league will have budgets ranging from £150,000 to £450,000 per season and Oxford just don’t have that kind of money at this time”
“But as we build over the next few seasons this may be an option, but we have to ensure the stability of the whole club and take this step by step with the changes that have taken place over the last few weeks.”
The Stars have already announced the return of goalie Milan Ronai, star defensive duo Alex Staples and Dom Hopkins, plus popular local forward Josh Oliver ahead of puck drop in September. Gough spent much of last season on the bench along with Redmond in the position of Assistant Coach, which begs the question of how the dynamic will change now that the new owner has a different focus.
“That (player recruitment) is Kenny’s world and he has been fantastic” admits Gough. ”He’s been speaking to all the players from last year, securing the guys that are in his plans for the coming season along with some new faces to Oxpens that will be announced in the coming weeks”
“The dynamic will be no different to last year working with Kenny, we have known each other for 40 years and I trust his judgment and coaching skills so I will be there in the same way to help him and the team where I can”
“My other role changes nothing from the day to day training and game days and if anything, will strengthen us as a team as we can make decisions on the spot if needed and having the support of Greig, Jo, Ian and the volunteers is invaluable.”
“Fusion who run the rink and the local council are now back on board and in turn the game day experience will step up another level”
“We’re all just looking forward to getting the season going and seeing all the fans back in the rink for that first puck drop.”
Contact the author: carrsy2@gmail.com
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