An Interview With Stuart Coles
Hey Stuart, why don’t we start at the beginning? How did you get interested in hockey and at what point did you decide to start writing about it?
The beginning was a long time ago! I grew up in Southampton and a friend of mine at school played in the Gosport junior system. I went with him to the odd game and then I ended up goal judging for the U12 team (when they still had them…). I never got on the ice though and still have never actually played the sport. When I moved to Cardiff for going to uni, I carried on taking in the odd Devils game when I could but being a poor student that wasn’t so many! My studies continued at Warwick and living in Coventry, I started going to Blaze games. It was still hockey but there was just something different about the club and the atmosphere. I moved in September 2002 and got a season ticket with my girlfriend (who is now my wife) the following year. We’ve kept the same seats ever since. It was due to The Hockey Forum in 2004 that I decided to start writing about the game; I was approached about doing match reports for the club as apparently I could write reasonably well and turn them around pretty quickly. From there it’s just grown to the point where I’m at now, helping to edit a magazine, interviewing players on video and writing my own articles as well.
It’s been an interesting season for Coventry, the team seem to be in transition. How are the fans responding to the team not playing to their usual high standard?
I think it’s safe to say the fans aren’t happy. It’s not just this season; it’s the combination of the past three seasons since the side won the title in 2009/10. None of them have been particularly good by Blaze’s own high standards. There’s a vocal minority on internet forums or social media who are perhaps at the extreme end of the bad feeling, but there is a general discomfort currently around the rink. After some recent performances, it was clear from the number of people who stayed behind after the game to see the man of the match awarded or from the audible groans when a pass went astray. I think the Coventry fan base is incredibly supportive and when the team is playing well, they’ll get behind them. But when the team isn’t performing, silence speaks volumes.
For those readers who don’t know too much about the EIHL, what sort of hockey would you say the Blaze play and who are their key guys?
All successful EIHL sides have had a combination of physicality and skill. Teams that go too far one way or the other (I’m thinking the near non-contact style of some of the Edinburgh Capitals teams or the brutality of the old London Racers sides) haven’t been particularly good. Blaze have tried to go down that route by mixing the physical side of the game with players like Benn Olson and Kevin Harvey with the more skilful aspects with guys like Ryan Ginand and Adam Henrich. Ginand is the headline grabber; he’s the top goals and points scorer in the league but for me, Adam Henrich is the key guy and that’s shown over the past month where his craft and guile has been missed while he’s been out with injury. I should also mention Mike Zacharias in between the pipes, he’s a standout goalie and arguably in the top 3 if not the best goalie in the league right now. He’s kept the Blaze in many games already this season that they might have been blown out of.
How about through the rest of the league, who are the guys you enjoy watching?
I really enjoy watching Belfast play. Games between them and us always seem to be close regardless of how the teams are performing currently, there just seems to be something that clicks between the two sides. Adam Keefe is probably the spearhead of that and for me he’s the prototype EIHL player. A little bit of toughness, a willingness to drop the gloves but also skilled and can put up the points and is reliable on special teams and in the defensive zone. From a purely skilled point of view, Nottingham always have a jam-packed roster of offensive talent and they’re always good to watch. Matt Francis has stood out for me this year, a really dynamic player.
The EIHL is now a regular feature on Premier Sports and Benn Olson seems to have emerged as a real character. Are the team capitalising on this at all? Olson novelty bowties at the merch stands perhaps??
The team actually do very well on merchandising for all of the players, but yes, Benn Olson has been capitalised on, back from when he joined the side last season. There’s been at least one, maybe two, themed t-shirts that he’s featured on. Two of the young lads who sit in front of me have “Big Benn Olson” on the back of their replica jerseys instead of just “Olson”; they’re not the only ones either. I will say that although Benn plays the tough guy role on the ice, he’s always been friendly and accommodating to everyone and has a wicked sense of humour and that has definitely come through on the TV.
It’s only fair as you’ve given up your time for us that we return the favour. Where can our readers find your writing on the game?
At this moment in time, pretty much exclusively in the Blaze’s monthly magazine “On Fire”. I’m working on a new website in my spare time right now which will be trying to take a more sideways look at hockey (at all levels) in the UK. Right now I’m developing the content for the site and hope to go live with it at some point in the summer. If there happens to be anyone reading who might be interested in contributing, particularly about either the EPL or NIHL, they can find me on Twitter @StutheBadger.
Thanks to Stu for giving up his time. Go say hi to him on twitter!
If you’ve got any feedback, you can tweet me @MattMerritt. I’d love to hear from anyone who takes the time to read the blog!
If you’re a hockey player/coach/team manager in a competitive league, or you write about your local team or the wider game, I’d love to ask you some questions too, please get in touch either here or via twitter!