Although it was with great sadness that I read of the death of former Grimsby Town player and local football Manager Peter Laverick, the article brought back a flood of happy and nostalgic memories, writes Mark Fletcher.
I was lucky enough to know 'Pete' from my days as a football dad (like so many other local parents), proudly watching my son play for Pete's Discoveries team.
The article mentioned 'he took the same group of players from 'unfancied eight-year-old novices to league winners'. Well I think this is a story in its own right which is worthy of sharing and provides an insight into Pete's dedication to local Junior, intermediate and adult football and to the town as a whole.
If you drive past King George stadium on a Saturday and Sunday morning you may catch site of a white-haired gentleman shepherding his flock of 6 to 7 year olds as they enthusiastically chase a football around a makeshift pitch.
It was on this very same grass playing field that the young players who would later become part of 'Pete's team', made their first tentative steps towards playing the game of football.
The white haired gentleman is of course Geoff Bartholomew, or ' Mr B ' as he is fondly known by all his young charges and their parents, grandparents and everyone else who has had the privilege to know him.
Mr B coached the boys until they were eight when it was time to pick players to form the first team who would be playing in the up and coming seven aside league. From a large group one by one boys were chosen, as the size of the group slowly diminished the remaining boys crossed their fingers hoping that they would make the first team.
There were enough lads remaining to form a second team, but who should manage them? Amongst the boys was young Ryan Laverick. His grandfather had some football experience. He had even spent time as a professional footballer playing for his beloved Grimsby town (every local footballer's boyhood dream). But Pete was already managing an adult team in the local league and had some problems with his health. Could Pete be persuaded to help develop these young boys? You bet he could and sure enough he took the boys under his wing.
As I mentioned the boys were once described as scallywags and in the article as unfancied novices. Well this is a bit unfair but let's just say that they were very enthusiastic about football. For example, the goalkeeper Stiffell got to play in goal as he loved nothing more than to dive in the mud covering his kit in as much mud as possible. The team did have their fair share of mischievous individuals like Dillon, and Hargreaves, solid players the like of Shipp, Wilkinson, Mahoney and Osborne and flair players like Laverick but put them all together and they made a good team.
The next few year saw them compete in the seven aside leagues picking up players as they went along. Under the guidance of Pete they improved both in terms of skill and as individuals, especially their behaviour as Pete was a firm but fair manager. He reminded me of the old fashioned policeman that you would sometimes hear of, who was not afraid of chastising you if you stepped out of line, but had a heart of gold.
They established themselves as a mid-table team but remained in the shadows of the first team. As they moved to Gradely League 11-a-side matches the squad grew. They were joined by the likes of the Wilson brothers, hard-tackling Wheatley, the always-smiling Wilkinson, goal machine Moore to name a few. They had also managed to get themselves into their first final were they were runners up to LSS.
It was at this point that I got to know Pete. My son Jamie joined the team at the start of the under-12 season. I remember spending enjoyable Saturday mornings helping with training and getting to know Pete and, of course, Sunday afternoon matches.
The team plied their trade in the B league, narrowly failing to win the league on the last day of the season, losing out to Clee Community. They did however win their first piece of silverware as they beat the same Clee team in the B league cup to lift the Barry Rowan Cup.
As the first team went on to play in the A league and eventually move over to play and win the Scunthorpe League, Pete's team enjoyed a second season in the B league. This time there would be no runner up medal, they went on to be Champions.
And it did not stop there. These unfancied novices went on to win three tournaments, be twice runners up in the league, one time Champions, as well as being the last Grimsby Telegraph Crossbar winners.
By this time Pete was struggling with his health and was finding walking rather difficult. He passed the day to day running of the team to Andy Shipp and myself as assistant manager.
Health permitting you could find Pete sat with his son Mark in his car watching the team play their matches. And, of course, he was still their giving the lads encouragement and ticking them off if they needed telling.
The Discoveries first team rejoined the Grimsby league during the 2007/2008 under-15 season and comfortably won the league at a canter.
Pete's lads achieved a mid-table finish. But it was during the 2008/2009 under-16 season that Pete's legacy was finally realised. Those scallywags who had enjoyed nothing more than kicking a football around Clee Fields and getting covered in mud had become great players. They were now ready to take on the first team.
Their squad had been increased With players like Richardson and Gane to name two. The lads won their first three games of the season and sat at the top of the 'A' league, one place above the first team.
Their next match was to bring them down to earth. They found themselves at the wrong end of a hiding, dished out by their club rivals and stable mates from Discoveries. The game left the players humiliated going down 10-0, with their season seemingly in tatters. There looked to be a mountain to climb. But Pete had instilled in the lads belief, ability and stamina from those years of training and encouragement. It was time for the lads to repay Pete and the managers and get back to winning ways. They ended their season drawing with their stable mates and capturing the runners up spot to the first team. They had also managed to make it to the under 16 league Cup Final, again against the other Discoveries team.
Pete was there at the Barton Stadium in the dressing room giving the boys his own special team talk. He was so proud of the lads and boy did they repay him in style. From being underdogs and second fiddle they played the last ever game for their club by winning the Tom Fox Cup and beating their rivals 2-1. The journey was complete.
I attended Pete's funeral on Wednesday 10 April 2013 and was happy to see so many familiar faces paying their respects to a great man.
