Interview With Steve Hyde

How long have you been involved with the running / management of the club?

Coming up for 4 years.

We started the group along with Age UK and Blackpool FC Community Trust in December 2103.

The Senior Seasiders Club grew from this initial 6 week project in May 2014.

Why did you first get involved with helping run your Walking Football club?

I had spent a little time with Blackpool FC Community Trust working with schools after I retired and I was invited to the inuagural WF session kicked off by Jimmy Armfield.

When we started the club we needed a steering a committee and I was asked to minute meetings and organise an e-mail datasbase.

As one of the first Walking Football groups to be established I wanted to  grow the sport and help other mature people become aware of the benefits of regular exercise.

How many hours per week do you spend on club related matters?

Too many according to my wife!

Probably about 5-6 hours organising fixtures, competitions and teams as well as producing regular newsletters, and of course playing twice a week.

Is your club funded in any way and if so, how did you achieve securing these revenue streams?

All our working funds come from a £10 membership and an annual Christmas Entertainment Fund Raising Evening but we did receive a £500 sponsorship from a North West solicitors group last year.

Members have mainly bought their own kit.

We affiliated with North West Counties club AFC Blackpool for Lancashire FA cover and support (and one of our members, who is 72, is part-owner of the parent club).

Does your club follow rules of the game created by any official body / association? If the answer is yes, why did you decide to follow those association rules?

We have played a series of differing rules as they have been modified over the years.

But most of our competitions are played to WFU rules so that refereeing becomes more consistent.

However the EFL competition seems to follow the FA rules more closely.

We prefer to use lines rather than boards in competitions as this a far more skillful game.

How many regular players attend each session and how quickly have numbers grown since the club was formed?

We have around 50 members at the moment and between 20-30 turn up at our twice weekly sessions (Monday and Thursday 4.30pm).

We also have an extra “club” session on Monday mornings at 11.30 to accommodate those who can’t make the later times.

Numbers depend on holidays, grandparent duties, injuries and, of course, the weather.

Our numbers are stable but we hope to expand.

If your club plays a competitive game, rather than one of the weekly Walking Football fitness sessions, do you see any change of attitude in respect of competitiveness in the players?  

All our weekly sessions are competitive but in a friendly environment.

Short 10 minute games help to stop one sided matches from happening. We are fully inclusive with regards to age, ability, gender and special needs.

At Tournaments we can all put our “competitive” head on but we like to think that we play the game in a fair, sportsman like way at all times.

We have an internal “code of conduct” that everyone has to sign up to when joining.

Do you feel fitter and healthier since you have started playing Walking Football and if so in which ways?

Definitely so.

The initial project was aimed at the difficult to reach group of males in their 50’s to whom going to the gym was not the answer.

The football was the hook to become involved and our club developed from that ethos.

We have widened into being mixed gender and developed the social side as well.

Members play ten-pin bowling and golf together with some even going on holidays as a group.

Next May twenty one of us are off to Spain to play Walking Football out there as part of a “holiday”.

Have you had any injuries playing and if so what were they?

Being a goalkeeper I have bruised knees, hips, ankles, shoulders,elbows and wrists.

An old knee injury from 40 years ago won’t go away and I recently cracked a bone in my finger (good save though).

A few shots to the ribs and the face have occurred but that’s all part of keeping.

The injuries have reduced since we moved to a 3G surface from an indoor sports hall.

Remember sports is good for you!

Do you always have a club member present who has had first aid training at your games and training sessions?

Our training sessions are led by coaches from Blackpool FC Community Trust and they all have first aid qualifications.

The centre we use has a defib. machine as well.

Two or three of our players have qualifications as well.

Has your social life changed since you became involved with Walking Football, and if so in which ways?

New friends have been made from a much wider circle of people.

We meet as a Committee at AFC Blackpool once every 6 weeks which is a social event as much as an organising evening.

Each training session has a “brew and chat” half hour afterwards which also helps with the socialising side of our clubs aims.

A regular visit to the Greater Manchester WF League in Heywood is another pleasurable fixture at Over 60’s level meeting like minded folks from further round the region.

Wives and partners are encouraged to be associate members of the club.

What are your best and worst Walking Football memories?

Best memory – Growing the club from a short 6 week project into a fully active sports group within an existing framework of AFC Blackpool.

Worst memory – Losing this year’s EFL semi-Final (having kept 6 out of 6 clean sheets) on a 32 shot penalty shoot out to Kidderminster Harriers (represented by Birmingham WFG).

The first 24 penalties were taken from just 4 yards!

How else has playing Walking Football affected your life?

It has been brilliant to recreate all those skills and abilities that we had (or didn’t have) 30 years ago.

I feel fitter having lost weight, made many new friends and continued to have an active life beyond the golf course.

Having had a heart attack and quad by-pass 14 years ago taking part in sport is important to me from a mental point of view giving me a more positive outlook on life in general.

What do you like most about Walking Football?

Still competing at a decent level of sport at a senior age.

As one of my son’s put on Facebook “Who else has a 63 year old Dad who want’s goalkeeping gloves for his Christmas Present ?”

What do you like least about Walking Football?

Letting on goals !

Large nets, small areas.

The Goalkeepers Union is being victimized!!!

Do you find it difficult NOT to run and what advice could you give someone in how to remain at walking pace?

As a goalkeeper that is not my problem.

I learned at a very early age that if you stand in goals the ball eventually comes to you.

My advice to the more nimble players is to plant your heel and straighten your leg when moving forward.

My idea of Velcro-soled boots has not taken on yet.

What are your goals for the future regarding your Walking Football club?

We would like to develop a Centre For Walking Football in Blackpool.

An all-purpose ground and surface would give us access to facilities all year round at a variety of times during the day.

A ladies team would be good, but we do already have an ex-England international female player in our first team.

What advice would you give to someone who would like to play but is nervous about approaching a club or attending a Walking Football session for the first time?

Come along and give it ago.

Sensible clubs will choose their teams at training sessions to spread the ability and ages around.

Remember that the after-session teabreaks are just as important as the football.

New friends are there to be made.

What do your friends and family think about you playing a sport again at your age?

Some think I am mad and can’t get their heads around the non-running aspect of the game until they see it in action.

Now they always ask how we have gone on in competitions.

I have even persuaded my 67 year old brother (the main reason I am a goalkeeper) to give it a go now he has finally retired.

What are the costs involved in order for you to play / run your Walking Football club?

Our weekly sessions are £4 an hour (tea, coffee and biscuits included).

Membership of the club is £10 per annum.

Usual entry costs are £30-35 per competition which is reasonable.

As we have no suitable home venue yet we have to factor in petrol costs as well.

Anything else you’d like to share?

Photograph attached if you want to use it (taken at Fleetwood FC during last year’s Lancashire League Series).

Good luck with your website.