TIME doesn't stand still for anyone or anything in sport. Sadly this is not a fact of life which most of Scotland's hockey clubs have yet grasped. But fortunately in Western Grasshopper hockey now has a role model which, if copied by their rivals, could take Scotland into the twenty-first century with great aspirations.
Western have always occupied the high ground in the men's game but that is not a fact which would be substantiated by glancing at their display cabinet at Auchenhowie.
They have, however, won more national trophies in the past three years than they had in the previous 96 years of their existence. Some of the credit for their change in fortunes must be placed at the door of Roddy Philp, who has captained their first X1 since 1994.
Philp has brought new priorities to the club, but having said that he was given many of the tools necessary to carry out the awakening of a sleeping giant.
Ian Anderson, a predecessor as club captain, had been a front-runner in establishing their youth section, while Dennis Starling's work on bringing their dream of an artificial pitch to fruition must receive much of the credit done behind the scenes. But it's doubtful if anyone other than Philp could have brought together the club's successes behind the scenes on to the playing field.
Philp was then 26 and on his way to 27 international appearances. He had by then established himself as a great competitor but he was also a young man with great vision.
Taking up his position as captain Philp asked two things of his club's officials: Increase the number of weekly training sessions to at least two and appoint a paid coach. Both requests were sanctioned and within 12 months Western had lift-off.
Reminiscing on those early days, Philp said: ''I was lucky in many ways for our juniors began to come through around that time and then our pitch came on stream and everything began to fall into place. Both achievements complemented each other for the friendships the juniors developed at international level resulted in players like Kevin Squire and Richard Forsyth joining the club.''
Subsequently the cup was won in 1996 and the league title captured for the past two years.
This, alas, will be Philp's last season in charge but the next nine days could prove to be the most successful in their history.
They play MIM tomorrow at Peffermill in the final of the Scottish Cup and then next week they will host the finals of the C division in the European Club Championship starting at Auchenhowie next Friday and continuing until the classification matches the following Monday.
The treble will be a fitting finale to Philp's reign but he is taking it one step at a time. The reason for this may be that the team has lost some of the high standards to which they were playing earlier in the season and had helped them walk away with the league title a few weeks back.
Philp is also alert to the potential of MIM. ''They give us two of our hardest games of the season but while we won both encounters they should have got something out of our first meeting which we managed to edge 4-3.''
With regards to Europe, Philp said: ''There are no longer easy matches. This may be just the C division but with the likes of Zurich Grasshopper in our group we can take nothing for granted if we are to reach the final and so win promotion.''
Elevation to the next division is very much part of Western's strategy as Philp points out: ''You have always got to give yourself new targets and it's no secret that our long-term aim is not just to win promotion to the B division but also to the A division and compete successfully at that level. That won't be easy but we have made such great progress in recent times that if we put our minds to it we can fulfil all our ambitions''.
For their progress to date Philp lavishes much praise on the efforts of their coaches. ''Calum McLeod took us a long way in the three years he was in charge and now our Australian strategist Gordon Simpson has lifted us to another level with the great emphasis he has placed on our training schedule.''
So, as Western start preparing for their centenary next season, they are on the verge of greatness. Whether it comes in the next few days or in the coming seasons the future looks bright.
Philp, with his leadership and his do-or-die attitude on the pitch, has left a great legacy. The players are known to have had a few fights in the dressing room lately after matches not because they have been beaten but because they have won and played badly.
With that commitment Western will do much for Scottish hockey as the next century approaches.
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