Bristol Central Mens Water Polo

History

"Minnows" Take Long Road to Glory (2001)

From local league side to National League champions in just 25 years .... that's the Bristol Central story. Senior palyer RHYS TAMLYN explains the background.

For Bristol Central, 2001 was a year of outstanding success. Victory in the British Championships set us up perfectly for a National League campaign in which we played with real determination to win every game (the two points we "lost" were down to an administrative cock-up!). The finale could hardly have been better - a 17-9 victory over old enemy Lancaster in their home pool.

Not at all bad for a club that for more than 30 years rated as relative water polo minnows in the West Country and for along time only ever competed against the second teams of nearby "giants" Weston-Super-Mare and Cheltenham.

Most of the credit for the dramatic transformation is due to Peter Sherman, father of Jez, whose own playing career, which included GB Juniors in the 1960's and National League for Cheltenham, was cut short by a medical condition affecting his hearing and balance. He immediately turned his skills to coaching, developing young players at the Bristol school where he taught and introducing them to Central.

Eventually, in 1976, the club entered National League's third division, enjoying delightful weekend treks to Durham and York, Parogon and Chester and Royton and Lancaster in a clapped-out mini-bus jointly owned by the players. This was a period of consolidation, maintained even when two of the best players from the Sherman nursery, Chris Carter and David Bird (and later Jez himself), departed to the "superstars" of Polytechnic.

Soon, young guns were able to join stalwarts like Clive Whitelock, Clive Richards, Mike Shortman, Graham Harris, Ivan Lawrence, Alan Brain, Tony Holmyard, Derek Figes, John Scott and Bernard Chappell. To these, Central added players from neighbouring clubs - Tim Lock and Nicky Beach (Cardiff), Steve Collard and Julian Davies (Weston). As a result, the home venue of Bristol Universtiy pool became a tough place for visiting teams to take points. Noisy and fervent supporters ("one-eyed",some referees might say) added to the atmosphere.

A second wave of emerging players included Roger Startin, Mark Jones, Mick Shortman and Rob Hawkings. They helped Central win the Third Division championship in 1985 AND 1986 (it still rankles that, due to a league re-structuring, we had to do it twice). When younger players such as David Bush, John Sissons, Ian Burnham, Adrian Bennett and Simon Tomlinson joined the squad, a mobile and fluid game began to develop. Even now, those players still recall how tough and physically draining was Peter's fitness regime in both gym and pool.

With the emergence of David as a class goalkeeper (a key ingrediant of any successful National League team), plus the goal scoring power of Roger Startin and Mike Yates and defence consistency of Mark Jones, Central competed well in the Second Division, gaining promotion in 1989.

As other young teams discovered, however, life can be tough against the big boys. We gained precisely NIL points and suffered inevitable relegation. But there was to be none of the disillusionment and break-up that can often result. Central re-grouped, won the Second Division in 1991 - and then really began to preform.

Weekends away were invaluable - they built team spirit and a consistency of playing style with which everyone felt comfortable. Soon, Central were taking points from teams in the bottom half of the table; fifth place in that year confirmed the improvement. However, moving up the scale again to match Polytechnic, Penguin and Sutton & Cheam was another matter. It was often suggested these clubs manned a stall at Hetahrow airport and signed up any foreigner who could play the game! Some say it's still true!

I rejoined Central in 1992, followed by another left-hander, Jon Hutchings, from Exeter. We were fourth in 1994 and finally ready to challenge the best thanks to the return from Polytechnic of GB captain Jez Sherman (he'd left Bristol as Jeremy only to return from London as 'Jez'; what London does to a boy!).

In 1995, we had a tremendous battle for the title with Lancaster, a team with a similar profile of homegrown players and good coaching. The final game of the season saw us make sure of the title by snatching a 9-7 win, to the delight of a capacity crowd - and Peter Sherman, in particular. His hard work had finally paid off. Incidentally,players on our bench that day included 15-year-old Craig Figes, who was to prove critical to Central's continuing success in the next few seasons.

Competition with Lancaster has been tough ever since. Central took the league in 1997 boosted by Sean Love, a Lancaster product who had come to study in Bristol. The following year was a great one for us - triple winners of the Bristish Championship, National League and ASA Club Championship. Players like Sean, Jez, Craig, John Sissions, David Bush and Jon Hutchings provided a formidable international backbone. We competed regularly in Europe, albeit with the usual lack of success against the better prepared and mainly professional European sides.

Peter Sherman relinquished the coaching reins a couple of years ago, although we still benefit from his wit and wisdom. As the 2002 season approaches, his legacy remains. Jez has now taken coaching responsibilities, ensuring that the future Bristol Central is in very good hands.

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