The Inferno Chats to Cudds

15th Jul 2011 | Posted by The Inferno

Been there, done it, get the aches and pain. Cudds started out after sneaking to the old WNIR rink for a skate with some mates and picked the game up before winning a title and making some great friends then leaving Hockey to look at new ventures but he returned once again for a year or two playing before becoming Coach of the ENL 1 Devils. We catch up with Cudds on the season ahead, new signings, development of our juniors and his career to date

1. When did you start playing, how did you get involved?

Well I first starting playing when I was 9 or 10 years old, I remember a few of the boys had mentioned the opening of the Wales National Ice Rink in town so we decided to go along to check it out, without our parents knowing. We basically clubbed all our money together and had enough for us all to go skating. When we got into the new rink there were a lot of skating instructors teaching people how to skate. After a few hours of skating a Canadian guy called out to us from the boards. He started talking to us about hockey and the new junior teams that were being formed, we went to the rink Managers office and were shown a 5 min video of a hockey game. I was absolutely hooked from then on, the only problem was I had to go home and tell my mother where I had been. As soon as she calmed down I then had to ask her for a lot of money for skates! It went better than I had thought and within a week or two I attended the first junior training session with the Devils Junior set up. I remember being really nervous when I arrived, I had my new skates but that was it. We had to grab whatever kit was lying around and just put it on and get on with it. Skating onto the ice we were met by that same Canadian guy, none other than John Lawless!!!!

2. What was the level like when you were growing up/What teams did you play for?

Obviously at first we needed time to learn. I remember we when played the first ever junior game in Cardiff, skating out with all the lights off to the ‘final countdown’ We all felt a bit like superstars as quite a few people were in the rink to see it. We played Brighton in a friendly game and only one or two of the guys actually had full kit. We ended up losing the game 6-1 though and came back down with a big bump. I actually still have the ticket for the game in a frame at my mother’s house.

Not long after a decision was made by the club that we wouldn’t enter the league that year, and as there were so many kids interested in playing hockey we played in our own ‘inter-house’ leagues. It was all set up properly, with match day programmes etc and local business sponsored the teams, I remember one team being called Unigate dairy’s, I cant remember the rest to be honest, I’ve probably got a programme somewhere though. There were literally hundreds of kids playing hockey then, a real buzz about the Devils, it was on Welsh TV all the time and people just wanted to get involved. In the junior set up then were guys like Nicky Chinn, Jason Stone, Lee Carson, Lee Cowmeadow, Neil Francis, Simon Keating, Richard Townsend, James Manson, Stevie Lyle who all current Devils fans will be familiar with. We were coached really well over those junior years, we had Lawless himself, Shannon Hope, Doug McEwen, Perry Olivier, Steve Moria all those guys got involved with coaching us, I don’t think any other junior set up had that back then. At the end of that first year, teams were picked and we entered the into the leagues.

Our first game was against Aldershot in junior b league, we skated out for the second time in a competitive game, this time there was no ‘the final countdown’ though just a plain old skate out!! We ended up winning the game 18-0 and going that season unbeaten with promotion into A league hockey. We were a mid-table team in the A League for a few years until the under 16’s, I remember us wining the A league South just piping Romford for the title and we were off to nationals in Nottingham. We played against Whitley Bay from the North in the Semi Final. Whitley were always a big tough team no matter what age group you played against, in the second period we were winning the game 9-0 and there was just fight after fight after fight! Ken Taggart was head referee for the BIHA back then and made a call to abandon the game with Whitley standing no chance of catching us and someone really was about to get hurt.

We played Durham in the final after they had blown Romford apart in the semi and back then Durham were the powerhouse of UK hockey, all their age groups right up to the Wasps in the Premier League. I don’t remember much about the game as it was a bit of a blur and a bit unreal but we beat them 6-4 and were crowned British Champions. Even though we were all aged 15/16 somehow we had a lot of champagne and other alcohol. We went back to the Hilton Hotel in Nottingham and I remember throwing all the pool furniture in the pool and we just sat there in the pool drinking from the cup. We were the first junior team from Cardiff to win a championship it was a fantastic feeling. Most of our team had stuck together right from under 10’s so it was great to win a championship together.

That team all left under 16 hockey and moved up to Under 21, Nicky Chinn and Jason Stone were now full time professionals with the Devils and many of our players were on the fringes of making it as well. We were now a dominant force in junior/senior hockey and those nights like the ones in Nottingham became a regular occurrence. Simon Keating, Richard Townsend, Neil Francis and Lee Carson were playing less and less for us and more for the senior team, personally I was way behind those guys so decided to try senior hockey with the Cardiff Bears a team that played in the old British Division 2 South league, some other junior players we’re also selected Chris Thomas and Lyndon Pezzack (now assistant coaches with the ENL 1 team) the league itself was quite poor but it was a great experience to play senior hockey and some very funny road trips along the way. I also remember the senior Devils had won the league the year before and were competing in Europe and due to a fixture clash the under 21’s played the Premier league game in their place, we got absolutely run out of the building but it didn’t effect the Devils league table position such was their dominance back then. A team called the Cardiff Capitals was set up for Division one hockey as there were so many players that had come though the junior system by now and just weren’t ready for the Devils, besides by now Jason Stone and Nicky Chinn were two of the best British players in the league and other guys like Franny, Cowie, Manson, Carson and Keats were stating to make names for themselves as well. I played a full year split between the Capitals and the under 21’s and even gave Bristol a try as they had just entered a team into the senior league but I hated it and soon returned. All the guys I had grown up playing hockey with had now moved on and my career outside of hockey was taking off, I started to train with the Cardiff Rage but never played a game, I decided to quit the sport to concentrate on my job. 8 years on (and many lbs later!) I decided to return and play ENL for the 2007/2008 season.

 

3. Who do you think is the best forward you have played on a line with and against?

That’s a really tough question, I played on a line with Neil Francis and a guy called Ian Hoskins the first year we won the championship and purely down to the fact I had played with them for so long its got to be on of those guys, Franny just never stopped skating, I remember us playing up a few ages groups, I think we were 14/15 playing for the under 21’s and Franny was just running people left right and centre, it was funny cause this big guy with a full beard wanted to kill him but Franny wouldn’t give him a second off. Ian Hockings is a player that really should have made it pro. He was a 6’4 winger aged 15, so strong and powerful but his senior career was cut short due to countless shoulder operations. Most recently since my return Ben Davies has to be one of the most skilful forwards I have played with at ENL level. But if I was picking the best ‘player’ I have ever played with it has to be Stevie Lyle, hands down!

In term of playing against there has been a few of those too, David Longstaff, Ashley Tait, Jonathan Weaver to name three! As Weaver was a forward when I played against him I will have to say Weaver was the best in this country, and arguably is still one of the best players in the Elite League. We played a tournament in Colorado Springs against some great American and Canadian Junior teams, some of those guys we outstanding, and we also played against (Russian) Dynamo Moscow’s under 20 team, If I could remember (or spell!!) the name of one of those guys it would be one of them for sure, completely different class!

 

4. Which one current player in the British leagues (Brit or import) would you like to have playing in Cardiff?

It’s hard for me to comment on the Elite League at the moment as the ENL schedule is so busy I don’t get to see much of it at all. I liked the look of Mike Sgroi, he was at Sheffield briefly a few years back, big genuine tough guy that could also play the game, guys like that are always valuable assets and real crowd pleasers. But If you look import wise Gerad had 4 of the top ten forwards last year and by far the best D man in the league in Weller. So for the Elite League I would say it would be nice to see the local boys Jonathan Phillips or Matt Myers back. I saw Matt a few times last season and he was outstanding in the games I saw. In the ENL Andy Smith from Invicta has been an outstanding British forward and Jurai Huska from Romford was the outstanding import. I almost signed Huska a few years ago but I couldn’t find him any accommodation in Cardiff, having said that for me in the ENL, if I could pick one player to sign right now it would be Stoney (Jason Stone)! He has everything we have been missing and could really help our youngsters.

5. How many imports are allowed at ENL level/ how many on ice at one time/youngest players allowed at ENL. Can you give the fans some background info as many are not aware of the ENL leagues just the Elite.

Well in the ENL you can have as many imports as you want, you can only dress two per game and have one on the ice at any one time. As the league has got more and more professional over the years there has been calls for an increase in imports allowed. However, recently the league actually considered lowering it. I really don’t think this would help development in the ENL as teams with all the cash would just take Brits from EPL/ENL teams and offer them more money. Personally for me, if it’s truly a development league then they should have a minimum number of players that have come from the academy’s, and make it high like 50% then you can increase import numbers to 3 or 4 as it won’t hurt the development. Teams would then be forced to work with their junior academy’s and produce players themselves rather than look at guys down the road and ignore their own development because they have the money to do so.

For young players, they have to be 15 to train with an ENL team and 16 to play in a league game. We currently have 7 15/16 year olds training with us and these are really quality players, some England internationals and even GB U18 training squad members. I’m sure ENL fans will see some of these guys from time to time skate out with us next season.

 

6. How much funding does the ENL system get in terms of money for players/travel/kit?

We are completely self-sufficient, and any money we raise is done by myself/Brent and the hard work of the volunteers associated with the ENL set up. It’s unfortunate but that’s the way it is right now, and we’re comfortable with the situation. I read recently that Coventry were sending some of their ENL/junior players to Sweden to skate with some SEL teams and you can’t help being a bit envious of that but we are just not there yet. So if anyone reading this wants to help support the local development please get in touch mark.cuddihy@btinternet.com or enldevils@cardiffdevils.com we would love to hear from you!

When I first took over the team in 2008 it was losing money and a bit of a drain on the junior system, we had crowds of 50 odd per game and no sponsorship, it was just going nowhere. The following year we changed a lot within the team on and off the ice, we really pushed the marketing and we were playing very well, going the whole of that season unbeaten at home. During that 2008/09 season we were getting crowds of around 500 and that was great, if you look at some league of Wales football teams and the lower rugby leagues they would struggle to get those average crowds. Our biggest crowd that year was 706 when we beat the champions Invicta 6-3. Last year the numbers were down slightly but I think that has a lot to do with how successful the Elite Devils were and we had two games as ‘free’ games. As an ENL team though we have if not the smallest the joint smallest budget in the league (us and maybe Bracknell) now Swindon have been relegated. We are not really interested in paying big wages for guys to play in the ENL as the focus of our guys should be to make the Elite League team, but for me I just want to make things easier on the players that give so much for the club. We are surviving on our gate receipts right now as sponsors are hard to come by at this moment in time. I urge anyone that has never seen an ENL game to come and try it, we’ve built up a steady fan base over the last few years and the regular spectators on ENL have nothing but kind words about the style and standard of hockey we play!

7. How many of the juniors who have played ENL have been fed into the Elite Devils?

All of the youngsters you’ve seen dress for the Elite team have come though the Development system. If they haven’t played for the ENL Devils it would have been Rage or Capitals at some point or another. That’s why it’s so important to have this stepping stone in Cardiff.

8. Long term aims with ENL/Coaching in general.

My role within the ENL system is one of head coach and general manager, so I have on ice and off ice targets. Off the ice I would like to continually keep building on the fan base and raise the profile of ENL hockey in Cardiff. Continue to gain some loyal partners and sponsors to help take the financial pressure off the team. I would like to be able to supply guys with kit and cover all the travel costs. On the ice, I obviously want to win a championship, I know how it feels as a player and I am bursting at the seams to see how it feels as a coach, I was 4 points off doing it 2 years ago and for us (a second team) it felt great picking up a runners up trophy, but your constantly thinking about those four points, and how you could have won them. For the last 3 years the teams that have won the league have done it with us in their building. Its hard moving your way though hundreds of fans all celebrating a title, I’m just dying to get a night like that in Cardiff. My main focus though is player development, I want to see at least one new player every year playing up for the Elite team, I have managed to do it every year so far and if that continues that’s all that really counts.

My aim for coaching in general is to keep improving and coach at the highest level that I can, I had an offer the year before last to move up to the EPL but the timing was really bad for me, besides we had an opportunity to win the league here and I really wanted to see that though. Possibly, I would like to coach abroad but you need so many things to fall into place in your personal and professional life for that to work. My wife works for a global company and has the freedom to move around so maybe its something I would look at in a few years. But you always worry if you would be able to put the same amount of passion into another team, If you’ve had a long day or just tired in general the fact that you are working towards good things for ‘your’ team makes it much easier to put that extra bit of effort and passion into things! For the next few years I just want to keep learning and improving myself as a coach, I have a fantastic support structure here in Cardiff, if I needed any help or advice I can call on Gerad Adams or Brent Pope, we are really lucky in Cardiff to have those two guys here so much experience and knowledge of the game.

9. How would you describe the ENL league/how many teams in the South/North/How many times do teams play each other. Playoffs- similar format to Elite?

I have been involved with the ENL for 4/5 years now and it just doesn’t stand still, The addition of Isle of Wight, Chelmsford and Romford (dropping down from the EPL) has really improved the league. It has genuinely improved every single year. Obviously the Elite league is the best league in the country followed by the EPL but the ENL South division one is the third best league in the UK. For a few years the North had the dominance but now I don’t think any of those teams would come close now. I would say it’s better than the Scottish league and the Northern League. In the North, apart from Whitley Bay it’s an amateur league. We have 11 teams in the South Division One, 14 in Division 2 South, then in the North they have 8 in Division 1 and 7 in Division 2. In our division (South 1) we play 40 league games, each team play each other 4 times, the playoff structure is 1st v 8th and 2nd v 7th ect, exactly the same as the Elite League, however there is no longer a playoff weekend for the ENL, now we just keep the semi-finals and finals home and away.

10. Apart from most of your time being taking up by coaching you obviously have a full time Occupation- How do you manage to make the two work  ?

The truth is I don’t do it very well. I had a semi successful business renting taxi’s to taxi drivers and supplying the TV and film industry in South Wales with executive travel services but if I’m honest with myself I took my eye of things, I ended up selling the cars to a local cab company and I no longer have the travel business. I just lost interest in it. But I am looking at setting up a new company in a completely different industry at some point this year.

11. It looks like your building a strong team for the 11-12 ENL campaign- Can you give us some background on the latest signings?

I’m really excited about the new guy’s. Louis Lockwood has played in the ENL before, in his first year in senior hockey he finished top scorer for Streatham that’s including imports. He has always been someone that has stood out against us, he doesn’t mind the physical side of things and is a natural goal scorer, He played last year in Toronto in the GMHL, a quality junior league and he posted some pretty good numbers out there. Adam Harding is a GB under 18 international player with huge potential, he played in a really good junior league in California for the last three seasons, I’ve stayed in touch with Adam over the years and kept a close eye on his career, he has always skated with us when he has returned from the states. He plays a north American style, very aware of what’s going on around him, a great skater with a good shot and genuine hockey sense. Jamie Hayes most Devils fans will know well, he’s an ENL player with Elite League ability, he’s due a breakout year in senior hockey and I think he’s ready to do that here this season. He’s 6’2 and has piled on the weight over the summer, the kid is now an absolute beast and in really great shape. He’s a power forward, powerful skater with good left hand shot, hits hard and is a very tough kid. All three of those guys are going to make a massive difference to our team. We haven’t been able to announce it as yet but we have also singed another young player from a Canadian junior team that also has massive potential. Losing Burrows will be the biggest loss to the team but it’s a good loss as it’s to our senior team, its why we are here and we are all really happy for him. The key players in the team have returned or will be returning over the next few weeks. Those guys will continue their development, they have all got better and better every year and I see this year being no different at all. We are also working closely with 7 15/16 year olds that I’m hoping will be able to make an appearance, they are all from the Cardiff under 16 team and big things are expected.

 

We’d like to offer big thanks from us to Cudds for taking time out to speak to us and filling us in on what to expect from the ENL team this year.

Don’t forget to check back Tuesday for our next feature and in case you missed it you can check out our conversation with Devil Mark Smith here  http://www.the-inferno.co.uk/news/the-inferno-chats-with-mark-smith/