Skatey...The life of Les Skate

Skatey
The Life of Les Skate
I was jumping out of my skin. We didn’t win. We had beaten them through the year but
they put in a player that had played seconds for Richmond and he just killed us. It only
takes one good footballer in a weak side … but that was my claim to fame. I was coached
by a Brownlow Medalist. But it never rubbed off on me!
But that was my claim to
fame. I was coached by a
Brownlow Medalist
Those early years at Coldstream … because we were
one of the lesser sides, we got terrible hidings. But still
everyone turned up. By the time we got to move over
to the new oval, we’d picked up a few new boys that
had moved into the area. There was one family, the Wines family, who were very natural
athletes and they stood out at our club. One descendant of them is Ollie Wines. He now
plays for Port Adelaide.
The Yarra Glen Football team in its earliest years, circa 1950-52. Les is in back row, third from right
So, we kicked on a bit. Our first coach was just a local bloke who had played a bit of footy,
so we didn’t learn much. The following year we got a paid coach who had played for
Croydon. He’d gone to Richmond for a bit but he didn’t click, or he didn’t like it. After him
we had a series of different coaches who were past their time. They were playing coaches
and you hoped they’d give you a lift, but they were only there to get their money. Anyway,
we did learn a bit.
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