Skatey...The life of Les Skate
Share Embed Flag
Download ePaper

Skatey...The life of Les Skate

Biography of Les Skate edited and prepared for publication by volunteer biographer Lorraine Blythe on behalf of Eastern Palliative Care October 2019 Biography of Les Skate edited and prepared for publication by volunteer biographer
Lorraine Blythe on behalf of Eastern Palliative Care October 2019

skater12
29.10.2019 Views

Skatey The Life of Les Skate A good friend of mine was Des Goodwin. He was the first life member of the footy club. He ran a Boys’ Club, which was run as a subsidiary of the State Police Boys’ Club. He wasn’t connected to Coldstream at the time. He used to go around of a weekend and pick up all these boys, from all over the place. Very few from Coldstream (three or four at the most). He took them all around the Yarra Valley to their football games. A time came when Des got too busy and I also think he could see that Coldstream was ready for a junior football club. I had a pretty close relationship with him and he asked if I would take them on. I doubt if he would have conned anyone else! He had a philosophy … He always said, ‘If you need to get anything done, ask the busiest person.’ Anyway, I took them on. He always said, ‘If you need to get anything done, ask the busiest person.’ Anyway, I took them on. I had much the same pattern to cover. I had to go around and pick up boys from Mt Evelyn, Ringwood, Lilydale, wherever. At that stage the Under 16s hadn’t really been formed much in the Eastern District Football League. So, it was reasonably easy for me to sign up boys from other places. Which, about a year later, became much more difficult as these kids ended up going back to the clubs where their parents were. So, we didn’t get much parental support either. With me going around and picking their boys up, meant that they weren’t getting involved. This made it very tough. We needed two cars for the pick up on the Saturday I had a ute; Joan had the FJ. We filled them up with kids, with our own four sitting on someone’s knee! But we had a team. In the first year we went alright. Ended up about in the middle of the ladder. The second year, we were even better. There was only one team who beat us each time we played. They were a very good team, Surrey Hills. They were in very good position because there’d been a boy’s home down on Warrigal Rd, which had closed. They had a pretty wild and strong football team. Well Surrey Hills picked the eyes out of them and ended up with all these big strong boys. Anyway, that was alright. That was the second season. All my boys were in the year that they turned sixteen. Well, we won our way right through to the Grand Final, beaten along the way only by Surrey Hills. 54

Skatey The Life of Les Skate All my boys were in the year that they turned sixteen. Well, we won our way right through to the Grand Final The game was played over at Boronia. We didn’t have a big gathering of people there to watch it, unfortunately. We were going along alright because we were kicking straight and they were kicking crooked! As someone said, ‘That means you had a good backline.’ And we did. We had some kids there who would not give up and they were able to hold them out. And there were a couple of changes I made … one was right at the start. I changed the kid we had playing in the centre. He reckoned he was crash hot as a centreman. Well he was too, he was clever, but he could never have beaten their centreman. So, I put him out on the wing and oh, he hated me! But as the game went on, he played his game and he did his bit. I took a boy named Johnny May away from centre half-forward and put him in the centre, on this good bloke, and he got on top of him! Each time it was kicked out, (and it was kicked out a few times because they were kicking behinds) Johnny would get in front and he’d mark it. (He went on down to Footscray, he didn’t play Firsts, but he did play some of the top games here. Nice bloke Johnny.) Anyway, just a little bit more on that game…My nephew Gary… (I could talk about them all!) We were going along alright because we were kicking straight and they were kicking crooked! Anyway, just a little bit more on that game…My nephew Gary, (I could talk about them all!) he was one of those kids…just so determined and no matter how good the bloke was that he was on, he would never let him go. Everybody lifted! It came right down to the last minutes and we were two behinds in front. They were getting the ball around the bottom flank. All they had to do was kick it out into the ground, one of their blokes get it, kick a goal and it would have been all over. Now one of the boys that I had playing, was Ian Mays. He was playing full forward. The Mays family Everybody lifted! were always top footballers at Lilydale. So, a bit of that had rubbed off on Ian. He only played that one year. He was a mate of some of my boys from Ringwood. He hadn’t been allowed to play football because as a kid, he’d been a bit of a dare-devil. Someone dared him to jump off his own roof, so he jumped off and broke both his ankles! And then he got a disease in his bones, osteomyelitis I think it was. He used to come out and have a run, but there wasn’t much he could do. Oh, but he was a beautiful high mark. 55

<strong><strong>Skate</strong>y</strong><br />

<strong>The</strong> Life <strong>of</strong> <strong>Les</strong> <strong>Skate</strong><br />

All my boys were in the year<br />

that they turned sixteen.<br />

Well, we won our way right<br />

through to the Grand Final<br />

<strong>The</strong> game was played over at Boronia. We didn’t have<br />

a big gathering <strong>of</strong> people there to watch it,<br />

unfortunately. We were going along alright because<br />

we were kicking straight and they were kicking<br />

crooked! As someone said, ‘That means you had a<br />

good backline.’ And we did. We had some kids there<br />

who would not give up and they were able to hold them out. And there were a couple <strong>of</strong><br />

changes I made … one was right at the start. I changed the kid we had playing in the<br />

centre. He reckoned he was crash hot as a centreman. Well he was too, he was clever, but<br />

he could never have beaten their centreman. So, I put him out on the wing and oh, he<br />

hated me! But as the game went on, he played his game and he did his bit.<br />

I took a boy named Johnny May away from centre<br />

half-forward and put him in the centre, on this good<br />

bloke, and he got on top <strong>of</strong> him! Each time it was<br />

kicked out, (and it was kicked out a few times<br />

because they were kicking behinds) Johnny would<br />

get in front and he’d mark it. (He went on down to<br />

Footscray, he didn’t play Firsts, but he did play some <strong>of</strong> the top games here. Nice bloke<br />

Johnny.)<br />

Anyway, just a little bit more<br />

on that game…My nephew<br />

Gary… (I could talk about<br />

them all!)<br />

We were going along alright<br />

because we were kicking<br />

straight and they were<br />

kicking crooked!<br />

Anyway, just a little bit more on that game…My<br />

nephew Gary, (I could talk about them all!) he was<br />

one <strong>of</strong> those kids…just so determined and no matter<br />

how good the bloke was that he was on, he would<br />

never let him go. Everybody lifted! It came right down<br />

to the last minutes and we were two behinds in front.<br />

<strong>The</strong>y were getting the ball around the bottom flank.<br />

All they had to do was kick it out into the ground, one <strong>of</strong> their blokes get it, kick a goal and<br />

it would have been all over.<br />

Now one <strong>of</strong> the boys that I had playing, was Ian<br />

Mays. He was playing full forward. <strong>The</strong> Mays family Everybody lifted!<br />

were always top footballers at Lilydale. So, a bit <strong>of</strong><br />

that had rubbed <strong>of</strong>f on Ian. He only played that one<br />

year. He was a mate <strong>of</strong> some <strong>of</strong> my boys from Ringwood. He hadn’t been allowed to play<br />

football because as a kid, he’d been a bit <strong>of</strong> a dare-devil. Someone dared him to jump <strong>of</strong>f<br />

his own ro<strong>of</strong>, so he jumped <strong>of</strong>f and broke both his ankles! And then he got a disease in his<br />

bones, osteomyelitis I think it was. He used to come out and have a run, but there wasn’t<br />

much he could do. Oh, but he was a beautiful high mark.<br />

55

logo

products

Resources

Company

Terms of service
Privacy policy
Cookie policy
Cookie settings
Imprint
Change language
Made with love in Switzerland
© 2024 Yumpu.com all rights reserved

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!