THERE cannot have been many local youngsters who went to their careers officer at school and declared they wanted to be an ice hockey player - Davey Lawrence is one who did. He tells Ashley Ball his story.
From a young age David Lawrence has only ever been stationary when he has been in goal.
Now aged 40, the former Sheffield Steelers goaltender has been involved in the sport for more than three-quarters of his life.
It has involved a lot of learning, plenty of success and many, many miles of travelling.
His playing career also saw him play for Telford, Basingstoke, Romford and Cardiff but it came to an end when he was 28.
The former Darfield Foulstone pupil remains in the game and in the summer took on the role as the coach to Leeds Knights’ senior development team.
He also works with Great Britain’s under-20 team as a goalie and video coach and has held a similar role with the women’s team.
Lawrence said: “I knew from being seven or eight that hockey was something I wanted to pursue.
“At that point it was a pipedream but when I was 13 or 14 it started to become a reality because of the pathways that were opening up in front of me.
“I was trialling for England, playing for different regions and being invited to training camps abroad.
“I actually played my first senior game at 14, which you can’t do now.
“I played in the old Super League at 15 as a guest appearance for Newcastle and the following year I got invited into camp with the Steelers and it went from there.”
Lawrence was at school alongside Jon Parkin and Antony Kay, who were both making strides with Barnsley FC.
Though he tried the more conventional sport it was ice hockey where he found his calling.
He added: “It is the same story for every kid around these parts.
“My mum and dad got tickets to go and see Steelers and we started going a bit more regularly - after the second time of going I wanted to give it a go.
“My parents have supported me all the way through, even to this day, to achieve what I have done.”
His role at Leeds, a burgeoning side whose base is just a puck’s throw from Elland Road, is to help nourish talent and prepare them for the adult game.
Within the GB set-up he is working with more experienced players and pushing them on.
The ultimate goal is to make British players better and to grow the game.
Lawrence added: “I have always stayed interested. Hockey’s a passion and I don’t think it’s something I will ever be able to put down.
“Leeds started with just 21 kids and three years later now they have a full junior set-up - two teams at every age level and more than 160 kids involved.
“Developing players is something I am really passionate about. I want to pass on the knowledge I have gained over the years and help kids to do something a little bit different.
“Hopefully they can go on to do better things and go further afield then I did.
“If you are involved in this sport, and we are not the biggest by any stretch and it’s not the most accessible or affordable, you have got to take it seriously.
“Great Britain are getting better. They are holding teams like Canada, Finland and Slovakia to reasonable results and a lot of that is down to the development of the kids at a young age.”
His time with Steelers, a name synonymous with the sport in this country, was a rollercoaster.
“I was quite lucky. I was there when they went through a rough patch but also when they had success.
“The first couple of years we won the league and the play-offs. We lost in the Challenge Cup final.
“We went through a spell of two years when the ownership changed three times. It was rocky.
“After that we had a bit more success but it was time to move on somewhere else.
“They have always had a good following. They probably averaged four or five thousand when I was there and now you’re talking eight and nines now.
“For me it was a childhood dream. It was the first team I went to see and the team that got me interested in it.”
Youngsters could keep legacy going
TWIN boys Ed and Stephen Lawrence are following in the family ice skates.
The youngsters, aged eight, have taken up the same sport their dad has been involved in for decades.
Davey said: “They’ve taken it up and it’s not something I ever envisaged them doing.
“I think when I got back into coaching more seriously the questions started being asked.
“They are both doing really well and they are enjoying it. That’s the main thing.
“I try not to coach them because I don’t want to spoil that father/son relationship. It’s more just being a dad for them.
“But they are loving it and while ever that’s the case I will keep taking them.”
While Stephen is a goalie, Ed is breaking the mould a little bit by playing as an attacker.
Bizarrely a number of other players from this region are making their way in the game and all play in goal.
Barnsley lad Finn Wilson is an England under-14 international and has also competed abroad for his country.
Hoyland’s Alex Oldale is currently on the books at Elite League team Manchester Storm.
Ben Bowns, from Swinton, is also the goalie at Cardiff Devils.
A ONCE-forgotten ice hockey hero of Barnsley was immortalised in 2018 when a blue plaque was erected in Cudworth.
Archie Stinchcombe was born in the village in 1912 but moved to Canada - a hotbed of the sport - as a youngster.
When the British were recruiting an ice hockey team ahead of the 1936 Winter Olympics they cast their eyes over the Atlantic for British-born players.
Archie stood out as a goal-scoring right winger and headed to the Garmisch-Partenkirchen games - infamously opened by then chancellor Adolf Hitler.
They upset the odds by defeating defending champions Canada on their way to the gold medal.
Archie’s prowess was even more incredible given that his vision out of one eye following a hockey accident in childhood.
He also won the European and world titles with the British squad and later coached the Nottingham Panthers.
He died in 1994 and is an inductee into the British ice hockey hall of fame.
