As many readers will know, Captain Marvel is a fictional superhero character.

It was also the nickname given to former England football skipper Bryan Robson back in the 80s.

Robbo, as he was universally known, was an all-action player who led from the front with his heart on the sleeve, scored goals, saved goals and was generally considered by pretty much everyone to be an all-round good bloke.

Such has been England’s footballing decline over the past 20 years or so that no-one has been up to carrying the mantle since (sorry, all you David Beckham fans but it’s true).

But wait, The Local Answer might just have spoken to someone in Gloucestershire who is deserving of the ‘Captain Marvel’ tag.

Okay, so it’s a different sport, but does that really matter? Step forward Alistair Hammond who is captain of Wotton-under-Edge Hockey Club.

The 28-year-old has been club skipper for just over three seasons and during that time the men’s first team have celebrated three promotions, which is pretty good going by anyone’s standards.

They are now playing in the Premier Division of the GoCrea8 League and are up against some pretty decent teams.

Hammond is the first to admit that their success is not all down to him of course and the club on the whole are certainly on a steep upward curve.

“It’s the first time we’ve been in the Premier Division for some 12 years,” said Hammond.

“We used to be a much smaller club with just two men’s teams and a ladies’ team. Now we run four men’s teams, three ladies’ teams and a really strong youth section.”

So what’s brought about this sustained run of success for the men’s flagship team?

“It’s been a mixture of things,” Hammond said. “We’ve got a very good player/coach in Matt Fairburn and three or four years ago we decided to invest in youth.

“We brought in a number of 14 and 15 year olds and they’ve grown and developed into very good players.”

Their introduction to first-team hockey coincided with centre-back Hammond’s return to the club after his studies at Exeter University.

And he’s certainly backed the youngsters as his vice-captain for the past three years has been Mike Buist, who is only 18 now.

The only reason he’s not vice-captain this season is because it was thought he was off to university.

George Eskins is the current number two and again he is someone Hammond knows he can trust, as they have been playing hockey together for the past 12 years or so.

“We thought Mike would be unavailable,” explained Hammond, “so that’s the reason for the change. He’s decided to take a gap year so it’s a big bonus for us that he’s playing for us this season.”

Buist is just one of several youngsters who have flourished in recent seasons, with centre-back Henry Patteson another.

“He’s one of the first names on the teamsheet,” said Hammond. “He’s shot up over the past few years and is a man mountain now!”

These young players have developed, at least in part, because of Hammond’s leadership. So what sort of captain is he?

“I’m an arm round the shoulder type of captain,” he said. “I like to lead by example and I’ve managed to foster a good team spirit. We’re all good mates. We’ve got a good mix of youth and experience – our oldest player is Andy Edwards and he’s in his late 30s.

“We’ve all come together as a team and we’re willing to commit as a team.”

Premier Division hockey does require a certain level of commitment of course. The team play their home games at Wotton Community Parc and train twice a week every week.

But while the club have enjoyed nothing but success over the past three years, Hammond is wise enough to realise that they are unlikely to make it four promotions in a row this season.

Not that that means the club are happy to stay where they are either.

“This year consolidation is the aim,” said Hammond. “It’s a big difference at this level and our main aim is stay in the division. We do want to grow the club but that is a three to five year plan.

“We’re one of the larger clubs in Gloucestershire in terms of members and we’ve had a lot of success, but we have to be realistic.

“Not many people move to Wotton to live so we have to rely on the youth talent coming through.”

Hammond is delighted that Rich Owen has joined the club from Cheltenham this season but that is the exception rather than the rule.

Fortunately, Wotton have a very good recent track record in developing their youngsters… and in Alistair Hammond they have a marvel-lous captain!