Dan Clifford has been in and around Stroud Hockey Club for a quarter of a century, he’s in his 11^th season as captain of the men’s flagship team and he reckons he’s scored some 500 goals for the club.

That’s a pretty impressive sporting CV in anyone’s book and the good news for everyone associated with the club is that the 38-year-old is enjoying his hockey now as much as he ever did. 

His story begins way back in the late 1990s when he was aged just 12.

“It was in the days before the club had a junior section,” he said. “My uncle, Ian Spindler, a former Stroud captain, took me to the club.

“I watched a few games and I thought, ‘I like this’. In those days you weren’t allowed to play adult hockey until you were 14 so I just trained with the club for a year or so.”

And the one-time Archway School pupil, who is Stroud born and bred, clearly made an impression because as soon as he was old enough he was playing with the seniors.

He was lucky enough, too, to play alongside his uncle in the 2nds before graduating to the 1sts at the age of 17.

And as his goal record would suggest, Clifford is a forward. It’s a position he has occupied pretty much throughout his time with the club, although he has occasionally played on the right side of midfield.

So what sort of player is he?

“If you’d asked me that question 10 years ago I’d have given you a different answer,” he laughed. “Back then I’d have said I was a quick, direct forward. Now I’m a bit more wily, I hold the ‘D’ a bit more, I chip in with a few more goals.

“I always try to hit 20 a season and over the years I’ve managed to do that.”

And while nothing much has changed over the years as far as Clifford’s goal output is concerned, it is fair to say that an awful lot has changed at Stroud Hockey Club over the past 25 years.

“When I started we had two men’s teams and one ladies’ team,” he said. “The club have grown a lot since then. Now we’ve got three men’s teams and three ladies’ teams and we want to set up a 4^th team in both sections.

“But the biggest difference is the club’s junior section which has 200-250 members, that’s the real lifeblood of the club.”

Clifford, who is on the club’s committee, is, as you’d expect, heavily involved with the junior section.

His nine-year-old daughter Sophie, a defender, plays for both the under-10s and under-12s, and he coaches various age groups on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.

“When I coach the youngsters and they walk off the pitch at the end of the session with smiles on their faces I know I must be doing something right,” he said.

Clifford also coaches the ladies on a Wednesday evening, which makes you marvel at how he finds time to captain the men’s team as well.

As with the coaching, captaincy is something that he enjoys very much, helped, no doubt, by the fact that the club have enjoyed a fair amount of success during his tenure.

The club now play in West Division 2 East alongside the likes of Cirencester, Lansdown and Newent, and Clifford said: “We’ve won three promotions under my captaincy, we’ve got ourselves to a decent level.

“It’s tier 3 hockey in the West, it’s a good standard.”

And Clifford, who played a season of national league hockey when he was a student in Manchester – “That was a baptism of fire,” he admitted – remains ambitious.

“We want to finish in the top two or three, that’s the aspiration,” he said. “We finished sixth of 12 last season, we had a few injuries and were a bit inconsistent.

“Two teams get relegated but only one goes up so it’s a bit brutal, but we’ve got a talented squad.”

Clifford’s role is key both on and off the pitch, of course, so what sort of captain is he?

“I’m not a big shouty kind of guy,” he said. “Rather than push myself forward, I’ve always tried to push the club forward.

“I suppose I’m a jovial father figure to some, I’m just about the right age to link the older ones and the younger ones.”

And hockey is one of those team sports which certainly spans the ages.

“Liam Tunney is our oldest player, he’s 45,” continued Clifford, “he’s playing West Masters and is still one of our fittest guys.

“Our youngest is Harry Fynn, the son of our head coach Rob, he’s 16.”

Clifford is a big fan of Rob Fynn and says: “Without him we’d be absolutely lost, I try to help him anyway I can.”

The two work very closely together, of course, although Clifford freely admits that when he took over as captain he didn’t expect his time in charge to stretch to a second decade.

“I thought five years at a push,” he said. “My predecessor Alex Waring did it for six years and I thought that was about right.

“I had one season when I snapped my Achilles but I was still captain off the pitch.

“Nobody has made a loud enough noise saying they want the job. I’ve kept myself fit, I’m still good enough to play and I enjoy it.

“It’s part of me and it’s something I’ve shown a lot of passion for, but if somebody wants to take over and they’re happy to put in the time and energy then I’m happy.

“I hope for the future of the club I’m not doing it in the next couple of years.”

If and when he does stand down, Clifford, a self-employed builder who is married to Simone, will still enjoy the great game that is hockey, of course.

“It’s such a quick game,” he said. “It’s deceptively skilful, it requires a real aptitude to play.

“It’s quicker than football but it’s not quite as physical as rugby, although it’s a decent physical test.

“Like any team sport, it’s the bonds you make; team spirit is part and parcel of it.

“I’m very lucky, every time I walk onto the pitch I’ve got a smile on my face.”