If enthusiasm, passion and excitement count for anything, then Bishop’s Cleeve Hockey Club are surely set for a fantastic season.

That’s because their new captain, Dinesh Patel, has all three by the bucketload and that positivity can only be a force for good going forward.

“I love the sport, I love the club” he said. “I’m a supporter of the club, I’m a senior player, I’m a senior member, it’s about encouraging the younger generation.”

Dinesh, who lives in Cheltenham, has been playing the sport for well over 30 years after taking it up at what was then St Benedict’s School in Cheltenham as a 14-year-old.

Now 49, the father-of-three is certainly relishing the opportunity of leading the club he joined in 2009 in Cotswold Division One this season.

“It’s important to lead by example,” he said. “We want to move the club forward.

“We’ve got quite a few older players but the younger guys are the future, we want to create a family feel.

“For me, it’s about training and playing, having fun and enjoying ourselves.”

And while winning is not the be-all and end-all for Dinesh, rest assured he wants to win.

“I’ve never gone onto a pitch thinking we’re going to lose,” he said. “I will work as hard as I can to try to help the team win, I’m a firm believer in playing hard but fair.”

And those ideals have stood Dinesh in very good stead throughout his time in hockey, a time that saw him spend two years at Cheltenham as a teenager, then the best part of two decades at Lansdown, before making the move to his current club who in those days were known as Smiths.

“I’ve been very lucky,” said Dinesh, “I’ve loved every club I’ve played for and I have some great memories.

“When I was 16 my sports mistress said I ought to think about joining a club. She played for Cheltenham so I joined Cheltenham.

“They were just setting up the 3A’s team, which was a development side. Tony Croucher was my first coach, he was a wonderful man.

“I  moved to Lansdown only because all my friends went there and that was where I first met Ian Howgate who was a wonderful coach and still a friend of mine today.”

Dinesh captained the club’s 1sts, 2nds and 3rds at Lansdown and also did some coaching at junior level when his two oldest children were playing.

As you’d imagine, he enjoyed that too, although like pretty much everyone who has been involved with sport he says that nothing beats actually playing.

These days he plays in centre defence and he said with a laugh: “I’m lazy, I don’t have the fitness! I’d love to play midfield, that’s where I used to play, but now centre-back is my home.

“I’ve slowed down drastically since I was 40, I’m still using the excuse of Covid weight!”

Nevertheless, Dinesh is keen to keep on playing “for as long as my legs hold out” and team-mate Rob Link is certainly an inspiration for him.

“He’s in his 50s and still plays, whether it be for a half or just 10 minutes,” Dinesh said, “he’s still involved. I want to stay active and keep fit and healthy.”

And they are certainly not idle words because Dinesh has recently completed a 17K Mud Runner, which is pretty impressive for someone who turns 50 next year.

“It was a challenge,” he admitted, “the last two miles were really hard.”

The 2022/23 hockey season should be a walk in the park in comparison and with Dinesh in charge, it promises to be a lot of fun for Bishop’s Cleeve.