Hugo Smellie is targeting a top half finish for Cirencester in Division 2 East of the West Hockey League this season.

The 29-year-old is in his second campaign as captain of the men’s flagship team and believes his side can improve on last season’s seventh-placed finish in the 12-strong division.

“It’s a very competitive division,” he said. “We were six points off third place last season.

“If we can win more matches than we lose and push towards the top end, that would be good.

“We’ve got quite a good blend of younger players – some in their 20s and some more experienced players in their 30s and 40s.”

They’ve also got a new man in charge of the coaching set-up.

Mark Stuart-Thompson has taken over as head coach/director of hockey and Smellie is enjoying working with him.

“We’re getting used to doing things slightly differently,” said Smellie.

“We’re still playing 4-3-3 but we’re trying to be more aggressive defensively. We’re trying to win the ball higher up the pitch and keep the ball better in transition.

“The training sessions are also slightly different, we’re using video footage from our games and there’s more one-to-ones.”

Smellie, who lives in Northleach, is in his fifth season with the club.

He joined them while he was living in Cirencester and, after quickly establishing himself in the 1st XI, was happy to take on the captain’s armband 18 months ago.

“I’d captained cricket teams when I was growing up, but I’d never been a hockey captain,” he said.

“I’m enjoying it, I like the team side of things.”

And he’s got plenty of experience to fall back on because he’s been playing hockey for more than 20 years.

“I started playing when I was at Cheltenham College Junior School when I was six or seven,” he said.

“Then I went to Pate’s and once I was in Year 9 I started to play a lot.

“I played for Cheltenham Junior Hockey Club and also played county age group hockey from 15.”

Like many players who have been playing the game for a while, he started as an attacker and has gradually worked his way back.

“I began as a striker,” he said. “I’ve played in every position and will play anywhere to help the team but these days I prefer to play centre-half or full-back.”

And he’s played for quite a few clubs too. He played for Swansea University and Swansea Hockey Club when he was a student in South Wales, and before joining Cirencester he played for both Derby and Guildford.

Cirencester is his focus now, of course, and it’s not just the 1st XI that he’s interested in.

“We’ve got an awful lot of juniors coming through,” said Smellie, a project manager in Malmesbury.

“Hopefully that means the 2s, 3s, 4s and 5s will be stronger in years to come, not just the 1s. As a club I think we’re trending upwards.”