Club President’s perspective – Peter
Lacy
During his five years with Clontarf Rod had responsibility
for all cricket coaching for men and youths in the Club and he was a key member of the 1st
team. On his arrival here in 2007 our
youth cricket was in a bad state with relatively small numbers playing the game
and with poor results. During his time
with us Rod was responsible for a transformation of our youth cricket both in
terms of the numbers playing and the results achieved. For example in 2011 we fielded 3 under 11
boys’ teams winning 24 and losing only 2 league matches. Our under 13As and 13Bs boys’ teams were
unbeaten in league competitions and our under 13A team won the All Ireland
Cup.
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| U13 All Ireland winning team 2011 |
This remarkable transformation was due to the ability,
commitment and leadership which Rod has brought to his role. Rod is an extremely gifted coach but he
quickly realised that he needed to build an organisation and develop others in
coaching roles if we were going to achieve improvements that would endure. Consequently he developed our coaching
structures so that we now have several assistant coaches working with our youth
and senior teams.
The major improvements that Rod has brought about in our
coaching structures has been the main reason for the big growth in playing
numbers, where we now field 7 senior men’s teams.
Rod also contributed a huge amount as a player on our 1st
team, batting at number 3, taking vital wickets with his leg spin and being the
stand out fielder on the team. His
record in the Leinster Senior Cup is particularly impressive culminating with a
memorable unbeaten century in the 2009 Cup Final when we won the cup for the
third year running.
The results achieved are an appropriate testimonial to Rod’s
ability but Rod will be remembered at Clontarf not just for those fine
achievements but also for the values and attitudes that he inculcated in our
young members; the importance of hard work, the value of the team, respect for
your opponents and fair play.
As Club President in 2011 I was very pleased to propose Rod
as an honorary life member, a proposal that was passed by acclamation.
A Captain’s Perspective – Greg Molins
Having a “go to “ man in your armoury, as a captain is a
luxury that not all captains necessarily have in every team they captain. If
you are lucky to have one it is a tool that you can reap the rewards with. For instance, Australia had a Warne. Sri
Lanka had a Malinga. For me it was Rod Hokin. Whenever I needed to break a partnership Rod was my go to man in
the field and never disappointed. Generally within 12 deliveries the partnership
was broken.
Rod Hokin from Sydney turned out to be the most astute and
knowledgeable cricketer to have ever come to Castle Avenue as a
professional. It is a great asset when a
player has the above characteristics. But he was also most knowledgeable about
his own game, especially when it came to batting.
The start of his love affair with the cup was seen at
Rathmines against Merrion in the cup final 2008? A patient and controlled
century was scored that day but what was more impressive for me was the disagreement
we had over my tactics during a rain break. Rod came to me to voice serious
concerns over my interest in hanging around all day in the hope that the rain
cleared. I gave back my reasoning, which he disagreed with. So in the end we
agreed to disagree and shook hands. There were no toys coming out of the pram,
name calling etc. Just the coach and captain having a disagreement but
remaining at the end of the day good friends.
As captain I was very keen to use the experience within the
team of Cusack, O’Reilly, Morrissey and Rigby along with bringing on the
younger talent of the Delany brothers, Adrian D’arcy among others. Both Rod and
I were keen to afford the young lads the opportunity to contribute. Some of the
most significant contributions from young lads in the club I believe came in
those two years.
Adrian D’arcy scoring his first senior ton against Malahide,
I would contribute some of the runs to the input of Rod had a coach. Niall
Delany scored valuable runs at number 11 in the home senior cup final against
North County including the hitting of a maximum that kept the home crowd
entertained. Again Rod’s coaching giving Niall the confidence to play such a
shot.
I know Rod was often disappointed that the youth players who
had so much talent did not show the hunger or desire that he saw from the older
sages in the team.
These concerns first raised its head during a pre match chat
in Railway Union. It was the day after Dom Rigby’s move to Guernsey. Rod spoke
about Rigby with the passion and emotion of a mourner giving a eulogy at a
loved one’s funeral. I did in fact ask Alex Cusack after the speech did Dom
Rigby die or actually emigrate.
Dom Rigby was a role model when it came to training, always
keen to learn, work hard on his fitness and on his game. Whether he got out for
0 or 80, he was equally disappointed.
Rod loved this about Dom and that day in Railway was keen to ensure that
Dom’s legacy, work ethic, call it what you like is passed onto the next generation.
Rod was an excellent coach when it came to Tuesday and
Thursday evenings. Each session different from the last ensured in my two years
of captaincy that attendance levels were at the requisite level for a division
one team. Players turned up to nets knowing that they were going to be challenged
and come away from training a better player.
During my two years as captain we won three trophies. A club
record I am told. We won the senior cup twice and the league once. No mean
achievement. Of course I will go down in the clontarf history book as the
captain of these winning teams but I do hope people don’t forget that these
were the years that Rod Hokin was our club coach. And to be honest I could not
have done it without him
A Youth Perspective – Deryck Vincent
I first met Rod Hokin on 13th April 2007, it was
the day he arrived in Ireland and the day the Irish team played Australia in
the World Cup. Iain Synnott had asked me
to come to the club to meet Rod and say hello.
That first meeting was instructive, rather than watch the cricket I sat
with Rod in the lounge to talk about our youth set up and very quickly realised
that we had the right man for the job. Rod came at a time that Clontarf youth
structures were virtually non-existent. In many ways Clontarf was a blank
canvas for Rod. We had no organisation,
so he was entrusted to create that structure. It probably took 4 years to put
the whole package in place but now that it is, we should never again find
ourselves in such a situation.
I had first heard of Rod when Dom Rigby sent me a copy of
his CV. The glowing references gave a
clue as to the man but it’s hard to trust CVs.
Fortunately for us, Rod lived up to and beyond his references.
Success was not instantaneous, in fact, it took a couple of
months before one of Rod’s teams won a match, but it was not quick fixes he was
after. Training for the A squads became
twice weekly and a much more focused activity, soft skills such as running
between the wickets were practised and players were given a clear understanding
of their role. In the schools, players
were identified and encouraged to come down to the club. Rod’s style of coaching was understated, he
suggested things quietly, explained
clearly and boy was he organised.
Sessions were thought out and structured. When we employed Rod, we never realised that
we were getting someone who hated doing nothing, he much preferred to be active
and he was rarely out of the club, whether practising, coaching or just
watching games. He became a permanent
fixture and that undoubtedly helped him build relationships with the young
players who quickly realised that he was always approachable. There was also a great lesson for young
players who would often come down a little early to train only to find the
bowling machine up and Rod hitting yet another 500 balls.
Success did come, and in 2009 the under 11 side that he
nurtured delivered an All Ireland Trophy, a success repeated in 2011 when that
team were under 13s. It was not all about winning however, all of our sides
became more competitive and our player numbers grew to such an extent that very
soon we had 3 under 11 and 13 teams and then a second under 15 side. Of all the changes, this was the greatest, as
we had, over the years, suffered a huge drop off after under 13, to such an
extent that we were planning one season to have only 4/5 under 15s playing.
However on the first night they were due down, Rod phoned me, delighted to tell
me that he had had 15 players down, the following week it was over 20. That trend has continued and has helped in
the expansion of the clubs senior teams to seven.
For me, Rod’s legacy to the club has been the structure that
he created, one that 2 seasons on is still the model we use, yes we tinker and
change it but the basis is still very much his. The relegation of our first
Team last year felt like a tragedy at the time but the Hokin generation, while
maybe not the ones who will get us back to Division 1, are the ones who will
ensure the longer term success of the club from Division 1 to Division 13.
When we said goodbye to Rod, it was sad but inevitable, he
had given us plenty of notice and had prepared us for that day and the night
that we all came down wish him himself and Abbie “farewell” was a happy one,
just a little tinged with sadness. One
day we hope to wish Rod, Abbie and family a fond welcome back to Clontarf and I
am sure he will be able to see that the foundations that he took 5 years to lay, will have lead to a long and
lasting successful club.
