By Nick Powell
From the end of January to the beginning of March, in anticipation of my 20th birthday and acceptance that professional sport is well and truly beyond me, I’m looking back through my 20 years to find the sporting memories that have had the biggest impact on me.
Going back in time, I return to 2017 when I signed off my school days playing for the 2nd XV rugby at Hampton School and saying a long goodbye to an institution where I was lucky enough to enjoy some special moments.
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2017: Goodbye Yellow Black Road
Well before I came to Hampton I was desperate to play rugby there. When I got there, I fluctuated between the A and B team until sixth form, but whatever team I played in I felt a huge amount of pride playing for the school I’d always wanted to go to and was involved in some amazing games alongside my year group.
In September of the 2016/17 season I got my chance in the School's first XV. It came largely because of injuries and I had to play a position I hadn't played for a few years but it was just so great to be involved.
The last photo taken of the 2016/17 Hampton School 1st XV, I felt so motivated every time I played for the team
In a way I doubt I'm ever going to feel again, I felt like this was serious. But not serious in the sense of life or death, serious that I had to deliver for the people I was playing with. It was those people in particular who made my experience so memorable.
Joining Hampton a couple of years late meant settling in and therefore getting a place in the team would be tough. I wasn't Will Verdan, a powerful, skilful and intelligent player who would overwhelm sides with the impact he had on the game, nor was I Rowan Grundy, a guy who could control a game no matter how well his forwards were doing.
Those two, who joined at the same time as I did, slotted straight into the team when the joined, with Verdan himself immediately taking the captaincy.
Verdan (holding trophy) and Grundy (second left top row) were two players I felt privileged to play with, here they are celebrating victory in the Middlesex Schools' 7s, just one win in an amazing season for that team.
Those two, who joined at the same time as I did, slotted straight into the team when the joined, with Verdan himself immediately taking the captaincy.
My journey was somewhat different, caught in a purgatory between the A and B teams, not good enough for the former and performing somewhat better in the latter.
That's not to say that I was suffering, nor that the difference between A and B represented the difference between heaven and hell, but it caused me to question myself a lot, why wasn't I able to make that step?
It was only in my last year at school that I realised that, it didn't matter. I knew when playing first team rugby that the breakdown was slightly too quick for me to nick the ball, the players slightly too big for me to make a big impact physically, and the intensity slightly too much for me to keep up for a full match.
When I eventually got dropped to the 2s after players became fit I knew I was in the right place and, for some reason, I felt satisfied. I'd play more 1st team rugby, (as recently as February last year but that's a story for another day), but being in the 2s gave me things I hadn't had before.
I was Captain, pretty much self-appointed (I didn't allow then-Captain Max Vyvyan a word in team huddles, and when he got bumped up to the 1s I pounced) but a captain nonetheless. 20 minute Churchillian speeches would ensue before kick-off, with coach Mr Baker stating that he was often tempted to "pull up a chair" and listen to what on earth I was on about.
Perhaps it's because I was, and still am, a little self-interested. Self-interested enough to write 20 articles about my own sporting escapades, and it truly stuck out as my best time at Hampton.
But for me, it went beyond being the centre of attention in a team huddle.
Being a captain was special. There was something that gave me a real buzz about being able to motivate, support and give advice to players who were often much more talented than myself. In a lot of cases that advice wasn't asked for, but I felt a huge level of responsiblity
It was not without the typical highs and lows of rugby. Some brutally narrow defeats in the run up to the new year dented the confidence of the team somewhat, but brought us closer together.
From being a group of players who saw themselves as being in a team they were either better than or not good enough for, we were growing to accept that we could build our own identity as a team, and after a spectacular win against Brighton, watched by some of the 1st team parents as well (as their game had been delayed due to an injury) seemed like just reward for our efforts.
And though we didn't go unbeaten for the rest of the season, we found ourselves playing at a different intensity, and perhaps most crucially, as one unit.
When we went onto the 7s season, the same applied. My team captain role became somewhat relegated to more of a club captain-type role (for those who don't know the difference, I basically was sat on the bench a lot, lot more) but if anything I enjoyed it more. Watching our brilliant 7s team running in tries and knowing I would've been wheezing just to stay involved was fine with me.
In our last tournament, I managed to get a few scores. Most were scored not playing for my school, but for a collection of players that weren't selected for their school teams known as the "Baabaas" as one of the schools had dropped out.
I didn't care though, and as I reflected on the season while we were waiting for our "Best Kebab" to be prepared I was amazed by how much rugby I had been fortunate enough to play for my school and the players I got to play with.
After a long summer I put my leadership skills to the test as the nominal coach of the "Leavers XV", a team of the 2017 Leavers that were put up against the next 1st XV in early September of that year.
Given the strength of the 1st XV and the comparatively small number of players we had provided to the previous 1s, we were not expected to win, some of the players we came up against talked of a 50 point win, and maybe even more.
But after a month of preparation we were confident of pushing them hard.
A first half blitz, which saw us lead 28-7 at the interval, was ultimately decisive. Verdan and Grundy, as well as Jacob Turley, Matt Stamp and Ollie Lack (more fantastic players in my year group) were at their very best and we were dominant in every area, it was just the perfect end.
Above everything else I loved my year group. Not only were they such a great rugby unit and I felt so much pride playing with them, but they were lovely blokes and always so nice. I never felt uncomfortable, from the moment I sat on the first coach as a nervous 13 year old to the boozy curry after our Leavers game triumph.
I'd like to have named all of them, particularly for their performances that day, but this article would have to be a hell of a lot longer.
I also have to thank all the coaches I had, in particular Mr "Thommo" Thomson, Mr "Beastie" Beattie and Mr "Bakes" Baker, who transformed the way that rugby was coached in the senior level to make it a less cliquey and more open and allowed me to have amazing opportunities.
Thommo in particular helped to kick-start my coaching with the U12Bs, no matter how annoying and unreliable he found me to be over the course of that year he gave me support that I couldn't thank him enough for.
I really don't think I'll ever be as attached to a team as I was to all the teams I played for at Hampton, and if I ever get the chance to do more school coaching in the future I will always remind them how special it is to play sport with your very best mates.
Perhaps it's because I was, and still am, a little self-interested. Self-interested enough to write 20 articles about my own sporting escapades, and it truly stuck out as my best time at Hampton.
But for me, it went beyond being the centre of attention in a team huddle.
Being a captain was special. There was something that gave me a real buzz about being able to motivate, support and give advice to players who were often much more talented than myself. In a lot of cases that advice wasn't asked for, but I felt a huge level of responsiblity
It was not without the typical highs and lows of rugby. Some brutally narrow defeats in the run up to the new year dented the confidence of the team somewhat, but brought us closer together.
From being a group of players who saw themselves as being in a team they were either better than or not good enough for, we were growing to accept that we could build our own identity as a team, and after a spectacular win against Brighton, watched by some of the 1st team parents as well (as their game had been delayed due to an injury) seemed like just reward for our efforts.
And though we didn't go unbeaten for the rest of the season, we found ourselves playing at a different intensity, and perhaps most crucially, as one unit.
When we went onto the 7s season, the same applied. My team captain role became somewhat relegated to more of a club captain-type role (for those who don't know the difference, I basically was sat on the bench a lot, lot more) but if anything I enjoyed it more. Watching our brilliant 7s team running in tries and knowing I would've been wheezing just to stay involved was fine with me.
In our last tournament, I managed to get a few scores. Most were scored not playing for my school, but for a collection of players that weren't selected for their school teams known as the "Baabaas" as one of the schools had dropped out.
A terrific squad that included some of the most skilled players I've played alongside, below are two of my favourite ever coaches (albeit for very different reasons) Mr Baker and Mr Slater
I didn't care though, and as I reflected on the season while we were waiting for our "Best Kebab" to be prepared I was amazed by how much rugby I had been fortunate enough to play for my school and the players I got to play with.
After a long summer I put my leadership skills to the test as the nominal coach of the "Leavers XV", a team of the 2017 Leavers that were put up against the next 1st XV in early September of that year.
Given the strength of the 1st XV and the comparatively small number of players we had provided to the previous 1s, we were not expected to win, some of the players we came up against talked of a 50 point win, and maybe even more.
But after a month of preparation we were confident of pushing them hard.
A first half blitz, which saw us lead 28-7 at the interval, was ultimately decisive. Verdan and Grundy, as well as Jacob Turley, Matt Stamp and Ollie Lack (more fantastic players in my year group) were at their very best and we were dominant in every area, it was just the perfect end.
One of my all time favourite photos and the best part of the Festival of Rugby at Hampton, the former and current 1st XV coming together to celebrate a great occasion
Above everything else I loved my year group. Not only were they such a great rugby unit and I felt so much pride playing with them, but they were lovely blokes and always so nice. I never felt uncomfortable, from the moment I sat on the first coach as a nervous 13 year old to the boozy curry after our Leavers game triumph.
I'd like to have named all of them, particularly for their performances that day, but this article would have to be a hell of a lot longer.
I also have to thank all the coaches I had, in particular Mr "Thommo" Thomson, Mr "Beastie" Beattie and Mr "Bakes" Baker, who transformed the way that rugby was coached in the senior level to make it a less cliquey and more open and allowed me to have amazing opportunities.
I hope that when the OH Rugby Club gets off the ground, I can have plenty more games alongside my former schoolmates
Thommo in particular helped to kick-start my coaching with the U12Bs, no matter how annoying and unreliable he found me to be over the course of that year he gave me support that I couldn't thank him enough for.
I really don't think I'll ever be as attached to a team as I was to all the teams I played for at Hampton, and if I ever get the chance to do more school coaching in the future I will always remind them how special it is to play sport with your very best mates.
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