‘It means everything to me to be able to play out in front of the best fans in the league. Being a local lad, there is no better feeling than stepping onto the ice and representing your hometown team.’ He said.
Yarrow is known within hockey circles as ‘The Rocket’, due to his fast pace and while most players would have used the summer break to ‘re-fuel’ the veteran forward spent his time working on his fitness and feels fired up and ready for take-off.
‘I am another year older now, which can be an issue once you pass the 40 mark but I feel great. I want to make sure I can keep up with the pace of the youngsters on the team so I spent the off season working hard on my fitness and not leaving anything to chance.’ He said.
‘Towards the end of last season I had a number of niggling injuries which reduced some of my minutes, so I used the summer break to work on my conditioning and overall fitness. I am already starting to feel the benefits of all that hard work as this is probably the fittest I have felt coming into a season for years and just can’t wait for the season to get underway.’ He continued.
The Warriors season begins with a tricky encounter against a much improved Solway Sharks on September 11. The Dumfries-based side have been busy assembling a much stronger line-up to the one that Whitley dispatched 3-0-1 last year, and The Rocket is well aware of the fact there will be no easy games in the league this season.
‘Last year Blackburn were the team to beat, but with the changes that have gone on over there the last few months and the fact other teams have all strengthened means the league is going to be more competitive than ever. Even Deeside, who won promotion, will be a tougher match for teams than the Sheffield Senators were, so I don’t think there will be any easy games.’
With a number of players having moved on from Whitley since April, I asked The Rocket if that could lead to more game time for him this season.
‘It can’t hurt can it?’ he joked. ‘Seriously though, I think we have lost some important players, Callum Queenan is going to be tough to replace especially with his skating speed, while Kyle Ross showed tenacity every time he stepped onto the ice. Both got opportunities they couldn’t turn down and all the lads wish them (along with netminder Mark Turnbull and d-man Scott Cooper), the best of luck.’
He went on to say: ‘I’m sure there will be opportunities to get some increased minutes this season. Last year was something of a comeback to see if I could do it after not having played the sport for so long, but with my fitness levels up this year I just have to make sure I am ready for whenever Lobby (Coach David Longstaff) needs me.’
Although The Rocket is best known around the league as an ‘enforcer’ the Cullercoats-born forward says he has more to offer the team than just dropping the gloves.
‘It seems players these days prefer to use social media to arrange when and where they will drop the gloves during a game, but I prefer to do my talking on the ice. Everyone knows I am a tough guy and won’t shy away from a fight. It’s important that guys like Andre (Payette), Jordan (Barnes), Watto (Callum Watson) and myself are here to help protect our team mates, and the three of us are not going to take any nonsense out on the ice, but I also have other roles to play.’ He said. ‘The coaches and the other lads have all commented that I have been flying in training, so I know I can compete and play hockey. From a personal point of view I would like to get a bit more ice time and a few goals would be nice too. I went close to finding the net a couple of times last season and with a few more games under my belt I’m sure I can score and that would mean everything to my sons Owen and Alex.’
Indeed it is Owen, who we have to thank for seeing Alan back in a Warriors jersey as he begged his dad to play again.
‘I had to think long and hard about returning last year. It’s never easy after being out the game for so long, but I also knew that because we were living in Australia, Owen had never seen me play before and that was all the motivation I needed.’ He said. ‘Last season was great! To be back with Whitley again after years away and getting to link up with my long-time friend Lobby was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. But mainly I want to go out there and make both my sons proud.’
The Rocket was in a determined mood when asked about what he wants for the Warriors this season but knows it will be a much tougher task than last time out.
‘It would be great if we made the playoffs again, but this time I want us to win some silverware for the fans. We went close last year but it was disappointing to lose to Solihull in the playoffs the way we did. The fans supported us in large numbers at Sheffield back in April so they deserve to see the lads win something this year.'
'It will be a tough challenge, every team is stronger with quality imports, but at the same time it’s good to be able to measure yourself against those types of players especially when they have that amount of skill.'
'There are players from Sweden, Finland, Slovakia and Latvia that have arrived in our league, which are all strong hockey countries so that can only be a good thing, not just that we are playing against that type of quality but also that the league is able to attract those players in the first place. The league is getting more professional every year and it is a challenge to keep up with some of those players, but it’s a challenge I am enjoying.’
'We are a team that is mainly made up of local players, so Andre aside, we are all just a bunch of lads that grew up together. Of course it would be easier to bring in imports, but Whitley are a hockey club that is proud to nurture local talent and you can see that policy works by the three lads who have signed for teams in Canada.'
'Whenever we do come up against teams with imports it just makes us all work that much harder and has brought our team closer together and more determined to succeed. Let's not forget, just because our players are from the Whitley area, there are plenty of them that have experience of playing at a higher level. Lobby has played at the highest level possible in Europe when he was based in Sweden while the likes of Dean Holland and Dan Pye have played in the Elite League with the Newcastle Vipers.'
With The Rocket fully charged and ready to go for the new campaign, I'm sure every Warriors fan will be looking forward to seeing him back in action. Whether it's his fast skates or even faster fists, one thing is certain, it's never a dull moment when number 22 takes to the ice.
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