Head coach David Longstaff has confirmed that he will once again take to the ice for the 2018-19 season.
David’s playing career speaks for itself – after making his senior Whitley debut in 1989-90, he played at the highest level of the game both in the UK and abroad, playing for the Great Britain team one hundred and eighteen times at various age levels and becoming the first player to reach one hundred caps.
In 2015-16, he took over the head coach role at Whitley from fellow Warriors legend Simon Leach and took the team to second place in the league and the semi final of the playoffs in his first season in charge. David has been at the helm since then, producing a Warriors team year after year of mostly local lads playing for the shirt.
David didn’t pull any punches when talking about the season ahead. “It’s going to be difficult,” he said. “We’ve lost a couple of players and it looks like other teams have strengthened in places – some teams look like they’ve increased their budgets but I have faith in our lads that they’ll dig deep and get results.
“The team are dedicated, as are the supporters. They make Hillheads an unwelcoming place for opposing teams to come to and add to the pressure we can put on them on the ice.”