Young Spencer, Flynn and dad Adam Bell join club volunteers helping to give KGV a facelift

Barely had the curtain fallen on last season than Guisborough Town starting making preparations to carry out various facelift-type work to help make the Kevin Edward KGV Stadium spick ‘n span for next season.

A dedicated and hard-working group of club volunteers have been carrying out a long list of jobs from cleaning and painting to various other ground improvements to get the KGV.

Among the volunteers was one of the club’s youngest-ever helpers Spencer Bell, who at only eight years old got his sleeves well and truly rolled up and pitched in to help out with the general pre-season clean-up activities down at the KGV.

And it became a case of ‘like father like son’ as Spencer’s dad Adam Bell has also been making a very positive impression as a newly-enlisted Guisborough Town volunteer over the past few months.

A few weeks ago, a large tree had blown over during the recent strong gales and was left hanging over a footpath used by walkers, so Adam decided to set to and with the help of a chain saw he cleared up all the debris.

I became involved with Guisborough Town when my elder son Flynn moved to play for the now U-14 Blacks team two seasons ago,” said Adam, who lives in Whitby and has also volunteered for a number of years as groundsman at his local Fishburn Park FC.

When I heard Guisborough Town were on the lookout for people to help around the pitch and KGV Stadium generally,, I was very happy to offer my services because the club was much more than a football team to my eldest son Flynn – they also helped him outside of the football club so my involvement with the Guisborough was my way of giving something back to them.

Spencer is machinery and grass maintenance mad and can often be found helping out at Fishburn after school, so when I told him that another club (Guisborough Town) needed more helpers, he eagerly got out his rigger boots and jumped at the chance to volunteer at the KGV. Apart from helping out, he loves meeting the Guisborough players, officials and other volunteers.

Grassroots football clubs like Guisborough Town can’t survive without the invaluable help of their volunteers and I’m proud of Spencer for giving up his time to help out while also learning different skills from the other volunteers that he can take forward as he grows up.

Spencer’s super efforts have not gone unnoticed among some of Guisborough Town’s senior officials. Club Chairman Andy Willis commented: “Spencer’s keen as mustard to get stuck in, he’s a very hard worker.”

Club Director Chris Wood added: “What a difference some of Spencer’s efforts have made, I didn’t realise the advertising boards on the back of the dugouts had got so dirty but Spencer has made a great job cleaning them up almost like new.”

Adam added: “My first task at the club was to clear the remnants of a tree that had blown down in strong winds and if left could have become dangerous for people who walk on the playing fields. Then my second job was to help mark up the pitch for the next league game. Volunteering for organisations like Guisborough is very rewarding – no two days are the same.”

Although we have focussed here on the work of Adam and his two sons, the club is also indebted to the many other groups of volunteers who turn up selflessly to carry out work which definitely brings big improvements to the KGV for spectators and players alike.