Tenby Football Club has a terrific facility at The Clicketts in the seaside town and is one of only two clubs in Pembrokeshire to be awarded silver accreditation with the Football Association of Wales – and no-one is more delighted about that achievement than the Club’s Hon Secretary Dene Hurlow.
 
Dene enjoys being fully involved in all that the club does at senior level but is also kept very busy in helping Angie Nicholls coach the large number of juniors now playing for the club.
“We recently had 15 people from the club successfully complete coaching and first-aid courses and now every team at the club is well looked after on and off the field, because they also have a representative apiece on the Tenby AFC management committee.
“Kevin Ferney does a great job as chairman and Hon Treasurer – and hairdresser Andrew Price is as supportive a sponsor as any team could wish to have.”
 

Busy week for Dene

 
As secretary he deals with senior fixtures, which includes contacting the opposition and appointed referee during the week before, linking with Gareth Noot as junior fixture secretary and Minis’ secretary Joe Craig, both of whom he says does a great job. He also organises committee meetings, takes and distributes the minutes alongside the other general organisational stuff at Tenby Football Club.
 
“I’m down at the club most evenings and Saturdays are very busy,” says Dene with typical understatement.
“I go down before 9am to put out the flags and nets for my under 12 team to play at 9.45am, then clean the changing rooms in readiness for other matches throughout the mornings and afternoons.
 
“After a bit of a breather I run the line for the first team wherever they are playing, and I enjoy my involvement with Mike Lewis, Peter Fearn and the players – and I have found myself with another job now because Gordon Thomas, the sports editor of the Western Telegraph, phones me for the scores at half time and straight after the match!”
“We didn’t have the best of starts this season but are now doing well – and beating West Dragons by 6-1 in the Senior Cup was a great performance because the Dragons reached the final last season.”
 

Almost two decades of involvement after rugby days

 
Dene started his involvement with the club’s junior set-up as long as 17 years ago when he his elder son Lewis was playing at under 10 level and Angie Nicholls roped him in to help her out. He has been coaching a junior team ever since and is justifiably proud of the fact that of his current under 12 team, Dylan Noot, Rhys Morgan, Darren Gibson, Jacob Hipkiss, James Gardener, Kieran Allen and Harri Phillips are all in the county squad.
“But I have 18 players in the Tenby squad,” said Dene, “and everyone is just as important as anyone else because they are a cracking bunch of lads who hopefully will serve the club well for many years to come.”
 
Yet until that day when Ms Nicholls recruited him, Dene was better known for his involvement over many years just up the hill at Heywood Lane with Tenby United RFC, firstly as a player and then as a supporter and committee man after he retired from playing when he was 38. He set out in the oval ball game after his brother Martin started playing and Roy Powling invited Dene to join the Seasiders’ Youth team. He did just that, played his first game against St Davids, and Tenby United Youth were stuffed!
 

Long service in rugby too!

 
Dene played flanker, centre and wing and he captained Tenby Youth for two seasons and during his time in senior rugby led the seconds for another two seasons and was vice-captain for three more campaigns.
“Lynne Rees was a huge on-field influence for me and Lloyd Evans was the star man at the club – and I will never forget the amazing tours we had to France, Portugal, Scotland and even America.”
He also played for the firsts and for Pembrokeshire at district level before a fateful day came when he played hooker for the first time in the seconds against Crymych.
“I couldn’t move for days afterwards and decided enough was enough,” admitted Dene with a chuckle.
“I then served on the committee for six years, with members of the Powling family doing so many of the key roles, and I wouldn’t have missed my time with Tenby United for anything!”
 

Football lover from a nipper

 
But football had always been Dene’s first love as a nipper when he started out as a left-winger with Kilgetty Juniors and played for Saundersfoot Youth alongside the likes of Micky Wainwright, Ross Grey, Paul Collins and Chris Parker in a team coached by Paul Grey and Terry Hancock which beat Kilgetty 1-0 in the Wiltshire Cup Final.
 
Now he’s well and truly back in football again and is quick to praise the support provided by wife Penny, who was an excellent hockey player who earned Welsh trials, and daughter Zoe. He and Penny also have two sons, both of whom have been heavily involved in football. Lewis (now 26) was county goalkeeper at under 12 and 14 levels, as well as playing at senior level, whilst Curtis plays centre half for Tenby after previously playing in the Haverfordwest County and College Academy teams which won silverware in their national competitions.
 

And finally . . .

 
Ask Dene about his sporting future and his pride in his club is evident because he wants to see Tenby AFC go from strength to strength.
“We now have coaches and first-aiders for every team after recently having 15 people successfully attending courses, and every team has a representative on the management committee so their voice can be heard.
“We firmly believe in developing our young players for the future well-being of football in Tenby.”
 
In some sports clubs it might sound like empty rhetoric but one only has to chat to Dene Hurlow for a short time to see his total commitment to the cause – and Tenby Association Football Club is in safe hands with workers of his calibre so heavily involved.