Marley‘s a marvel at short mat bowls
After playing sport aplenty in his younger days, Marley Hughes discovered short mat bowls almost by accident in his village hall at Hook and took to it so well that he represented Wales for 12 years and was team captain for five of those
.
In that time he used his natural competitive instinct, allied to excellent hand/eye co-ordination, to make a name for himself on the Pembrokeshire short mat bowls' scene, but also much further afield.
Loves helping youngsters
Now a youthful-looking 72, Marley still plays not only short-mat but indoor and outdoor bowls as a bonus - and it as a coach that he gains real satisfaction as he mentors youngsters coming into the game.
"I'm often asked to help players develop their skills," Marley told us, "and I never refuse anyone because sometimes it only needs a tweak here and there but it has also been great to see the likes of Sara John-Davies and her brother James develop this year because I have spent a fair bit of time with them and it has paid dividends!"
Self-taught at Hook
Marley himself is totally self-taught from the time he joined Hook Short Mat Bowls a year after they started, when an old pal named Harry Brock asked him to pop up and give it a try because Hook were looking for players
"I was made very welcome from the outset and it was doubly encouraging that my late wife Eileen also took the game up and played for Wales 'A' - and could have made it into the top team but I was captain and she didn't want any suggestion she hadn't got there on merit.
"We also played in mixed pairs competitions and did well there too in club and county competitions.
Encouraging new recruits
"It was an exciting time and one of the best parts came when I started up a junior club with my old pal Colwyn Phelps and within a few weeks we had 22 members from the village community who were under 15 and soon playing really well because they were ready to listen to advice.
“Later on I took my coaches' badges with Dai Williams of Letterston and they provided me with the launch pad for more and more coaching around the county and elsewhere."
Family matters – and other sports
That Marley should be involved in sport within his community was perhaps natural because his father Meurig was a sporting icon who had arrived with the RAF after previously playing rugby for Bridgend - and playing in the Llangwm side which won trophies galore, including one season where they didn't have a single try scored against them!
Marley followed his father into the Llangwm rugby teams as an aggressive flanker, although he played as a winger for the county youth - and played cricket for Hook as a bowler in a team that included real characters like Terry Hitchings, Evan Martin and Glyn Banner.
"I also played golf at Haverfordwest off a handicap of 12 and enjoyed playing local darts and for the county in the super league alongside Billy Roach and Co."
Marley is also delighted that the Hughes' sporting genes are continued because his sons Mark and Nicky followed him into cricket and also play golf, with Mark having already captained Haverfordwest in the latter. Then there's youngest son Sean, who is a dab hand at short mat bowls and was a Welsh champion last season!
Soon amongst the silverware!
Marley knew when he was going well as he began to win club championships and then started to gain successes at county level - and he knew that he had arrived when he finally won the county singles at the Meads Leisure Centre when there were over 140 opponents.
"It was a great feeling and as well as winning it another five times since I have also won every other county competition at least once, including that mixed pairs with Eileen.
"Then I was made county captain and as well as playing I had to pick the team from clubs all over the county for the fixtures, which include two matches each of singles, pairs, triples and rinks.
"Included in that time came an amazing run of eight successes in nine years in the Welsh team competition which took us into the Celtic Games against the likes of England and Northern Ireland - and at one time we had nine players representing Wales of the calibre of Simon Lewis, Sean Hughes, Andrew Evans, Johnny Gladstone, Paul and Andrew Hudson; and I was a regular as skip to one of the rinks!
A Meads Leisure Centre man now!
On the indoor bowls front, Marley has played at Heatherton but has now turns out regularly for the Meads Leisure Centre in Milford Haven and benefits from the subtle touch that builds up on the short mat game.
He has won over ten trophies across the whole spectrum from singles to rinks and says that he loves the atmosphere, which provides some genuine characters as he plays at least twice a week during the Winter months and helps organise the over 60s county team which plays at venues as far afield as Cardiff, Earlswood, Llanelli and Heatherton - and for which Marley selects the teams and prepares them for matches.
"I was also asked by Welsh coach Barry Sambrook if I wanted to be involved in the Wales' Under 21 coaching but it meant even more time spent outside Pembrokeshire so regrettably I had to say no."
Playing outdoors at Haverfordwest
Then there is a third aspect to his bowling as he has also played outdoors for almost the same time at Haverfordwest, starting out with the Castle reserve team before finding his place in the first team, where he has stayed ever since.
"Outdoor bowling is more of a social thing for me,” admitted Marley, "because there is far more driving and changes of weather, and green conditions play more of a part."
"I won two pairs' events in the club with Darren Latham and the singles against Tony Wilkes, one of the former footballing players - but the most enjoyable was being involved in the mixed pairs final with young Sara John-Davies against the husband and wife team of Keith and Julie Thorpe.
"We lost the first set 7-0 but we fought back superbly to win the other two legs by 7-5 and 7-4!"
Still involved in short mat
But Marley still most likes his short mat bowls playing and although he isn't playing at a national level he loves being involved in any way he can. For example, the Pembrokeshire team is due to go over to Northern Ireland for the Celtic Games and Marley decided to help out financially by organising an evening with top local group 'The Stangs' and they raised £600 in one great evening at Hook Social Club.
"I've been very lucky to have come across real characters like Roy Thomas at the Meads, Dai Buchanan and Gerald Harries, who does an amazing amount of administration work;" said Marley, "alongside some brilliant short mat, indoor and outdoor bowlers, and I wouldn't have missed my involvement for the world.
What Marley Hughes forgets to mention is that his involvement has been as important as all the others, especially in short mat bowls - and long may he continue to be involved as a player, but also as someone who has that special touch in coaching up-and-coming players!