Our UP CLOSE series today focuses on Hadleigh United chairman and town councillor Rolf Beggerow who tells Nub News about his vision for sport in the town, how he got roped in at club and council, and the best part of his day.

Little did Rolf Beggerow realise when he took son Colin to his first training session as an under-11, that 28 years later he would still be making the journey down Tinkers Lane, only now as a chairman.

Like many dads, and mums, taking their little ones to a sports club, Rolf was seduced and before long his skills as a qualified accountant were put to good use as treasure for the youth section, and then the adult part of Hadleigh United.

With a day job working for fan manufacturers Flakt Woods, which was previously Woods of Colchester, for 40 years, taking in 13 counties, Rolf's ability with figures and experience as a global IT manager, soon saw him rise through the ranks at Hadleigh United, just as his son flourished as player.

"I watched Colin through all the youth age groups, under 18s and reserves," Rolf recalled fondly. "With my background I got roped in as treasurer of the youth section, and then treasurer of the cub.

"I had a big hand in getting two distinct organisations, the youth section and the main club, together as one single club. We still have a thriving youth section but it is a sub-committee within the club.

"That has been a success as we have seen the youth section grow fantastically over the past 10 years and we have gone one team every other age group, now to at least one, from under sevens to under 18 and in some groups, two teams.

In addition to the 200 registered players the club now has a Saturday morning session for four-year-old called the mini's and diddies, and they can progress into the structure.

There is also a veterans team and Rolf said: "They have added a dimension to Hadleigh as a family club with wives and families coming to watch dad."

Having helped the club grow Rolf now has a vision to ensure the facilities match the numbers, not just for the football club, but all those involved in sport in Hadleigh.

That has led to a report being compiled and used as part of Babergh's Local Football Facilities Plan, which in turn feeds into Sport England, the Football Foundation and Suffolk FA.

"My passion and vision is to provide more facilities that Hadleigh offers, and not just football. We work closely with Hadleigh Rugby Club and other groups.

"We used that report to wake up the then town council, and feed into Babergh, so that they could understand that the sports clubs in Hadleigh had outgrown the facilities, particularly the open field sports

"That report delivers a very clear message and it recognises that Hadleigh needs 3G pitches as they provide the answer to many issues for our sporting community, especially during the winter months, and the report cited Hadleigh as the top priority in the Babergh district.

"This is the go to report in terms of funding and grants, nationally."

While the football club has a long lease on its council owned ground and training areas, Hadleigh Rugby Club does not at the neighbouring Layham Road playing areas, which is shared with the tennis club and the Scouts Group, and that lack of tenure security can be detrimental to being successful in securing large funding grants.

As with many things in Hadleigh, there is no simple solution and politics has meant progress has been slow, and the dreadful Coronavirus pandemic has not helped but Rolf is confident the future can be as bright as the floodlights which mean activities on the new outdoor facilities can go on all year round, even when leisure centres and swimming pools are closed, or restricted in their use.

Rolf is hoping a new unity, different approach and attitude towards local sports provision by the town council can push things along and said: "Covid has certainly delayed progress, and with my town councillor hat on, it is clear Babergh do a good job along with Abbeycroft in the leisure centres and swimming pools and indoor sports, but in Hadleigh we have three thriving outdoor clubs at football, rugby and cricket and we have outgrown the space we have to provide for colts and ladies in Hadleigh and some surrounding villages.

"The rugby club issue with the council goes back many years and I'm glad to say it is not the case now. The town council's relationship was not the most harmonious in the past, and the attitude of the council in general was perhaps not as sports minded as it is today.

"The environment now is different, the Layham Road working party has been set up by the council and they deal with not only the day to day but the planning and ideas and bring recommendations forward.

"We are in the feasibility stage and we are probably about two years of getting those 3G pitches but we need to get a move on or the opportunity may fade away due to funding being lost."

Once in place, Rolf envisages a separate leisure management company, like the nopt-forprofit organisation Abbeycroft Leisure that manages Babergh's swimming pools and centres, would run the new facilities rather than the town council or clubs.

Meanwhile, the short term future for Hadleigh United, nicknamed the Brettsiders due to their location next to the river Brett, is another juggling act he and the club's committee have had to perform.

Volunteers remain the lifeblood of the club, some 80 of them bar staff, stewards, ground staff and coaches, along with its close community ties.

Rolf said: "The football club is community minded, we even hire out to the Bridge Club twice a week but there is no prospect of them doing that for some time to come.

"The volunteers are amazing, every day you will see someone here doing something for the love of club, they will help us survive."

Government and Babergh grants have helped, along with a small average gate of 100 fans, but the loss of income to the social bar, hiring out the venue and loss of sponsorship has left a hole.

Rolf is confident the club is secure until at least next February or March, but the outgoings relevant to any non-league team, still need to be met.

"We are playing football and so have all those outgoings, which tots up to a tidy sum that we have to find each month.

"It could be by February/March when we might start to worry. If the format is the same as it is today then financially we know that is not working. We are relying on our limited reserves to see us through and that is a worry.

"The main issue for us is not having income from the bar, the hiring of the room, functions and all that. It is things like the Hares Running Club that can't hire the club house, normally they would be here for the registration then the prize giving and refreshments, that is a big loss for us."

On the pitch experienced manager Christian Appleford has guided the Brettsiders to four Thurlow Nunn League wins in six games and on Tuesday they beat AFC Sudbury in a penalty shoot out to proceed to the third round of the Premier Cup.

Rolf's involvement into local politics, a bit like his commitment to the football club, was not exactly planned either.

"I did not set out to get into politics, Rolf admitted. "Essentially I stood for town council to support the need for new facilities for all our sporting clubs.

"I also saw the need for fresh ideas and fresh impetus. There was a fair amount of criticism flying around about the council, the cemetery project, among other things, at a big cost to the council.

"People felt there was a need for young blood and I joined Hadleigh Together which as a group was formed of independently minded people. The organisers asked that everyone shared the importance of transparency and openness and I wanted to help bring about positive change for the town."

Despite the latest distractions within the town council, with five vacancies needing to be filled but due to Cold no elections will be held until next May, Rolf refuses to be side-tracked from his main focuses.

He said: "Sports facilities is my big ticket and I'm hoping to help inflict the infrastructure all around the town, with new housing developments coming we need to get sufficient infrastructure money out of that?

"Do planners at Babergh understand and appreciate what the sports clubs are saying about needing more space. This is an opportunity for Babergh to help fund the provision of more space.

"I was also interested in the High Street issues and how that will go forward in the future."

As an accountant he brings whole new skill set to the council and, somewhat unusually he is among the councillors who gets involved in the day to day running of the office. He put together the budget, which was passed and has helped, along with former mayor Helen Allen to go into the office most days during lockdown to ensure bills were paid.

But, even with all the hours spent at the football club and on council business, Rolf's reason for retirement has not been forgotten and between 3pm and 6pm weekdays he can be relied on to be the doting grandfather, with all the feeding, bathing and story telling that involves.

Now that, Rolf knew what he was getting into, and relishes what can often be the most satisfying part of his day.