In the
first of our features looking at the people who make The Moors tick behind the
scenes, we meet match day hospitality manager John Reeves.
Do you know which member of the Solihull Moors match day
staff has won an FA Cup?
It might be a question that could be asked at one of his
own quiz nights – the answer of course is John Reeves, who has lifted the women’s
version of the trophy when he coached Birmingham City Ladies.
Having swapped the tracksuit for a club tie, the charismatic
Solihull Moors Hospitality Manager and resident quizmaster is now more well-known
on the non-league circuit for his generous welcome to visitors.
In his front of house role at the Automated Technology
Group Stadium, “Reevesy” meets and greets the directors of the home and away
teams, sponsors and guests, and it is his job to ensure that they all have a
day to remember.
And it is certainly hard to forget John’s entertaining pre-match
question and answer sessions with the players - or his famous fundraising quiz
nights. He also organises and hosts a variety of regular entertainment events
at the club including tribute shows, darts competitions and comedy nights.
But the biggest event of all was winning the FA Cup with
Birmingham City Ladies five seasons ago which he described as a special day.
“Winning the FA Cup with Blues ladies in 2012 was a fantastic experience,”
he recalled. “I was so proud of the girls, they had
worked incredibly hard the whole of the season and deserved the
win. I was drunk for two days….those girls can drink!”
On Moors match days John works closely with commercial
manager Steve Burge, bar manager Mark Friend and the club catering staff to
ensure that “everyone enjoys the day and have everything that they require”. He
also finds the time to run a weekly prediction game.
John has docked at the Moors at the end of a journey which
began at sea.
After serving in the Royal Navy for seven years, John left
for shore in 1977 and headed for Somerset where he embarked on a non-league
playing career with Yeovil Town and Chard Town. A year later he left the west
country and moved back to his native Midlands for work and family reasons.
He continued: “Then due to old recurring injuries, I
decided to stop playing and concentrate on coaching. I actually enjoyed
coaching more than playing, and have worked as a coach with some good people at
good clubs.”
John originally arrived at the club, then Solihull Borough,
in 2006 as a coach under Micky Moore. His career then took him around the
non-league scene at Redditch United, Stratford Town (twice), Stafford Rangers,
Hednesford Town, Solihull Moors and finally Birmingham City Ladies.
He retired from coaching due to shoulder injuries in 2014 but
was asked to stay on at the Moors to help out. He now feels like part of the
furniture at the club and spoke of his pride as it continues its epic rise up
the ranks.
“The club has gone from strength to
strength over the past few years,” John said. “I was here as a coach for the
last season of Solihull Borough, and saw the merger with Moor Green and the
rise of Solihull Moors. I feel we now a have a club that we can all
be proud of and who knows what we can achieve with the professionalism,
commitment and drive of the many good people involved with our club.”
His day job is as a contracts manager in the construction
industry which he has been doing for around 23 years and he says that he “enjoys
the day to day hustle and bustle and problem solving that comes with the job”.
But it is his working at the Moors where his passion for
football and people combine in his dream job: “I love the club and the people
that we have here at the Moors, especially in the clubhouse after a win!”
And what does the future hold for John and Solihull Moors?
The answer to that question might just make it into one of Reevesy’s quizzes
one day.
