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.