Double winner is open to offers!

Crowned by the Football Association as the Ryman and Step 3-4 Groundsman of the Year, the proud volunteer, pictured with his trophies, reckons that only the opportunity to go full-time in the professional game could lure him away from The Pilot Field after doing the ‘double’ for the first time.

Self-taught and unpaid, the 43-year-old scooped national honours in August at the 2014-15 FA Groundsman of the Year Awards having being named twice previously as the national runner-up before being named as the Ryman’s top groundsman in 2011 and 2012.

Held at the state-of-the-art St George's Park National Football Centre for the third year running and now in its 14th year, the annual accolades saw more than a hundred groundsmen collect national and individual league awards and commendations alongside Rudkins from members of the FA’s Pitches & Facilities Committee.

Rudkins, who runs a landscaping business and has lived in Hastings since 1996, only has one regret - not discovering his turf tending talents earlier and putting them to good use in the game in order to turn professional.

He said: “I was chuffed to have won and it was an unexpected honour that should be shared with others at the club who made it possible.

“I stood down as a director in the summer but I’m not going anywhere yet, unless a pro club comes in for my services of course and makes me a better offer!"

“I spend anywhere between 15 and 20 hours a week at the club and if I knew 20 years ago what I know, I might have made a career out it.”

After his previous commitments as a director included chief steward duties and editing the matchday programme, Rudkins is happy to concentrate on his first love now, admittedly at times to the annoyance of his Finnish partner Matleena. As you’d expect, he is unlikely to become an advocate for the 3G revolution sweeping Non-League either.

He added: “I really do enjoy my work and I still prefer seeing football played on grass. I can see why 3G is popular with the pressures in the game but I would like to see what will be happening in ten year’s time when many of the pitches recently installed will need relaying.

“Clubs will need to have managed their finances and I am proud of what we have achieved here. I think most teams who come down here enjoy the pitch, the stadium itself and its facilities.”

Rudkins isn’t the only Ryman groundsmen going about his business with an extra spring in his step this season.

As well as being named behind Rudkins in second and third place in the Ryman category respectively, Leatherhead’s David Blaszkowski and VCD Athletic’s Colin Powell were two of only three groundsmen to be highly commended by judges in the national competition.

In the Ryman category, Rob Darby and Brian Adamson at Corinthian Casuals and Enfield Town’s Jack Lucas were also highly commended.

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