Fol1owing the record season of l935/36 some of the older members of the team were considering it was about time they gave way to younger players. The writer, amongst others, was one of these.

At times like this it is the normal practice of clubs to drop the players concerned down one team, but, whilst younger members are promoted in this way the relegated members only tend to clog the 2nd team and stand in the way of the advancement of the younger men from the 3rd - and so on.

All this is a retrograde policy in any club, and, with the above thoughts in mind, a scheme was devised which, it was hoped, would not only be in the long-term interests of the club but would also tend to keep the members themselves happy and enable them to continue playing the game for longer than they might otherwise do.

The scheme was as follows:
1. For a club which can turn out four or more teams each week a new team (see below) shall be formed, to consist of:

• a) Older members who, upon being, or have previously been, relegated from any team.
• b) Older members, in any teams, except the 1st or 2nd, who are unlikely to improve upon their status. (1st and 2nd Xl players shall continue with that side until 1.a applies.
• c) Young and promising members who, it is considered, might benefit from coaching or playing with older members for a short time. (The team obviously did not wish to be regarded as the 4th or 5th X1 subsequently adopted the name of "The Perennials", so called, because, in gardening parlance, they "keep coming up every year".)

2. All members of the 'Perennials' shall be eligible for selection for the 1st Xl, if so required, but not for any other team.

3. Older members, most of whose career has been spent in either 1st or 2nd teams, shall continue to be selected for these sides until 1a (above) applies, or, unless they express a wish to retire to the 'Perennials'.

The advantages to be gained from the adoption of the above scheme were:

• That it would tend to clear the 2nd Xl of the older men who may be in the way of the advancement of younger ones, and, as mentioned earlier, the 2nd team should be the side in which future 1st Xl players are developed.
• That the 'Perennials 'team would enable the older members to continue to play in semi-retirement, amongst their own age group, and under less strenuous conditions.
• That the older members might also extend their playing days longer than they might otherwise do, and, furthermore, members who had retired might also be attracted to turn out again.
• That it was a lead to other clubs and the hope that they, too, might adopt similar schemes, thereby enabling old friends and adversaries to meet again on the field.

Unanimous approval for the scheme to be given a trial was given at the Annual General Meeting, and for 1937/38 fixtures were arranged with the third or fourth teams of other clubs and with the first or second elevens of those less strong. Additionally, permission was granted by the Cricket Club for the use of the lower ground, provided it was not used after March. Naturally the “square” suffered some damage from the hockey club’s occupation, but was restored by the commencement of the cricket season, and no complaints were forthcoming. Initially, there were eight or nine members who automatically fell into categories 1, a. and 1, b., and the side was made up of 1, c., and before long one or two others had come out of retirement.

By the commencement of the following season the success of the experiment was assured beyond all expectations. More players had come from retirement, having decided that they could still get some enjoyment from the game in their 'old age', without depriving younger members of promotion. One of these was an ex-Warwickshire and Olton player. The “Perennials” had become established, and, what was equally encouraging was that other teams had not suffered from the loss of their senior members.

The playing successes of the “Perennials” during the first two seasons are unimportant in the general picture, but suffice it is to say, that out of thirty fixtures played twenty were won with a goal record of 146 - 64.

By this time the success of the scheme had come to the notice of other clubs and they were commencing to adopt similar ideas, and some, in fact, had arranged fixtures with the 'Perennials' for 1939/40, but with the war breaking out in the September, all hockey was cancelled for the duration.

The writer at this time, Norman Sharp must be forgiven for dealing with this subject at such length. It is purely because he believes it to be a forward policy for any major club to adopt that he has gone into so much detail.

It is also somewhat surprising that, following its early success, the ideas have never been revived. At present there is of course an 'Over 35' team, covering, by and large, the same age group, but as this team is restricted to Sundays it is considered it does not fulfill the same functions for the club and its members as are indicated in this chapter.