David Knott not looking back at age 53

But that's not the case with Stourport Hockey Club stalwart David Knott.

Knott has just skippered the England Over-50s to Masters World Cup glory in Australia and has his sights fixed on more success in the future.

At 53 years young, Knott has no plans to down sticks and move into the sleepy world of retirement.

A home international series with Ireland, Scotland and Wales next month will be Knott's last outing for the over-50s side but he is already eyeing a place in the over-55s set-up.

In fact, he is even thinking further ahead than that. Knott said: "Next year I am going up to the 55s and if you are asking how long will play, there is an England Over-75 team.

"I started playing at 14 so that would be 61 years of playing hockey, but I have got to get there yet. One of the players I used to play with when I first started is in the England 65s.

"I am hoping I can keep going. You never know, I could have some injury stop me but my intention is to keep going as long as possible.

"I have seen some of the games in the 60, 65 and 70s age groups and you would be surprised how nimble some of the people still are.

"If you keep exercising it keeps your mind and your body reasonably healthy."

Fitness is a big thing for Knott, who moved to Stourport from Bewdley when he was four-years-old. Knott is an associate principal at Stourport High School, having also been a pupil there.

He said: "It's a shame that more people around my age can't play now because their bodies have just given up. Part of it is about trying to keep yourself in some kind of shape.

"I have been lucky, really. By trade I am a PE teacher and I have always believed that being a PE teacher you have got to keep yourself fit.

"So I have always worked hard to try and keep myself fit. Touch wood, I have never had a break.

"I had had the odd hamstring injury and strains and I had my teeth re-arranged once and put back in, but nothing that has stopped me from playing for a substantial period of time."

It's been quite a career with Knott having represented England at various levels before earning full international honours.

He was a key player during Stourport's glory days in the National League, English hockey's top flight and also played for Slough for two years before returning home.

He said: "In our heyday we finished third in the Premier League, I think it was 92, and we lost in the final of the indoor and the HA Cup, which is like the FA Cup of hockey.

"I played under-19, under-21 and then outdoor and indoor for the full England teams. I was in the training squad in 1986 when England came second in the World Cup, but I didn't get into the final 18.

"I was in the training squad in 1988 when they won the Olympic gold for a little while, but I didn't get selected.

"I was on the fringe. But it was great to be around the scene and the standard was fantastic."

Knott has struck gold twice with England Over-50s, but the recent success Down Under is made extra special by the fact he was skipper and also highlighted his attention to detail and competitive streak.

He continued: "Some of the lads had been taking the mickey out of me because I had sent them something about doing some acclimatisation work, even if they could just get into a sauna or a jacuzzi.

"I am lucky, I have got a converted gym where I lock up the doors, put the heaters on and then run in the heat. When we got to Australia about 19 degrees.

"But then it was 25-26, the semi-final was 29 and the final was 31. It was a real shock."

But it was worth the sweat as England reeled off victories against South Africa (6-0), Australia (4-3) and Canada (14-1) to progress to the quarter-finals.

A 4-0 win over Malaysia continued their charge before Germany were downed 8-1 in the semi-finals.

Tournament favourites Australia provided the opposition in the shoot-out for gold with England running out 3-1 winners.

Knott played as a defender in his early years before moving up front when he started plaing in the Masters events,.

He performed a key role by bagging seven goals during the tournament to finish as England's second highest scorer.

He said: "We won the World Cup in Canterbury when I had just started playing for the 50s, so this is the second one I have won.

"Then we went to Holland a couple of years ago and finished second, we lost to Germany 1-0 in the final in Rotterdam.

"It was a great honour to be captain as well and an added bonus was bringing back the trophy."

On the club front, Knott was still turning out for Stourport's first team last season but, having helped them stave off the threat of relegation, he will now be playing further down the levels.

He said: "When I got to 38 I stopped playing for the first team at Stourport for 11 years and played for the seconds, I thought 'I have done my bit it's someone else's time.'

"We had a good side, but after we had dropped out the National league the club needed people to play. Being a club man, I didn't want to see us go down all the way through the leagues.

"There are clubs like Hounslow, who won the National title five times and they no longer exist. I don't want to see that happen to Stourport.

"I played for the last four years and I played a couple of games after Christmas this season and thought that was enough.

"We are in the Midlands Premier League – one down from National League – and it's quite a tough league and I managed to help ensure we stayed in that division. It was a good achievement."

Knott also ran the club's junior section for 20 years and coached the Midlands Under-21 side for seven years, but he can't shake the buzz he gets from playing."

He said: I have done a lot of coaching but it got to the stage where I was asking myself do I want to coach or play?

"I still love playing. Coaching is OK, but it's not the same as playing. I keep saying I can go back to coaching when I am older!"