MARK PLUMMER catches up with a legend in his latest Friday Feature . . .
PLENTY of people reckon speedway riders are barking mad . . . but the legendary JOE SCREEN has saved the barking until after racing.
The former World Under 21 champion and two-time British champion is currently cutting his teeth into team management, but he is also throwing himself into life after speedway.
Screen has taken the reins of Premier League side Sheffield after calling time on his own glittering career towards the end of last season, just short of a quarter-of-a-century in the saddle.
But taking charge of the Tigers is just a small part of an exciting new chapter for the 41 year-old as he also launches a new family business. Screen has bought, revamped and is now running a luxury kennels and cattery in Cheshire.
It's certainly not a dog's life for him or the canines in his care as he is enjoying every minute of his new beginning.
Screen said: "To be honest I wanted to retire a few years ago, but I didn't know what to do with myself!
"I didn't want to go into a regular job working for someone else and I had been putting a bit of money aside during my career to hopefully be in a position to start a business when I retired.
"We saw this place up on the market and decided to go for it. We've been open for a few weeks now and things are going really well.
"I'm used to hard graft and doing things properly with preparing bikes and I've taken that same approach into the new venture.
"The in-laws live on site with us so it is a proper family business."
Screen has no regrets about announcing his retirement last August following a nasty crash while riding for his last club, Glasgow, at Redcar.
It certainly couldn't be classed as a fairytale finish to Screen's racing story, but he has so much to look back on with fondness.
"I've got no thoughts of ever racing again," added Screen. "I had an interesting offer from Sweden earlier in the year, but my time is up and there is more to life than speedway.
"I saw I was headed into the fence that night and I shut my eyes because I knew it was going to hurt.
"It would have been nice to go out on a high by winning my last race, but I can look back on a good career.
"I remember being laid in the ambulance afterwards and said to my mate Havvy (Gary Havelock) "˜that's it' I'm done'.
"My body is knackered, I get arthritis in my left foot and I never want to crash again.
"What happened to poor Ricky Ashworth hit me pretty hard as well because I had been with him the week before his accident."
Screen represented nine British clubs as a rider "“ Belle Vue, Bradford, Hull, Eastbourne, Poole, Wolverhampton, Glasgow, Birmingham and Coventry "“ but his most local outfit, Sheffield, were not among them.
But Screen has put that right since hanging up his kevlars by taking on the team management post at Owlerton.
"I grew up about 20 minutes away from Sheffield and often used to watch them," he recalls. "My dad and his mates were all supporters.
"I've got a picture of me in a Sheffield race jacket when I was three or four years-old, but I never managed to wear one during my career.
"I did speak to the club when I left Wolverhampton and dropped into the Premier League for the first time, but Neil Machin didn't take me on.
"It's nice to finally be at Sheffield and I'm enjoying what I'm doing. I like working with the riders and some of the referees have been really helpful to me as well, which I didn't expect.
"It's frustrating with the weather, which seems to get worse every year, but hopefully we can get into the swing of it soon.
"Winning our first meeting away at Scunthorpe was a great feeling, but that soon ended when they came to our place and won a few days later."
Sheffield won the Northern Group in the Premier League Cup to set up a semi-final showdown with Edinburgh but they find themselves propping up the Premier League standings. That's more down to postponements than performances though.
Screen continued: "I'm starting to feel sorry for the lads because they are not getting any racing or making any money.
"Simon (Stead) has got his Elite League ride at Leicester, but the other boys don't have that.
"We all know some of the costs are horrendous these days and I would have thought it is almost impossible to make a living just in the Premier League alone.
"We booked Scunthorpe for a team practice on Wednesday and even that got rained off! It has been the story of our season really ever since having to call off our Press & Practice.
"It's been an uphill battle because even when we have ridden at home the weather hasn't usually been great and the track has been tricky.
"We've done okay in the League Cup to get through our group, but we don't want to be sat at the bottom of the league table."
Sheffield will have to wait until next Thursday (June 10) for their next opportunity to leave the basement behind when they host Glasgow at Owlerton.
