Tribute to ‘naughty’ dad who died suddenly

A St Helens rugby coach with a “warm presence” has died suddenly. Former Pilkington Recs player Michael Cole died unexpectedly on Tuesday 9th July. The 39-year-old leaves behind his wife Carol, son Jax and daughter Lillie.

Michael, known as Coley, was part of a talented under-18 team in the early 2000s. He rose through the ranks before playing open-age rugby and coaching the Recs and Blackbrook Royals at junior level. Here, he was instrumental in setting up girls’ rugby teams – enabling his daughter and son to enjoy the sport as much as he did.

Callum Hull, coach of Jax’s team, told the ECHO: “His son used to play in my team so we got talking and he used to teach a girls’ team and he wanted to do the same with us because his daughter plays.

“I got involved with him at the girls’ ward and that’s how I met him. Mike was a goofy, out-of-the-box thinker and I was more of a traditional serious person. He would come up with crazy ideas and I would be the one to say no. But that’s the way he was, you had to let him be his creative self.

“Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t, but when his ideas came out, they were spectacular. He was very imaginative.”

Callum said Michael was known by many to be “straight-spoken and cheeky, a charming person who could only lift you to his level of enthusiasm and outlook on life”. The 26-year-old, from Chain Lane, Laffak, added that “everyone felt his warm presence the moment he walked into the room, giving you no choice but to smile and laugh.”

Callum, along with others, has set up a GoFundMe for the family – to which donations can be made Here. He added: “It was heartbreaking to get the call with the news. I trained on Tuesday and the day before, I was told. I was shocked, but that goes for everyone who knew him. Even now, after so many days, you expect to wake up to a text from him.

“Michael lived so close to us that me, my girlfriend, him and his wife used to go bingo on a Friday night just before Christmas. Everyone who knew Coley understood his love for rugby. He made it his passion to transfer his character to all the lives he touched, especially young, aspiring rugby players, both boys and girls. The only things he valued more were his family and friends. He was known throughout the country for his rugby and coaching. That’s just the kind of person he was.”

A celebration of Michael’s life takes place on Friday, August 2 at 10.30am at St Helens Crematorium.