Warriors in the Community

2019 End of Year Report

Football Development Officer – Andrew Thomson

2019 has been another massive year for Stenhousemuir Football Club and the Community Programme. There have been many highlights over the course of the year for the programme, but I would like to begin by thanking our previous Head of Community Football – Will Hoggan for all his guidance, hard work and dedication to the club before departing for his new role at Motherwell FC. It has been a pleasure to work alongside both Will and Danny over the past 5 years and both Danny and I are looking forward to hopefully continuing the good work carried out alongside our new full-time member of staff Declan Kidd. 

In the early parts of 2019, it was great to be involved with mainly our Young Maroons and Girls Football Programme where both programmes have excelled. Within our Girls Football Programme, we now have our highest number of girls participating regularly in our team sessions as well as also increasing the number of coaches involved within the programme all together. The commitment and time that these volunteer coaches give up is extremely vital for our community programme and without them it would be difficult to have as many players taking part as we do. Throughout the year the girls, coaches and parents’ involvement in the whole game within Scotland has been admirable with several trips to games such as the World Cup send-off game between Scotland and Jamaica as well as The Scottish Cup Final between Glasgow City and Hibs. Some of the girls also took part as Ball Girls and Flag Bearers at the Womens U19 UEFA Championship that was held in Scotland this year. On the pitch for our girl’s teams they continue to develop and excel at all age groups and we look forward to 2020 season where we will be adding an extra step in our pathway with our U15’s team. This extends our pathway at the football club and brings girls football and our senior ladies’ team closer together. As for the Ladies Team it has been a fantastic season for them also after rebuilding the team in pre-season and now looking forward to the 2020 season where Stenhousemuir will take part in the Championship. A massive thanks to Abbie, Nile and Mark who have now moved on and best wishes to Allan, Andrew & Scott who will continue to lead the team forward. A final thanks to Julie – our club chaplain, ball girl and motivator – who has been fantastic within the ladies’ team changing room. 

Being part of the Young Maroons programme has been a fantastic experience and has been great to see the journey of all the players that have stepped up from Mini Maroons to the Young Maroons. Our Pre-School football is booming, and it is great to see so many of them stepping up to our Young Maroons Classes. We are very proud of all the players currently within our player pathway and seeing players progress from Young Maroons into our Community Select Teams is a great achievement for both the players, parents and coaches. 

I am looking forward to 2020 at Warriors in the Community as it will allow me to work a lot closer with our Coaching Academy, Mental Health Team, Walking Football Team and our 11 a-side Community Select Teams. From the short time of being involved with these programmes it is clear to see that all the players, coaches and staff are passionate, committed and driven to do their best for Stenhousemuir Football Club. A massive thanks to all the people involved within these programmes for making me feel so welcome – I look forward to working with you all in 2020 to continue your good work. 

Lastly, I’d like to thank everyone that is involved with Stenhousemuir Football Club and Warriors in the Community. It is a real privilege to be involved with such a fantastic Community Programme.  

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year. Best wishes to you all for 2020. 

Thanks again, 

Andy Thomson 

 Football Development Officer – Danny Newbigging

With 2019 coming to an end, looking back it‘s been a hugely successful year for the Community Programme here at Stenhousemuir Football Club. 

Firstly, I’d like to say Thank You to William Hoggan who was our previous Head of Community Football. In the last 4 years or so while working with William he put everything into insuring that the Community Programme was successful year after year. I can only thank him for leaving the programme in such a strong position and will never forget how much I learned from him during the 4 years I worked closely with him. 

It‘s been great working closely with Andrew Thomson & Declan Kidd after the Re-Structure from the club. It made a positive impact on the Community Programme and I look forward to working with both members of staff in 2020. 

PRE-SCHOOL & MINI MAROONS PROGRAMME 

Our Pre-School Football Programme has been at an all-time high. Thanks to the Tesco Bags funding we have been able to deliver FREE Pre-School Football for a full year for all nursery children in the local area. In 2019 we have delivered in over 15 Nurseries across the Larbert & Denny cluster. More than any other club in the Forth Valley Area. 

We’ve reached out to over 500 Pre-School Children in 2019 and the result of this has benefited our Mini Maroons Programme after seeing a huge increase in participation. All classes are at Capacity and also creating a brand-new Friday Class had definitely allowed us to reach out to more Nursery Children. We also look to create an additional class in 2020 which would take us to 7 Classes Per Week! 

BOYS COMMUNITY SELECT TEAMS U7s-U13’s 

I’d like to take this opportunity to Thank all coaches for their hard work and commitment over the course of 2019.I’d also like to thank the Players for being excellent throughout the year and putting 100% effort into every training session and match, we have some very talented players across our age groups! There are some positive changes ahead with our Younger Teams moving to the CSFA League. This year will see our brand new 2013’s playing their first season in a Maroon Strip & our 2008s moving to 11-aside football… An exciting year ahead! 

Our 2007’s are midway through their season in the FVFDA League. At the tail end of last season and start of this season I worked very closely with the 2007’s and have reacted really well to the transition from 9aside to 11-aside football. We were delighted to bring Wilson Millar on board after working with the 2001’s age group for over 10 years. Wilson has made a positive impact on the 2007’s and has a League Cup Quarter-Final to look forward to in 2020. 

SCHOOLS INITIATIVE PROGRAMME 

A massive Thank you to Innes Patterson / Fiona Mckay & Pete McDougall from the Falkirk Community Trust for allowing us to deliver in over 25 Afterschool classes and 5 lunch club sessions every week in 2019. 

We look to expand in 2020 and ensure every child across the Larbert / Denny area has an opportunity to participate in football. We look forward to continuing our strong relationships with all Schools / Teachers & Active Schools Co-Ordinators in 2020.  

MATCH-DAYS AT STENHOUSEMUIR FC 

We’ve had some memorable Match-Days at Ochilview Park this year From the Aberdeen Reply to the Dundee United Betfred Cup Match. We have had over 20 Match-Day Masterclasses in 2019 which has seen 20 different Community clubs from across Scotland to come and enjoy Pre-Match & Half-Time football at the Stenhousemuir FC Matches. This season we have introduced our FREE Reward Scheme Season tickets for all Community Members in which we have prizes for attending a certain amount of Stenhousemuir FC Home Matches. 

Not only that but we give schools in the local community the opportunity to come along and support the Warriors with our Tickets for Schools Scheme in partnership with the National Trust for Scotland. We select a school every match day and they will have tickets for every pupil within that school. 

We need everyone across the Community Programme to come support the Warriors in 2020. It will be a huge year for Davie Irons & the 1st team in their quest for a Play-Off position. We need you to back the Warriors in 2020! 

I hope you all have a great Christmas & New Year. 

See you all in 2020. 

Danny Newbigging. 

 

Full-Time Community Coach – Declan Kidd 

I would like to give a massive thank you to Jamie Swinney, Danny Newbigging and Andy Thomson for the opportunity to come on board as a Full-Time member of staff here at Stenhousemuir Football Club. A massive thank you to former Head of Community William Hoggan for the support over the years at the club and in my higher education studies both at College and University. I would also like to say a big thank to everyone connected with Stenhousemuir FC and The Warriors in the Community Programme for the continued support and guidance over the last year. It has been a great year for me personally but also a great year for the Community Programme as it continues to grow year-by-year. 

It has been a great year for our Pre-School program as we have delivered a record number of nursery sessions across the Larbert and Denny area. The kids have enjoyed the fun filled sessions that we deliver, with several Nurseries booking on for 6-week blocks after our 4-week taster sessions. It has also been a great year for our Mini Maroons programme as we have been able to increase the number of classes, we deliver on a weekly basis from 5 to 6 due to the high demand for Pre-School football. In the New Year we hope reach more nurseries across out catchment area and have a great opportunity to expand our Mini Maroons Programme even more with additional class.  

For myself it has been very rewarding working mainly within our Pre-School programme and seeing smiles on every child’s face as they leave each session. At the start of the year I hadn’t taken a pre-School session before, so it has been a great learning curve for myself and one that I every much enjoyed. I am looking forward to getting back into the nurseries and the Mini’s programmes in the New Year and continue to deliver the high standard of coaching expected at the football club. 

I have also had the opportunity since coming on aboard full-time to work within our Walking Football Programme and meet a lot of the players currently at the club. I am looking forward in the New Year to getting more involved within the programme and deliver a lot more sessions with our current players. I had the opportunity to attend my first Walking Football Tournament at Ravenscraig in November. It was a great experience and showed me how passionate and committed the guys are to the program. 

Our Mental Health program has continued to grow on the great success of 2018 with several new participants coming along to our weekly sessions. I hope to get more involved with the Mental Health Program in 2020, delivering at their weekly sessions and making it along to their monthly away days in the Scottish FA Health and Well-being League. 

We are also looking to do a big push on our Twilight Leagues in 2020 which will start back up again in late January. We aim to give as many High School kids between the ages of 12-16 the opportunity to play football every Sunday night free of charge and the use of our main pitch here at Ochilview Stadium. We have been given great funding to run our Twilight Leagues in 2020 by Carron Bathrooms and we will continue to work very closely with Larbert High School, the local Police Force and local Councillor Gary Bouse, who continue to support the football club. It will be a very exciting year for the Twilight Leagues and on that I am very much looking forward to being a part of to see how it grows in the year to come.    

I am looking forward to 2020 and what lies ahead for Stenhousemuir FC and The Warriors in the Community Programme. I’d like to wish everyone connected with Stenhousemuir FC and The Warriors in the Community Programmes a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 

Thanks, Declan Kidd 

 

 

Thank You… 

• Massive Thanks to all our Community Coaches and Volunteer Community Coaches for their commitment, dedication and hard work in 2019
•  Massive Thanks to all our Parents / Guardians for supporting all Community Programmes.
• Massive Thanks to Current 1st Team Manager Davie Irons, Ex Manager Colin McMenamin and all the 1st team players for assisting at various sessions and events in 2019. 
• Massive Thanks to Current Ladies 1st Team Head Coaches Allan Milne & Andrew Quinn, Ex Head Coach Abbie Trotter and all the 1st team players for assisting at various sessions and events in 2019.
• Massive Thanks to the Stenhousemuir FC Chief Executive Jamie Swinney and the Board of Directors for all their support in 2019
• Massive Thanks to our Kit Supplier RJM Sports for their great service to our Community Programmes 
• Massive Thanks to Your Equipment Solutions for backing our community programme, senior ladies’ team and over 35’s and allowing us to run programmes like our Season Ticket Rewards Scheme.
• Massive Thanks to ICE who have sponsored our Player of the Day and Week winners at all our Holiday Camps over the Year.
• Massive Thanks to all other Funders for supporting various programmes in 2019
• Massive Thanks to the Scottish FA Central Region for helping generate funding through Mcdonald’s and Network Rail as well as supporting various community programmes and holiday camps across the year. We look forward to working together again in 2020.
• Massive Thanks to the SPFL Trust for funding our Football Fans in Training Programme, Festive Friends and Mental Health 1st Aid Courses.
• Massive Thanks to the Falkirk Herald for allowing us to promote and publish our programmes and good news stories.
• Massive Thanks to the Falkirk Community Trust and Active Schools Team for supporting our Schools Initiative Programme
• Massive Thanks to our partners Tryst Community Sports Club for their continued support all year.
• Massive Thanks to Larbert High School for use of their excellent facilities.
• Massive Thanks to Tryst Dental Practice for working in partnership with our Mini Maroons Programme
• Massive Thanks to all the Primary Schools and Nurseries in our Catchment Area for allowing us to offer fun football sessions to more children in the local area.