An Official Newsletter of the Ayr United Football Academy with news for players, parents and all other interested parties
Welcome
A new season, two new teams and many new challenges ahead for both the Academy and the players in the year ahead.
There can be no doubt that the Academy has made magnificent strides since our formation and despite the many challenges that lie ahead, we willl endeavour to keep the development of the Academy on a steady course and to continue its' development, with the ultimate goal of our teams up to under 16 level playing at performance level within the next few years - a level that no Ayr United youth development programme in the past has achieved.
In doing so we will be striving to overcome many hurdles that lie ahead, e.g. the facilities problem that lies in Ayrshire, particularly South Ayrshire, so that all of our young players are given every tool possible to enable them to achieve their personal goals in the hope that one day they will pull on that white shirt of Ayr United in a first team fixture and make their way in the professional game.
Background
For those of you who are not aware, the Ayr United Football Academy (AUFA) was established after a lot of hard work in December 2005. Listed at Companies House as a Company Limited by Guarantee, the AUFA is a partnership of FIVE organisations, Ayr United FC; The Honest Men Trust; South Ayrshire Council; Ayr College and Ayrshire & Arran NHS via its' South Ayrshire Community Health Partnership.
One of the main aims and objectives of the new not-for-profit company is to establish a new youth development programme for Ayr United FC. To achieve this, the Academy had to jump through many hoops before it finally achieved recognition by the Scottish Football Association in the late summer of 2006. It was only then that the AUFA could implement its' youth development programme.
The AUFA however is also committed to the local Ayrshire community and is keen to develop a community programme that will encourage education and health benefits through the means of sport, particularly football. It was on these grounds that in March 2006, the Inland Revenue agreed to recognise the AUFA as a Charity.
DIRECTOR OF FOOTBALL
That man is John Crawford. During the day, John is the Head Teacher at Drongan Primary School but apart from his family, his main drive in life is football.
A coach of vast experience at boys, youth and junior football going back almost 30 years from when he was at Netherthird Primary School. A founder of East Ayrshire Boys Club, he joined the coaching staff at the former Ayr United Boys Club in the 1980's before moving into the junior ranks with Whitletts Victoria.
Success there took him to Annbank United, where he won the Jackie Scarlett Cup, Cumnock, Lugar (twice) and Kilwinning Rangers before he took over the reigns at Largs Thistle and it was while at the Barrfields club that he had his proudest moment in the game when he led the club to Scottish Junior Cup glory with a 1-0 win over much fancied Glenafton in the 1994 Ibrox final.
For the last seven years he was in charge of Hurlford United, masterminding their rise from the basement of the Ayrshire League to respectability in the West of Scotland Super League.
Following his departure from Blair Park, John intended to have a break from the game but when he was approached by the Academy to head up our youth development programme, he was invigorated by the enthusiasm and determination of those involved and decided to accept the challenge of bringing on tomorrows stars.
Over the summer he has overseen a massive change with the introduction of two new teams and a number of new coaching staff and the Directors of the Academy are delighted to have him on board.
WEBSITE
The Academy is currently developing a new website to keep everyone up to date on all aspects of the work at the Academy.
The site is presently under construction and is being built and hosted by local web building company Lighthosts. The site will have many innovations, including web mail accounts for coaches, players etc, plus much, much more.
It is hoped that the website will be up and running within the next 6 weeks. More details in the September Newsletter.
AYR UNITED UNDER 19's
Ayr United Under 19's
Fixture List 2007/8
12/08/07 - Dumbarton (a) L 4-7
19/08/07 - Arbroath (h) L 2-4
26/08/07 - Dundee (a)
02/09/07 - Elgin City (h)
09/09/07 - Hamilton Academical (a)
16/09/07 - SFA Youth Cup 1 (bye)
23/09/07 - Stirling Albion (h)
30/09/07 - Partick Thistle (a)
07/10/07 - Clyde (h)
14/10/07 - Raith Rovers (a)
21/10/07 - SFA Youth Cup 2
28/10/07 - East Fife (h)
04/11/07 - FREE
11/11/07 - SFA Youth Cup 3
18/11/07 - Montrose (a)
25/11/07 - St.Johnstone (h)
02/12/07 - Ross County (a)
09/12/07 - SFA Youth Cup 4
16/12/07 - Stenhousemuir (h)
06/01/08 - Airdrie United (a)
13/01/08 - Alloa Athletic (h)
20/01/08 - Queen's Park (a)
27/01/08 - Livingston (h)
03/02/08 - Cowdenbeath (a)
10/02/08 - Dunfermline Athletic (h)
The above dates are week commencing so can take place on any agreed date within that week. It is our intention to play the home matches on a Sunday at Dam Park, Ayr. Kick off times may vary but usually they have a 1pm kick off.
Feel free to pop along and give the boys your support.
In total there are 21 teams in the League for the coming season, playing each other just once.
After the final league match on 10th February, the teams will play in a League Cup competition through to the end of the season.
The Under 19's have been given a bye in the first round of the SFA Youth Cup but will play a second round tie in October as the newly constructed side aim to emulate the previous Ayr United sides of 1992 and 2002 by reaching the final of the competition
This under 19 side has been brought together following a series of trials through out the summer. It is widely accepted the by this age most of the top players have been snapped up by clubs but the challenge is on for the players in this squad to prove that they have what it takes to make the grade.
This is something that they will be given every opportunity to do under the guidance of John McCaig. John is a highly respected coach, having played the game at senior level with Stranraer and having previously coached at reserve/first team level with Queen of the South. John will be assisted by Billy McKie and both have been heavily involved in putting together this side.
The boys had to prove their worth in some tough pre-season fixtures that included matches against South of Scotland League sides St.Cuthberts Wanderers and Newton Stewart, matches from which they came out with a lot of credit. However their first real test came on Sunday with their opening league fixture away to Dumbarton where a sensational second half collapse in a downpour saw the Under 19's lose out by 7-4. An improved performance against Arbroath wasn't enough to prevent the 19's losing 4-2 in their first home league fixture on Sunday. One thing that is very clear is that most of the players are struggling to adapt to the fitness levels required to play at this level of the game but the coaching staff are confident that that will improve if the players stick to their training programmes and fully follow their sports science programme.
Scorers:
3 - Stuart Dalziel; 1 - Stevie Griffiths; Graeme Mushet; Andy Scott
WELFARE OFFICER
The post of a Welfare Officer is an important one, designed to assist players with any problems that they may have, which they do not wish to raise with their coach. This can be a variety of issues from bullying to needing somewhere to do their homework due to having to travel to attend training.
The Academy's Welfare Officer is Billy Smith. Billy has a wealth of experience and relates very well to young people.
Billy has a very strong community ethic, and a strong commitment to the development of young people which was the reason why he was awarded an MBE in last years Honours List but he also has a very strong footballing background having played the game at a senior level himself with Kilmarnock and Sheffield United. In the late 1970's, Bongo became involved in the establishment of Ayr United Boys Club - a fore-runner to the Academy, and helped to develop the careers of some top players such as Robert Connor, Ian McAllister and most notably, Stevie Nicol, who went onto win European Cup winners medals with Liverpool.
He genuinely cares about young people so if you need help or advice, give Billy a call.
Contact: Billy Smith 07766 246 079
FUNDRAISING
It takes a lot of money to run the Academy on an annual basis. This coming season alone it is anticipated that it will cost around £50,000 just to run our youth development programme, let alone our community objectives.
Throughout the season there will be a number of fundraising initiatives from race nights to Sportsman's Dinners and we ask that you give your full support to these events. If you have any fundraising ideas, or are prepared to help, then please get in touch.
Call John Dalton on 07986 621 982
AYR UNITED UNDER 16's
Ayr United Under 16's
Fixture List 2007/8
19/08/07 - Alloa Athletic (a) L1-3
26/08/07 - Clyde (h)
02/09/07 - Stirling Albion (a)
09/09/07 - FREE
16/09/07 - Queen's Park (h)
23/09/07 - St.Johnstone (a)
30/09/07 - Queen of the South (h)
07/10/07 - Alloa Athletic (h)
14/10/07 - Clyde (a)
21/10/07 - Stirling Albion (h)
28/10/07 - FREE
04/11/07 - Queen's Park (a)
11/11/07 - St.Johnstone (h)
18/11/07 - Queen of the South (a)
Fixtures released to date are only until Christmas with further fixtures for the remainder of the season to be announced during the winter break.
The 16's will play their home matches at Loch Park, New Cumnock. Please give the boys your support
The Under-16's this season will again be under the management of John Stewart but he will head a much changed coaching line up for the season ahead.
Following George' Weir's decision not to return to coach with the Academy and stay with Glenafton Athletic Boys Club, the Academy have appointed three additional coaches to assist John.
Jamie McCaig and Stephen Ferguson are new recruits keen to be involved in coaching and bring with them some experience of having played at junior level, Stephen having spent last season with Craigmark.
Also signing up is Davie White who is a highly qualified coach and who was recently appointed as the Academy's Football Development Officer in South Ayrshire (see later article). Davie came up through the youth set up at Kilmarnock and also played for St.Mirren before an extensive junior career, most prominately with Cumnock.
The Academy thank George for his services to the boys last year and welcome Jamie, Stephen and Davie into the fold
SPORTS SCIENCE
The Academy has fully endorsed the use of Sports Science in our training and development of the players and this season we intend to take the programme a stage further with the establishment of our own specific Sports Science coaching team who will undertake the Sports Science training for all teams this season.
New recruit Paul McLean has a Sports Science degree from the University of Glasgow who work in conjunction with the Academy over the development of our Sports Science programme.
John Stewart, who led the programme on our behalf last year and who's recognition of sports science was instrumental in the Academy adopting the programme will also be part of the team as will Dr Stuart Hendry. Stuart has always held a keen interest in this field and assisted some players in this field during the close season with some training sessions at the Old Racecourse.
They will be assisted by Dr Niall MacFarlane, one of the foremost figures in the development of Sports Science in Scotland and who has worked with a number of top athletes in a variety of sports, including world champions.
Our Sports Science training will take place EVERY Tuesday with monthly assessments from Dr MacFarlane, taking place on the last Thursday of the month.
BUT THEY NEED PARENTAL SUPPORT
The Academy have sought out and delivered what we consider to be the best programme of its' kind and is costing us thousands of pounds to deliver - with the view of it enhancing your son's physical development to give him the best possible opportunity to make the grade as a professional footballer. Put simply in professional football these days, your son will not make the grade if he is not at the peak of physical condition.
However the coaches at the AUFA can only do so much and we need YOU, the parents, to work along with us to give your son the best possible chance of reaching his goals.
PLEASE THINK SERIOUSLY ABOUT THE FOOD YOUR CHILD EATS.
We are not dictating that he does not eat chips, but it has to be in moderation. Think about how often he eats them - once a week may be too much, especially in conjunction with other food stuffs he may be eating e.g. sweets, burgers, etc.
Cut down on the fatty foods and give him healthy food that will enhance his physical development. Who knows it also benefit the health of the whole family!
Sports Science is the way ahead for sporting development. It is no co-incidence that it has been adopted by all the top sporting athletes in a variety of sports and football is now catching up.
When assessments are made in future about your son's progress and potential / potential to make the grade as a footballer, his physical fitness and progression using sports science will be a key factor in determining his future as a player.
Monthly assessments will be carried out by Dr Niall McFarlane and records will be kept to track the course of your sons' physical development and over the course of the season, along with his ability as a footballer, will be monitored and taken fully into consideration in his assessment.
AYR UNITED UNDER 15's
Ayr United Under 15's
Fixture List 2007/8
19/08/07 - *Arbroath (h) W2-1
26/08/07 - FREE
02/09/07 - Dumbarton (a)
09/09/07 - Stranraer (h)
16/09/07 - Queen's Park (a)
23/09/07 - St.Johnstone (h)
30/09/07 - Morton (a)
07/10/07 - Alloa Athletic (h)
14/10/07 - Clyde (a)
21/10/07 - Elgin City (h)
28/10/07 - Livingston (a)
04/11/07 - Queen of the South (h)
11/11/07 - Raith Rovers (a)
18/11/07 - Arbroath (a)
25/11/07 - FREE
The under 15's play their home matches at Carrick Academy, Maybole on astrograss. Kick off times may vary but usually they have a 1pm kick off. NB * Played at Lugar.
Feel free to pop along and give the boys your support.
As for the past four years, Tom Robertson will be in charge of the Under 15 side for the coming season but there will be a couple of changes to the coaching staff as well as the playing staff.
Unfortunately Kenny Paterson has given up his role as Tom's No2 due to personal reasons and the Academy thank Kenny for the service he has given to the club that he supports and hope that it won't be long before we welcome him back to the Academy in a coaching capacity.
As with all the initiative sides this season, we are bringing new coaches on board and joining the coaching team at the 15's is Gary Gibson
Gary Gibson lives in Ayr and has a Level 2 FA coaching qualification from his time in England but under the SFA rules will have to start from scratch.
As most people know by now, the under 15's will have to do without the services of their top scorer from last season, Kyle McAusland who has joined Rangers. While we are obviously disappointed to lose Kyle, he goes to Murray Park with our best wishes.
However Tom and our new scouting team have been out and about recruiting players to strengthen the squad for the coming campaign and there can be no doubt that Tom and his new coaching side will have the boys playing to the same high level as they achieved last season.
They kick off their season on Sunday with a good performance in a 2-1 win against Arbroath at Rosebank Park, Lugar. Despite playing by far the better football, they had to thank Chris Murchie in goal for a string of superb saves to keep them in the game and despite falling behind in the final period, goals from Dale McLelland and Tony Howie secured a deserved victory.
Scorers: 1 - Tony Howie; Dale McLelland
FOOTBALL IN THE COMMUNITY
When blueprint for the Academy was created, one of our main objectives was to increase the levels of health and education throughout the local community by means of sports - and in particular football.
In July this year, the Academy took a major step forward to achieving those goals with the appointment of Davie White as our Football Development Officer in South Ayrshire.
This post, funded initially between South Ayrshire Council and the SFA, had lain dormant for a couple of years following the departure of Raymond Farrelly and had only been filled on a temporary basis.
Last year the Academy made an approach to the local authority regarding becoming involved in re-establishing the Football in the Community programme and over a number of meetings over a protracted period, which also included the SFA and Ayr United FC, agreement was reached where all parties entered into a partnership to develop a new Football in the Community Programme.
The project will be managed by the Academy who will also pick up any financial shortfall that may occur.
The appointment of Davie White to this role is another major step in the development of the Academy. Davie has major experience in this role, having previously worked in both Angus and Dumfries & Galloway and he will also be working closely with the coaches in the youth development programme, as well as coaching the Under 16's. The Academy have also appointed a part-time assistant Jill Tomlinson, who will work closely with Davie in the development of the Football in the Community programme.
Another area of Davie's responsibility will be to get all the new coaches through their appropriate coaching courses to attain the necessary SFA coaching badges.
Already Davie is working hard to establish new soccer development schools throughout the area, working in schools with the Active Schools project team and taking the Ayr United name out into the community.There are a number of areas in which the project can be developed and one such area where plans are already underway is Disability football.
The Academy have held discussions with the Ayrshire Co-ordinator of Enable, the mental health charity, about developing coaching courses for those in South Ayrshire with a learning disability between the ages of 10-25. Davie has already drawn up a proposal which may even go one step further with the creation of an Ayr United Disability Team.
PLAYER SPONSORSHIP
As stated elsewhere in AUFA News, it is anticipated that it could cost in the region of £50k to run the 4 teams in our youth development programme this season. As a self funding organisation, the Academy have to raise that money and we are asking players/parents/ guardians to assist with this by introducing an opportunity for a local business to sponsor your sons' development.
All players from ALL teams this season are being invited to seek out a local business from their area who would be interested in sponsoring the player for the season.
The Academy recognises that our players come from all over Ayrshire - and beyond - and that there may be small local firms who would be prepared to pay a small sum of £75 per year towards the cost of the development of a local boy trying to make the grade as a professional footballer.
In return for their donation, they will get their company listed in this Newsletter as well as beside a photograph of the player they have sponsored on our new website when that is launched, with a link to their own company website, should they have one.
Most parents/guardians will know of someone who has a local shop or business who may be prepared to pay out this small some towards their sons' development.
Already our Under 14 team have proved that this can be done successfully with a number of players obtaining sponsorship. To date the following companies have put their money behind boys in the team:
AGC Commercial & Plant Sales; AMG Cycles; CompuTroon; Dunure Inn; Hawkwind Sports; Hope Homes (Scotland); Linear Construction; MW Mortgage Services; Simpson Flooring and The Carpet Factory Shop.
Please approach local firms to be your sponsor. Cheques received can be handed to your coach or forwarded directly to the Academy at our address:
PO Box 26315
Ayr
KA7 9AP
SHIRT SPONSORS
The AUFA are grateful to our sponsors for this season.
Subway are the sponsors of the under 14 side while the away kit will be sponsored by M&M Productions.
South West SAAB are supporting our under 15 team and Glenbuild are backing our under 16 team again this season by emblazoning their names across the players shirts.
South Ayrshire Community Health Partnership are meeting the costs involved in snacks for the players after matches and also making a contribution to our vast Sports Science costs.
The Honest Men Trust will have their name on the track suits of the coaching staff and the Academy would like to thank all these organisations for their support.
SCOUTING
During the summer, the Academy took the steps to create a Scouting system to finds the stars of the future for our teams.
This was an area that we needed to introduce to try and take a lot of pressure off the coaches who last year were hit badly with injuries and who on occasions were finding it difficult to find enough fit players to put on the bench.
The Academy have therefore appointed Brian Taylor to the role of Head Scout. Brian knows the scene in Ayrshire well at all levels and has many contacts locally.
Most recently Brian worked with John Crawford when he was manager at Hurlford United and when he took on the role of Direcetor of Football, John had no hesitation in recruiting Brian to carry out this major role for us.
Brian has also brought two other scouts into the set as well. Keith Allan hails from Cumnock and will scout locally in Ayrshire while Des Greene will be looking out for players in the Glasgow area for us.
Over and above that, as well as carrying out their administrative duties for the Academy, Dennis McLellan and Lawrence Grace both have a wealth of experience in scouting and will also carry out this role watching boys club games to identify players.
Another major bonus is the news that Jim Easton has agreed to join the Academy. Jim has many years experience working as a full time scout with many top English clubs including Blackburn Rovers.
Now retired, Jim has agreed to join the Academy scouting set up and his experience will be a major assistance to Brian in his role as Head Scout.
Brian however, is also on the lookout for additional scouts so that the Academy can cover a wider area. If you know of anyone interested, please give Brian a call on
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
When it comes to attracting the stars of tomorrow, many clubs these days are looking to players as young as 7 or 8 in an attempt to identify a youngsters potential.
While the Academy so far, do not have any development squads, we will be looking to establish a set up in the near future to identify young players and bring them in once a week to a coaching class to assist with and keep an eye on their development with a view to them joining the Academy at a future date.
To this end we have appointed a Development Co-ordinator who will work closely with David White, our Football
Development Officer, to establish this set up and bring young players into training.
Taking up this post will be Adam Holland. Adam has had many years experience coaching in the Boys game, including a spell coaching at the former Ayr United Boys Club. He has also scouted for a number of football clubs, including Sunderland, and is very keen to undertake this vital role for the future of the Academy. We will also be looking for additional volunteer coaches to work alongside Adam at these Sessions
This now establishes an opportunity for a young player with talent to be identified during community coaching classes with his school or via the Football in the Community programme, to be given extra coaching to assist with the development of their game.
We hope to have this organised and set up towards the end of September
AYR UNITED UNDER 14's
The under 14's will be managed this season by a new coaching team of Allan Paul and Graeme Neil, assisted by Paul McLean and Lachlan Cameron.
Allan is a former Ayr United youth player who spent most of his career in the junior ranks. His enthusiasm for the task ahead is very infectious and there can be no doubt that along with his co-manager, former Motherwell youngster Graeme Neil, that the squad are managed by leaders.
Paul McLean, like the entire team, is also a new recruit to the set up. As stated earlier, Paul has a degree from University of Glasgow in Sports Science but will also be coaching as well and has already proved that he is a good reader of the game.
Lachlan Cameron will provide the experience to this new coaching team.
Managing Director of Ayr United through the day, Lachlan is a fully qualified SFA coach but also has great coaching experience from his time in the States and is also involved here with the Ayr United Ladies team.
All the players in this team are new to pro-youth. They will find that there is a big gap between playing pro-youth and the boys club level that they are more used to but throughout the summer trials, they have proved that they have the basic talent to succeed at this level and with the right coaching, attitude and sports science application, they all have a real chance.
Ayr United Under 14's
Fixture List 2007/8
19/08/07 - Arbroath (a) W7-3
26/08/07 - Raith Rovers (h)
02/09/07 - FREE
09/09/07 - Dumbarton (a)
16/09/07 - Stirling Albion (h)
23/09/07 - Queen's Park (a)
30/09/07 - Alloa Athletic (h)
07/10/07 - Clyde (h)
14/10/07 - Elgin City (h)
21/10/07 - Livingston (a)
28/10/07 - Queen of the South (h)
04/11/07 - Arbroath (h)
11/11/07 - Raith Rovers (a)
18/11/07 - FREE
25/11/07 - Dumbarton (h)
The under 14's play their home matches on the astrograss at Carrick Academy, Maybole. Kick off times may vary but will usually have a 2pm kick off.
Pop along and give the boys your support.
GRAHAM MUSHET
The best wishes of everyone at the Academy go to Graham Mushet for a speedy recovery following his recent spell in hospital.
Graham, a talented player who plays for the Under 19's, collapsed suddenly at training on Monday night and was taken to Ayr Hospital by team manager John McCaig, where he was detained for 48 hours for observation and tests.
Doctors could find no reason as to why Graham collapsed and he was discharged on Wednesday evening.
It will be a few weeks before Graham will return to full training but despite this, he has indicated his willingness to travel to the under 19's fixture at Dundee this weekend to cheer on the lads who will be delighted to see him up and about again.