Published on : Thursday, February 7, 2013
A football club set to launch academy classes for young people has netted eight new sets of goals from the Glasgow Airport FlightPath Fund.
Drumchapel United provides grassroots coaching for children and allows them to play Scotland’s national game in a safe and organised environment.
The club hopes one of its current crop of youngsters will follow in the footsteps of former Scotland internationals Danny McGrain and John Wark, both of whom hailed from Drumchapel.
A donation of almost £3,000 from the Glasgow Airport FlightPath Fund will allow the club to launch its ‘Drumchapel United – Coaching in the Community’ project, which is specifically for those who do not play in any of the club’s competitive teams.
It will run for eight weeks and the club is confident it will become an annual event, reaching an increasingly wider audience every year.
The new equipment will be used in matches and practice sessions during the project, benefitting hundreds of children every week, but they will also be an important resource for the club going forward.
One of the reasons Drumchapel United has been a success is the efforts of coach David Smith who, at the age of 28, picked up the sportscotland Young Person Coach of the Year Award, following a nomination from one of the parents.
Among David’s finest achievements is raising £12,000 to take his team, Drumchapel United 2001s, on a trip to Denmark earlier this year. While the trip primarily involved coaching and training, time was put aside for sightseeing visits, following which the youngsters were tested on what they had learned about a different culture.
Drumchapel United focuses on education and personal development in addition to just football training, and this rounded approach impressed the FlightPath Fund Board as education is one of three areas where funding is primarily targeted.
Craig Martin, Glasgow Airport’s Head of HR, said: “Drumchapel United is the kind of football club we need in every community. It is always looking forward and finding new ways to get young people involved in the game. Coaching in the Community project is an ambitious idea but it will benefit hundreds of local children and we are delighted to assist in getting it off the ground.”
Drumchapel United’s David Smith added: “Our committee and team of coaches are dedicated to youth football and the development of the game at grassroots level, with many individuals giving up their spare time on a weekly basis.
“Dedication only goes so far though, and in order to move forward with innovative projects like Coaching in the Community we need to invest in new equipment. These goals will make a huge difference and we are delighted Glasgow Airport has agreed to fund them.”
Source:- Glasgow Airport
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