Thank You! 

Two simple words that we cannot say enough to everyone who has been involved within Warriors in the Community and Stenhousemuir Football Club. 2020 has been a year that has changed the world and we cannot say “Thank You” enough. 

“Thank You” to Key Workers that have kept working through increasingly difficult times, “Thank You” to the massive group of volunteers that supported the local community when it needed it most, “Thank You” to our players who have adapted and showed resilience when everything has changed, “Thank You” to the parents & carers who have helped in so many ways, “Thank You” to our voluntary coaches & part-time staff who ensured a safe and also fun return to football, “Thank You” to all of our community partners that continued to support Warriors in the Community. 

“Thank You” to everyone that is connected with Warriors in the Community and Stenhousemuir Football Club – you have all made our 2020 a little easier. 

 

From all the Full-Time Staff at Warriors in the Community. 

 

Football Development Officer – Andrew Thomson 

2020 will be a year we won’t forget at Warriors in the Community and through all of the tough times and difficult moments there has been just as many highlights across the year. Before speaking about my personal highlights at Warriors in the Community for 2020 I would like to firstly thank Danny Newbigging for making this year a lot easier as well as a lot more enjoyable. Danny and I have spent even more time together than normal this year doing some things I couldn’t have imagined. From delivering school lunches, food parcels or hot meals to running about at Ochilview Park streaming football sessions on zoom – it has all been an enjoyable challenge. 

A challenge is a great way to view the year and through a lot of hard work from all of the people at the club we have managed to create some great programmes and engage some people with the football club that may never had been involved before. The creation of our Community Help Initiative has been a vital support service for so many throughout the year with our 200 volunteers giving up over 24,000 hours to support 367 different families across the Falkirk Council area. All of these volunteers have been tremendous and their generosity to help people in need is something we will always be grateful for. I am certainly looking forward to continuing to support as many people as possible throughout the local area as well as helping to grow the amount of people we can support through our Community Help Initiative in 2021. 

All of our players involved in our Mini Maroons, Young Maroons and also our Community Select Team Players have been a real credit to Stenhousemuir FC with a lot of our players continuing to work on their own development through the pandemic by taking on our weekly challenges as well as taking part in our Zoom Football Sessions. The players have all shown an excellent attitude and have adapted well to all of the changes that are now required to ensure the safety of anyone that takes part in sessions with Warriors in the Community. The players have managed to adapt very well to having none of their parents at sessions or games – hopefully we will be able to welcome parents back in 2021 as I know how much they miss supporting all of our players. 

Other highlights of the year for me have been the success of our Holiday Camps where in the Summer we were able to welcome back all of our members when running at a reduced capacity. In October we had a record number of participants attend with the camps being at full capacity. We are also still running our Christmas Camps even though they will be non-contact. The participants will benefit both physically and mentally through this and it is so important for us all to have something to look forward to during these difficult times. Our ladies team also moved in to the performance arm as a Championship Club this year and hopefully will be able to get back playing soon as I know how much the players and staff have worked hard to get to where they are the now. Our Girls CST now has a pathway from U7s through to U15s where all teams can train twice per week and be involved in festivals and games. We look forward to adding even more players to the teams and extending our pathway further. Even more highlights for me include: adding an additional U19s CST to play in the Central Football League, the recruitment of 16 new Coaching Academy Coaches, gaining access to Larbert High Schools brand new astro turf pitch for both games and training as well as adding Mark Mcguinness in to work with our goalkeepers. 

Finally, I would like to wish everyone involved with Warriors in the Community and Stenhousemuir Football Club a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I am looking forward to working with both Declan & Danny in 2021 – it is a pleasure to be involved with such a great community football club. 

Thanks again, 

Andy Thomson

 

Football Development Officer – Daniel Newbigging 

I would like to take this opportunity in wishing everyone involved with Warriors in The Community & Stenhousemuir FC a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year. 

2020 was not the year we all expected, it has been a difficult year for everyone. I cannot thank the Volunteer Coaches enough for their hard work across the year. 

The coaches have continuously had to adapt every week to different announcements from the Scottish FA – Return to Football Guide. We had to deliver non-contact & small group training before we were able to play matches again. 

Not only that but they´ve had to regularly take Temperature Checks, wear the appropriate PPE & clean the equipment after sessions. 

Without our Volunteer coaches our Community Programme would not be as successful as it is.

I´d now like to turn my attention to the parents, I would like to thank all the parents for their continued support to the Community Programme. The majority were still paying their money to support the club through the toughest time of the year as it was full of uncertainty. We are very grateful & we cannot wait to see you all back at Ochilview Park. 

Thank you for following all protocols we have in place to make Ochilview Park as safe as possible for your child. 

 

As for the players in all our programmes, we thank you for being apart in one of the best Community Programmes in the Country. We know it has been tough & hard with all the stop & starts with the restrictions in place. Just remember, fun times will return, this will not last forever.

Stay safe, have a great Christmas & New Year 

Danny Newbigging 

 

Full-Time Community Coach – Declan Kidd 

I’d like to start off by saying a massive thank you to everyone that has been involved with Stenhousemuir Football Club over the past year. 2020 has been a very tough year for everyone all over the globe with the Coronavirus bringing the world to a standstill in March of this year. Despite the pandemic Stenhousemuir FC took action and created our Community Help Initiative (CHI) to help the vulnerable people within our Community. I was heavily involved in the CHI delivering home cooked meals, school lunches and carrying out weekly shops to those who needed it most. 

Despite the pandemic putting a stop to our Community Programmes for a large part of the year, it has still been a very successful year for all Warriors in the Community Programmes. At the start of the year our Twilight Leagues at Ochilview provided a place for 12–16-year old’s to play football for free every Sunday Night. Across the 6 weeks that the programme ran for over 100 young people attended and since the programme started back in late November we have had over 40 teenagers attend each week in fun-filled tournaments. 

Mini Maroons has continued to grow and grow through 2020 despite the tough year it has been. At the start of the year, we opened up a new class on a Tuesday night taking our total number of classes to seven. The Mini’s have had to adapt to new surroundings as in August the classes were moved outside at Ochilview and then when the winter nights came, classes were moved indoors to Torwood Scouts Hall. The Mini’s have also had to deal with not having their parent or guardians there beside them in the class as restrictions do not allow adults inside the hall. The Mini’s have taken to their new surroundings really well and improved with every class they have attended. I would also like to say a big well done to our other Mini Maroons Coaches Andrew, Rhiannon and Megan who have really stepped up this year and lead classes when I have been unable to make them due to other commitments with the club. They have all came up with new fun games for our Mini’s that they have all massively enjoyed. We have managed to get most children on our waiting list a space in a class and when it is safe to return, we aim for a massive push and get more children involved in Mini Maroons in 2021. 

I have also been involved with the SFA’s School of Football Programme at Larbert High School, coaching the S1 and S2’s every week since October. I have been very impressed with all the pupil’s attitudes and efforts towards each session. It has been a great experience and learning curve for myself to work with the pupils. I’m looking forward to continuing to learning more and helping the pupil’s through their football development in 2021. 

Unfortunately, for our Walking Football, FFIT and Mental Health Programmes it has been a very tough year, with FFIT and Mental Football being unable to return since March. It’s a shame as both sets of participants are very enthusiastic and committed to their respected programmes and we look forward to welcoming both back in the New Year when it safe to do so. As for our Walking Football group it has been a very stop start year with only a few tournaments being played at the start of the year. Since August they have only had about a dozen sessions with restrictions changing all the time but the guys remain as committed as ever with some sessions seeing over 20 players participating. 

Finishing off on a positive note, we were still able to deliver our annual Festive Friends in partnership with the SPFL Trust. The event was a little different this year as we delivered 50 Christmas Hampers to vulnerable households in the local Stenhousemuir, Larbert and Falkirk area. A massive thank you to all the local businesses Hogan’s Fine Foods, Tryst Brewery, Mrs. Tilly’s, Malcolm Allan and ASDA Stenhousemuir who provided the goods for the Hampers. Also, a thank you to our volunteer delivery drivers and SPFL Trust for their help on the day and putting a smile on people’s faces during this difficult festive period. 

Overall, 2020 has been a very challenging year and it seems there is still bigger challenges ahead in 2021. I am personally looking forward to facing these challenges and seeing what the New Year will bring for the club. I would like to finish by saying a massive thank you to everyone involved with the club for their support and commitment during this very tough year.  

I hope everyone has the best Christmas as possible and a Happy New Year when it comes. 

Thanks again, 

Declan Kidd