Academy Girls League and Cup Double!

 

The Academy’s Girls 13′s won the Academies first ever league title this season to become the proud champions of the South West B League for 2010 after defeating close rivals, Kilbirnie 4-2 in the final match of the season.

As the girls entered the game, they knew their opponents Kilbirnie could still win the title if they managed to defeat them, nothing short of 100% concentration would suffice for the young ladies. Here's how the final day went.

Ayr started the quicker of the two sides, playing some nice fast passing football and pressing well when their opponents had the ball but for the most part of the opening 10 minutes, the match was played in the visitors half with a couple of half chances going Ayr's way but still hadn't broken the deadlock.

 

This is not to say that Kilbirnie weren't a threat, as it was the visiting side that took the lead after a moment of miscommunication between the defenders and the Ayr keeper, that culminated in the ball landing in the back of the net. Miscommunication happens — as Alex and Petr Cech, of Chelsea, proved the very next day against Newcastle!

The response from Ayr was admirable and they recovered immediately, shaking off this disappointment to continue in the positive manner they had been playing.  Ayr continued to apply pressure until finally the ball broke to Caitlin Taylor in the penalty area who fired low past the keeper’s right hand post to equalize for the home side.  This visibly lifted the girls and soon it was to be 2-1.  

Caitlin Taylor found Dionne Mair in the centre with a great pass and with Hannah Taysum making a run beyond her, it made sense for the striker to lob the ball over the defence which found Taysum and the goalkeeper jumping together for the ball, but Taysum used her height advantage over the keeper to head the ball into the back of the net to give the Ayr girls a well deserved lead.

Before half time Kilbirnie had a great chance to equalize but a fantastic save by Hannah Davies, who had the vision to notice the break, came out and narrowed the angle to keep her team in the lead at 2-1 going into the half time break.

The second half continued as the first had ended, with opportunities at both ends but no efforts troubled either keeper. Ayr's central defensive partnership of Sophie Crichton and Nicole Carruthers were coping very well and began building counter attacks by taking on and playing one-twos past the opposition forwards leaving their oppositions defence outnumbered as they sped forward.  On one such attack the ball was played to Brooke Rawson who fired the ball from the right wing towards the near post. It was low and hit well, which the Kilbirnie keeper misjudged and it sneaked into the net to make it 3-1 for the home side.

Kilbirnie were visibly shaken by this as their heads dropped, possibly realising the game was beyond saving.  Ayr started playing even better at this point with Carruthers, Crichton, Mair, Rawson and Natalie Taylor all combining in a nice show of passing and dribbling skills and it didn' take long to add another as prolific goalscorer Dionne Mair got on the scoresheet with a low hard drive into the bottom corner of the net to make it 4-1.

Chloe Cuthbert’s incredible pace and Nicola Fisher’s dogged determination and quick feet helped Ayr to continue to make shooting chances but were unable to add another.

With about five minutes left, Hannah Davies again made a brave save when she knew a collision was possible but with a minute left on the clock, Kilbirnie grabbed a consolation goal that was short enjoyed by their players as seconds later the whistle went with the home support and Ayr players jubilant. 

This was a great performance to end an excellent season where the girls will have learned a lot and gained two pieces of silverware in the process.

Final Score Ayr 4 Kilbirnie 2

Head coach Paul McFarlane :

"The girls thoroughly deserved their victory this season, with a great team performance in terms of effort and excellent sequences of passing, laced with pieces of individual flair throughout.  The coaches are very proud of the way the girls have worked hard all season and they deserve a lot of credit for taking on board all the information they have been taught and then applying it on the field.  They are definitely going in the right direction. I would personally like to also congratulate Kilbirnie for an excellent season. Marshall Sloss and his well disciplined team have pushed us all the way this season and made the league’s final game very exciting.  I would also like to thank the parents for their support and dedication to get players to training and games on time each week."

The Academy are very proud of what the girls have achieved this season, two trophies in one season is phenomenal and sets the standard for all others to follow.

I suppose that's what you call Girl Power!
 

Kilb

Season 2010-11, The Story so Far

As the winter bites into the football season and matches get postponed all over the country, we look back at the season so far for the Ayr United Football Academy.

Early on in the season, it looked like being a successful one as the Under 13 girls got themselves off to a flyer by winning the Scottish Cup League Plate in a high scoring tussle with Kilbirnie in the final, played at the Toryglen complex in Glasgow.

August also saw the closure of Whitletts Primary school but not before the AUFA and the Co-Operative Insurance cup  teamed up to give the pupils a free coaching masterclass, given by AUFA Youth coach Craig Richmond before the Cup sponsors allowed all the kids to have their photos taken with the Co-Op Insurance Cup.

Panda Pals 1000 was also born this month, gathering funds from kind donations for two purposes. The donations involved are chase season tickets for under 12s to visit, watch and support Ayr United Football Club with all funds raised from this venture ring fenced exclusively for player purchases within the first team.

The Reserve team this season has also had its success, filled with the 19s squad, it's a major boost to the players confidence that the club has the willingness to call upon them and utilise the growing abilities of the players in this age group. In a bizarre fixture set up, last seasons Reserve League Cup Semi Final was played in August against a Dunfermline side made up of almost all first team senior players. It wasn't to be on the night at East End Park, as the Ayr team lost out but the performance was excellent, only just losing out on a place in the final but the experience was a great one for the players. The 19s were to get their revenge a few weeks later though as they defeated the Fife side on league duty.

As the season progressed, we saw some cracking matches with exceptional performances coming from all the sides at times. While the 15's and 17's remain unbeaten in league football so far this season, the girls 13 side have already brought home some more silverware for the trophy cabinet in the form of the Scottish South West B League Winners Trophy after a final day victory over Kilbirnie.

Some great performances have appeared this season so far with headlines of 'Pure Br17iance' from the 17s to the 15's in 'Seventh Heaven'. '16's Fraser Four Show Floors Clyde' and 'Five Alive For 19s' are another couple that spring to mind and not to forget the '14s Royal Flush'. All matches to savour throughout the season.

There have also been invitational visits to Rangers' Murray Park and Celtic's Lennoxtown training complexes for some of the teams. A worthwhile experience for all involved and visiting and playing at such great venues as this, only enhances the Academy as a whole and give the players involved a great experience when pitting themselves against the best in the country.

October saw the Aberdeen Branch of the Ayr United Supporters Club come up trumps again with their outstanding fundraising efforts on behalf of the Ayr United Football Academy and Alzheimer Scotland. The Granite City based fans handed over a cheque for £8,200 from their fundraising Football Quiz, held a few months ago at the Inn at the Park in Aberdeen. The money was divided equally between the two charities and means that the fans have now raised more than £50,000 on behalf of both organisations since they ran their first quiz night back in 2005. Round of applause please!


This season has also seen an influx of Academy players making their mark on the Ayr United first team squad. Jonathan Tiffoney has been a regular in the squad this season and has put in many excellent displays with many saying that he has been the best and most consistent performer so far this season. If you add in Ross Robertson, Ally Woodburn, Aaron Connolly, Sean Kelly, Dale Moore and Roddy Paterson, the Academy has had a huge impact on the first team squad this season and with a total of seven Academy players having signed professional contracts this season, the future looks bright for not only the AUFA but also for Ayr United Football Club.

Players in the Academy have sometimes had their injury worries. Dale Moore receiving a bad injury in the 19s Youth Cup match against Dumbarton. Andrew Muir broke his collarbone for the 17s and Chris McFadzean also received a bad knee injury also playing for the 17s. Roy Barr for the 14s was also out for about 4 weeks after a knock received while playing but due to the excellent facilities and backroom staff made available to the Academy, these injuries are treated in the proper manner with the players receiving constant medical treatment and physiotherapy ensuring they come back fitter that before they got injured.

Term time is always a time that parents are looking for things to keep their kids occupied and the AUFA once again ran a successful programme of coaching and training during the school holidays as well. The coaching however doesn't end there for the resident Football Development Officers at the Academy and Ayr United. 3 month long blocks of training and coaching are almost at an end but will begin in the new year with hundreds of kids regularly receiving the best coaching available in the area from SFA certificated coaches to help develop the young players skills and awareness of football, oh, and they keep fit as well.

The community programme is a large part of the Academy with varied programmes carrying on all over the county. The Academy’s first and biggest Programme was the South Ayrshire Football Development Programme which it continues to deliver in partnership with South Ayrshire Council, the Scottish FA and Ayr United Football Club which includes Soccer centres, out of school soccer classes, local boys clubs development programmes, girls youth development programmes, the Academy continues to encourage participation in the Scottish FA’s Coach Education Football Courses for any potential coaches.

Other programmes also include the Everybody Active Programme which is funded by the Robertson Trust, South Ayrshire Council, Ayrshire Sportability and the Clydesdale Bank. It is a three year programme, which comprises of 3 weekly classes operating at SouthCraig and Queen Margaret Schools in South Ayrshire and involves an average of 40 weekly participants. Other notable programmes include The Tesco Bank Programme where the Academy will use the power of football to get Primary 2 and Primary 3 children (6-8 years old) active, not only at school but by establishing long-lasting activity week in, week out and also The McDonald’s School Football Programme where AUFA have to date ensured that 10 Primary Schools received 20 hours of coaching and 20 hours of games each, with 332 Primary 6 and 7 age children benefiting from the project.

November saw the Academy nominated for an NHS Scottish Health Award at their ceremony in Edinburgh but unfortuately finished runner up, a runners-up prize of £400 was awarded to it for its coaching contributions in the Community Care section.

Other non football field related items that occured over the past few weeks that keep the admin staff busy included a visit from the South Ayrshire Football Reminiscing Group who had a great couple of hours getting a tour round Somerset Park finishing off with tea and cakes in the Ayr United boardroom. AUFA have also extended their partnership with FirstPointUSA, which offers Academy players an opportunity to pursue college scholarships in the United States. Also on the matter of college, young Demi McCulloch along with 14 others continue on their coaching path, studying a Sport & Recreation (Soccer) course in conjunction with AUFA and Reid Kerr College.

Its been a busy half season so far for all the 80+ staff at the Academy and we look forward to the second half of the season with renewed invigour, hoping to bring as much success then as they have done so far in the first half of the season.

Hi Carol-Anne,

Just checking in to see how the Soccerdomes are progressing.

I would like to take this opportunity to mention that we are now at the half way point of our season and as such, we now have reduced sponsorship opportunities for the remaining half of the current season.

Prices start from £40 for individual player sponsorship and rises according with the level of sponsorship available, shirt sponsorship being £500 (normally £1000) for the remainder of the season.

Obviously the level of press and promotional work we would administer alters with the varying level of sponsorship but would see this as an ideal time and opportunity for Soccerdomes and AUFA to cement a successful partnership together.

The AUFA have been very successful recently, receiving reviews on the SFA website, SFL website, all local newspapers, feature regularly on the Youth Football Scotland website who themselves feature in the Daily Record newspaper and we have also just affiliated ourselves with a soccer team in Texas, USA for extra public awareness and cross Atlantic publicity. We have regular coverage on all the social network and bookmarking sites and appear on online news outlets as far away as Brazil.

The 13s girls have just recently won their individual league and in August also won a SFA Cup Trophy which featured on the SFA website. The 17s side currently sit top of their league with 3 matches to play and remain unbeaten in league football this season. The 19s side sit 3rd in the most competitive football league outside senior football, also with 3 matches remaining. The 15s are also unbeaten this season so far and all the age groups have been invited to play against Rangers and Celtic Football Academies so far this season at their respective training academy complexes. Ayr United Football Club have also taken this success on board and have signed 7 academy players so far this season on professional contracts, all of which receive a level of publicity that you would expect from new player signings.
 
If you want to discuss this in further detail and to see how this may add value to your company, with no obligation, please contact me by email or by phone on 07969 231642.

Thanks again.

Marc Roseblade
Academy Journalist
Press Relations
Social Media
AUFA
07969 231642

Ayr in Scotland and Galveston in Texas. Not two towns on the planet that you would immediately twin together but that's what has happened in the football world.

Ayr United Football Academy and Galveston Pirate Soccer Club are keen to announce an affiliation between both clubs with the initial phase dealing solely with cross Atlantic relations and public awareness.

The set up came about after Marc Roseblade, the resident AUFA journalist and social media specialist, was put in touch with Brendan Keyes, owner and head coach of the Galveston Pirate side through an American 'friend' on Facebook during the World Cup in the summer.

This online meeting led to Marc receiving pre and post match phone calls from the Pirate coach, translating these calls into match reviews and reports about the Pirates exploits, helping to promote them in cities across Texas, much like he does for the AUFA, all with a 6 hour time difference between the two towns.

Tulsa, Houston and Galveston make some nice alternatives to Prestwick, Dumfries and Peterhead for the Ayr man.

The Pirates play in the newly formed Southern Premier Soccer League which is the 4th tier of soccer in the USA. All the teams that play in this league are semi professional (part time) with the Pirates playing at the Courville Stadium in Galveston.

Galveston Coach Brendan Keyes himself moved from his native Ireland to the USA in the 80's, playing professional soccer with Kansas before moving to Texas, opening a Soccer Academy for youth development, just like Ayr United Football Academy.

The rest is history, Brendan's Soccer Academy has been promoting, educating and coaching children since its inception but the Pirates are a fairly new venture and are keen to raise awareness not only in their immediate area but all over the world.


The Galveston area seems to be booming with academies at the moment with Brendan's not being alone. Club America Academy who are the biggest soccer side in Mexico have recently sent a team to play in the SPSL, Houston Dynamo of the MLS also have an academy side playing in the area and word on the street is that Barcelona are looking to open an academy in the area as well in the near future. Ayr United Football Academies name makes a nice addition to that list.

It's a great tie up between the two sides and hopefully football/soccer fans from both sides of the Atlantic will start supporting the others clubs, keeping tabs on how they are doing. The AUFA would certainly welcome any fans from the Texas area should they ever be in Ayrshire with the people of Galveston being equally as welcoming to the people and fans from Ayr in the future.

Like the AUFA, this move benefits the Galveston Pirate club, if only in awareness stakes, with the hope residents of the towns involved visit each other websites and facebook sites offering support when matches take place with the hope of a further tie up and eventually a cross Atlantic football tournament taking place at some time in the future.

Ayr United Football Academy have already benefited financially from such a cross Atlantic match up as a current resident from Texas, Randall Scott Taylor and his family, who have Scottish descendants, currently sponsor Ryan Nisbet from the AUFA 15's side.

You can keep track of the Galveston side at www.piratesc.com, Ayr United Football Academy can be found at www.aufa.org.uk

AUFA & Reid Kerr Help Females Break into Soccer Coaching

In a sport that is predominantly male orientated, Ayr United football Academy are trailblazing a path in encouraging females into the soccer fraternity.

Demi McCulloch from Barrhead spends three days a week studying Sporting Recreational Soccer flitting between Reid Kerr college and Somerset Park, the end goal of which will see her receiving an NQ with an additional option of a further 1 year to gain an HNC

In a class of 14, the course lasts 1 year with the majority of work being practical based coaching, tutored by Ayr United's Malky Boyle, with the ultimate goal of receiving their coaches certificates.

Malky spoke of Demi's development saying,"Demi has been great, she does exactly as instructed and is in no way overawed by coaching in a male dominated environment. She has been around football all her life and has played for the Celtic ladies team so knows exactly how to cope at the highest level. She will make an excellent coach wherever she ends up, when she completes her course."

Demi and her classmates are currently 16 weeks into their course and we will be keeping a close eye on her and her classmates progression into the football coaching world.

by Marc Roseblade

It's that time of year again, and time for the Ayr United Football Academy to thank all the sponsors that have parted with their hard earned cash to support the Academy.

From pubs to electricians, Americans to Grandfathers, we thank you all.

Every single sponsor that kindly parts with the green stuff is really appreciated by the players, coaches and staff at the Academy and manages to help the Academy reach the targeted £60'000 that it costs to pay for the approximate 75 youth development players.

All the cash received from these sponsors goes directly to the paying of coaching facilities, strips, coaching materials, travelling costs and transport vehicles for the players. All the staff are volunteers and with Ayr United Football Academy being a self sustaining charity, all this money is ring fenced solely for the development of these players and nothing else, making the sponsors money work directly for the players.

We thank you all!

AYR CENTRAL CONTINUE THEIR SUPPORT FOR THE ACADEMY
 
Ayr’s Premier Shopping Centre, AYR CENTRAL, extended its’ support of the Ayr United Football Academy this season and under the deal, Ayr Central Shopping Centre agreed to back the Academy’s Under 19 side having their logo emblazoned on the teams home and away shirts for the 2010/11 season.

Academy Commercial Manager Ken Paul who announced the deal, said, “I am delighted that Ayr Central Shopping Centre agreed to extend their support for the Academy for this further year. With their support this season, our under 19’s have proved to be a successful unit with 7 of the squad that started the season signing professional terms with Ayr United while many others have also featured in the Clubs’ reserve side this season .

The name of Ayr Central Shopping Centre was linked with that success and we hope that level of success can be replicated as we continue to develop a successful partnership with the county’s Premier Shopping Centre in the years ahead.”

Ayr Central’s Centre Manager David Gallagher added “We are delighted to support such a successful local organisation as the Ayr United Football Academy.

As a local charity, their coaches and volunteers work extremely hard to give youngsters the chance to play professional football, with a fair degree of success and Ayr Central Shopping Centre is proud to have our name associated with such a successful venture.”

This looks like a being a successful partnership between the two parties involved and with Christmas fast approaching, now is the time to show your support for one of Ayr United Football Academies major sponsors.

 

Help Ayr United Football Academy raise money this christmas, just by shopping online. 

It's very easy - use easyfundraising to shop with over 2000 well known retailers like Amazon, Argos, M&S, eBay, John Lewis and many more and whenever you buy something, the retailer donates money to us. Yes - it really is that simple.

It's completely free and your shopping won't cost you a penny more.

You can also use the Easysearch search engine on this site to do your online searches which the Academy will also receive money from, just for searching as you do with Google, Yahoo and Bing.

What you waiting for?