Caithness United FC where awarded the Standard award at the recent Highlands and Islands Quality Mark event at The Highland Football Academy in Dingwall. Alan Turner, Caithness United Chairman said “Caithness United was formed in 1999 following discussion with Wick Academy, Thurso and Halkirk Football Clubs about the development of youth football in the county.
Originally we had three age groups, under 12, 14 and 16. This was changed to our current age groups of under 13 and 15 with squad numbers of about 20 in each age group. The aim of the club is to develop young footballers to reach their highest potential. Our coaches have Scottish FA qualifications to level 3 and one of our coaches recently completed the Level 4 Youth coaching course and is awaiting award results. We also have regular coaches meetings to review our strategies and plan for the future. The Scottish FA Quality Mark Standard Level award is a significant indication of the progress Caithness United has made over recent years.”
There are three Quality Mark categories - Standard, Development, and Community. So far more than 100 clubs and schools have achieved accreditation over the three categories, and over 4,000 coaches have benefited from coach education and first aid training. McDonald’s, Scottish FA’s community partner since 2002, will help to attract 13,000 new volunteers and 10,000 new coaches by 2014, as well as supporting 600 clubs and 52,000 players through new and existing football networks. Through Quality Mark, McDonald’s and the Scottish FA aim to provide support to grassroots clubs and schools across Scotland as they strive to broaden youth and community participation and to enhance player, coach and volunteer development. The Quality Mark Accreditation Scheme is supported by sportscotland, thenational agency for sport. sportscotland has one clear focus – to develop a world class sporting system for Scotland – and works with partners to build success for Scottish sport. sportscotland is a key partner in the delivery of youth football programmes, investing over £1m per year in activities including employment of club development staff, discounted coach education and training for volunteers.
For further information on the Scottish FA Quality Mark programme, please visit www.scottishfa.co.uk/footballdevelopment and if your Club is keen to join the scheme please contact Mark Slater at Mark.Slater@scottishfa.co.uk