Youth league focus on stars of the future
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THE next Gary Mackay-Steven or Shane Sutherland could be unearthed from the league where they started off their careers with youth football chiefs in Caithness saying the pool of talent is the strongest it has ever been.
The Caithness Boys Football Association has, for almost four decades, helped nurture young football talent in the north.
Looking to the future, it is now hoping improved facilities will increase the chances of young players turning professional and emulating the feat of former Norwich City goalkeeper Bryan Gunn as a Caithnessian to pull on a Scotland shirt.
CBFA chairman Adreain Gill said the possibility of that happening is very much a reality, saying the young talent which exists in the league is among the best in the Highlands.
"The talent that exists in the league is fantastic and you only have to look at the progression of the likes of Gary Mackay-Steven at Dundee United who went through the Swifts or Shane Sutherland at Inverness Caledonian Thistle who played at Halkirk to show the current crop of players that they can make it," he said.
"But the main aim is all about wellbeing and sport for all, it is to get kids of all abilities on to the pitch and for boys and girls to enjoy themselves."
The CBFA was first established in 1974 with six founding teams — Hillhead, Rangers Supporters Club, Celtic Supporters Club, East End, Pentland and Thurso Acks.
Today the association consists of eight clubs — East End, Lybster, John O’Groats, Castletown, Halkirk, Swifts, Pentlands, Thurso Youth with most teams playing at under-sevens, under-nines, under-11s, under-13s and under-15 level.
As well as Mackay-Steven and Sutherland being the big SPL names to have started off in the league, the majority of players for Wick Academy also began their careers within the CBFA along with players who play for other Highland League sides.
Mr Gill said that despite the large amount of talent that exists, the lack of facilities based in the far north is an obstacle which can hold back development but he hopes it will improve in the future.
"The main problem we have is weather, a lot of our coaching courses have been done at the Highland Skills Academy and they have a 3/4 pitch," he said.
"If we had something similar up here it would help progress talent that exists up here a lot.
"An ideal opportunity to resolve this would be to incorporate this into the new build 3 to 18 campus in Wick.
"I believe that an all-weather pitch is part of the plan but from recent experience all-weather pitches have limitations in the winter. As the new school is going to be a community focused school, this would fit in with that approach."
The best players from the CBFA are chosen to play at under-13 and under-15 level for Caithness United in the Scottishvauxhall.com league which plays against teams from across the Highlands. Football festivals are also held over the summer when scouts from Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Ross County attend to pick out any stars of the future.
But Mr Gill said they just want kids to get involved in football and while admitting being competitive is part of the CBFA, the main thing it wants to promote is enjoyment.
"During this season we have been holding trophy-less tournaments to show players that they don’t need a medal to be a winner but to help develop them as individuals," he said.
"We have around 50 coaches ranging from level one to level four and we also aim to encourage 16-year-olds to get involved in coaching with other clubs to get back into football."
