YOUNG REDS COLUMN This season is the 8th season of the Young Reds. For those of you who are unaware what the Young Reds is, it is the official Junior Supporters Scheme of Stirling Albion Football Club. It is administered by a voluntary committee, with the full backing of the Management, Players and Directors of Stirling Albion. The annual membership fee is £5-00 and members receive several benefits . Anybody wishing more details should contact Jacky Farrell, c/o Stirling Albion Football Club. Membership Renewal forms have been posted out and we would ask that members return these as soon as possible. If you have not received a form, please telephone Ian Jones on 01786 464572. Members who do not renew will not be allowed to participate in any of the Young Reds’ events. Birthdays The following members celebrate their birthdays this month:- Isaac Thomas 2nd The Young Reds have commissioned a new design for the birthday card and this will feature the club crest. Last season, the card was a picture of the Stirlingshire Cup winning team. Soccer Sevens The Soccer Sevens re-started on 7th September. The weather on the first night was glorious and there was a good turn out of 61 children although 75 have registered. We also managed to enlist some new members as news of the Young Reds appears to be spreading. We were joined by the regular coaches, David Lawrie and Kevin Milne, as well as players from the Stirling Albion youth team. With Darren Cummings and Chris Scotland now regulars in the first team squad we have some new faces including Scott Christie who was on the bench as substitute goalkeeper for a few weeks. We also have Mark Berry, Patrice Napoli , Stuart Ross, Chris Lochead and Sean Roycroft who helped with the coaching last season so they knew what to expect. The first night was mainly a fun night and we hope that both old and new members enjoyed the night. The second and third nights saw 75 and 76 children turn up and we now have 88 registered. This leaves a few spaces still available. That night all the groups received some coaching as well as playing some games. Finally, participants are reminded to wear suitable clothing for the weather. It can be very cold at Forthbank when the wind blows, therefore, wearing t shirts is not recommended. International A party of 29 Young Reds , 6 adult helpers and friends attended the Scotland v Slovenia match on 8th September. This was the first International for some of the Young Reds and they were eagerly anticipating the trip to Glasgow. The bus made good time to Glasgow and we were in the vicinity of the stadium one hour before kick off. Unfortunately, the police did not allow the coach to park in the playing fields which the letter from the SFA had said we could use and, instead, we were directed to an industrial estate about 20 minutes from Hampden on foot. This was totally unacceptable and a letter of complaint has been sent to the SFA as an incident involving 2 of the younger members after the match resulted in them being separated from the main group. Fortunately, they had the presence to find a police officer and they were re-united unharmed. At the time of writing, we have not received a reply from the SFA. Despite the walk to the stadium, we were in our seats by 7-30 with plenty of time to soak up the atmosphere. When the match started, one of the Young Reds, Kirsty, found the noise a bit too much for her but, after her brother bought her a drink and a chocolate bar, she seemed a lot happier. Although Scotland played reasonably well, the children were disappointed that there were no goals. After the match we got back to the bus and, after finding the 2 children who had been separated, we got back to Forthbank at 11-30. Player Sponsorship This season the Young Reds are sponsoring Martin Glancy. We wish Martin every success with the club. Admission Price Admission to league matches this season will be £4-00 and not £3-00 as indicated in the renewal letters which have been issued. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. Merchandise The Committee is investigating the possibility of having a range of specially designed polo shirts available for members to purchase. If any member or parent has any thoughts which they would like to pass on, please contact Ian Jones on 01786 464572 or by e mail on mijones@lycos.com. You can also post any thoughts in the Young Reds section of the website whose address is printed further down. Kingsmill Tokens Although the promotion is now finished, we have until the end of the year to redeem them for kit. If anyone has tokens which they would like to donate, please hand them in as soon as possible. At the moment, we have just over 1200 but the more we get the better. Newsletter We hope to produce the first newsletter of the season at the end of October or the beginning of November. If anyone has an article, or news, which they wish to have included, please send it to Ian Jones by 21st October. Latest News For up to date news about the Young Reds, look out for the Young Reds section in Wednesday’s edition of the Stirling Observer or log on to www.stirlingalbion.com where the Young Reds page carries all the latest happenings with the Young Reds. Young Reds news also appears on www.stirlingalbion-mad.co.uk where an application form, courtesy of Scott Johnstone, is available on line. |