Alyn delighted with progress made by Thurso coaching venture as girls-only section starts up
Alyn Gunn has said he is delighted with the progress made by his AG Coaching venture in its first year and a half, and is looking forward to welcoming more big clubs to Thurso.
Coaches and ex-players from Manchester United, Rangers and Aberdeen are among those who have supported AG Coaching since it was launched towards the end of 2023.
Ross County and Inverness Caledonian Thistle have also played their part in delivering training sessions to local youngsters, some of whom are pre-school age.
AG Coaching was created by Alyn after he earned praise from many in the football community in Scotland and beyond for his work as head of coaching at Thurso Football Academy.
He held an in-house event on Easter Monday at the Dammies with more than 50 boys and girls attending.
“It was the first time I have done a girls-only session and it was great to see 16 girls attend it,” Alyn said. “The other two sessions were P1 to P3 and P4 to P7, which were also well attended.”
There was a surprise visit from the former Rangers defender Marvin Andrews, after a chance conversation threw up an opportunity for him to attend. Also assisting at the sessions were Thurso player/coach Nigel Mackenzie and High Life Highland leader Will Munro.
Players of the day, sponsored by Amour Flex shin guards, were chosen as Ava Gray, Millie Keith and Grace Mann (girls-only session), Liam Mackay and Leonard Bajena (P1-P3) and Dave Steven and Mateo Broddel (P4 to P7).
Alyn explained: “This is the start of a busy period where, in addition to the weekly Tiny Tacklers session, I will be starting a girls-only session for ages four to six named Storybook Strikers – a different way of coaching football where the girls will be asked to interact within a story-themed session.
“This is in addition to our upcoming coaching sessions with Ross County on May 4, so it’s a busy period before we get ready for the summer events with Manchester United and the Charlie Miller Football Academy which will be held in conjunction with Thurso Football Academy.
“Over the past three months, in addition to the Tiny Tacklers, I have been holding one-to-one and two-to-one sessions across four-week blocks. These have been great and a number of parents have got in touch, so I am delighted that people are putting their faith in me to teach their children.
“Overall I am delighted at where AG Coaching has got to in a relatively short space of time. We now have a girls-only section, which I felt the area was desperately needing, and I’ve already held conversations with people in Orkney about my method of coaching and what future set-ups may look like.
“For the Tiny Tacklers, we are in a good place with those sessions. They sell out every time, which is great.
“You require a specialist SFA course to be able to teach children aged from two to five, which not a lot of people north of Glasgow have obtained, so it’s great to see this flourishing.
“The camps we put on are very well attended and, with support from personal contacts, sponsors and partners, we hope to continue to attract the big clubs to Thurso.”
A booklet called Tiny Tacklers was designed by Alyn as part of a Keep Scotland Active scheme in response to Covid-19. The booklet used superheroes and cartoon characters to capture the imagination of children and keep them engaged in training drills and football-themed games.