Strathendrick and dads involved in the Minis and Midis is remarkable and all of this enhances the big family feeling the Club has . We try to instil that sense of community within the players at all ages , for example , the Minis were out clearing snow this last winter in several villages and the seniors helped out with our Mini festival .
We run the Mini festival on a voluntary basis and use it to raise money for local charities . This year we raised money for CHAS , the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice and for MND , with Strathendrick players all wearing the classic Doddie Weir headbands .”
Challenges / Ambitions
( at the age of 40 !) would end this season as the West Region Player of the Year ?
Whilst all that was happening on the pitches , there was an equally satisfying amount of effort going into the logistics and support that is required for any club to be a success . Our partnership with Balfron High School continued to be exemplary , producing some high quality young players - some of them enjoying success in representative squads .”
What Next ?
“ Back into training so that entry into West League 1 isn ’ t a shock to the system ! Neil has moved further away and needs to focus more on his business and we have appointed a new coaching team , Grant Sweenie and Les Wilson .
Our new Business Development Manager , Martyn Lawrie , is beavering away to secure the sponsorship , grants and funding that we will need to make our recent growth sustainable . We ’ ve run an incredibly successful Tartan Touch summer season , thanks to last season ’ s lead Mini ’ s coach ( and Clubman of the year ), Steven McCooey , and we are hoping that this will generate even more interest in coming to the Club to enjoy playing rugby or to help out . We need to keep attracting more new players , to add to those coming through the partnership with Balfron High School - and the prospect of playing a good standard rugby in League 1 should help this .
By the end of December 2018 we plan to still have : over 200 kids from 6 to 17 enjoying rugby ; have a vibrant 2nd XV ; begin establishing a women ’ s XV ; and a 1st XV that are sitting mid table in League 1 .”
Community
“ Strathendrick RFC is very much a community club . The pool of players comes from a wide catchment of small villages to the west of Stirling and north of Glasgow . Based at Fintry , in an absolutely beautiful rural setting within the Campsie Hills , the backbone of Strathendrick comes from the farming community . The Club has always had a large number of brothers and father and son combinations used to the hardy life of hill farming and living in remote locations .
The community mentality and approach is an essential part of survival that is just ‘ how it is ’ and this is a thread that goes throughout the Club . The number of mums
“ Rugby is a hard game to sustain , requiring effort from players and supporting volunteers alike . We ’ ve seen numbers of participating players decline year on year and once strong clubs go to the wall . Our biggest challenge will be to survive in this climate .
If rugby is to survive in Scotland , it is vital that clubs like Strathendrick continue and offer the chance of playing and enjoying this sport to hundreds of kids . The alternatives are easy options – footy or Playstation ( other forms of sitting down , doing little , and enjoying yourself are also available !) and that is what we are up against . Long seasons with twelve teams in the league don ’ t help us . The efforts that our players put in were immense and this without the prospect of social , friendly , tour rugby to keep the spirits up – because there is no time . We went through a very difficult winter with long periods without a game due to frost , flooding or snow , or all three . This pattern of weather is likely to be the norm and that is a killer for the game with so many league fixtures to fulfil .
Our ambitions can be defined as upwards and onwards ! In five years ’ time , we will have secured funding to grow and keep the Club sustainable , we will have climbed through League 1 and into the National Leagues . We will have a very healthy and progressive programme of rugby with Balfron High School and be offering rugby for kids from 6 to under 18 . Balfron HS will have two girls ’ teams and Strathendrick will have a Women ’ s team . We will have produced some of the international stars of the future .
Most importantly , we will still be having fun , making friends and enjoying this fantastic sport .” www . rugbyclubmag . com 33