CLUB
PROFILE
Based in Bishopbriggs, Rossvale
Thistle were founded by John Grey
back in 1976
The club were originally called Woodhill Boys Club due
to the fact that most of the youths that made up the team
were from nearby Woodhill Primary School.As the club
grew and expanded to more than just the one team, they
decided to change the name so as not to seem too limited
in their inclusion policy. The name Rossvale was chosen as
a combination of the nearby streets, Rossie Crescent and
Vale Walk.
The team colours of red and yellow stripes were
chosen for two reasons. Firstly, because John Grey
was a Partick Thistle fan and secondly, because it
was thought that these colours would eliminate the
possibility of divisions within the team, dissociating
themselves from either half of the Old Firm. The club
adopted an admirable ideology of inclusion for their
players and the choice to issue training gear to every
player was made so as to eliminate the possibility of
conflict between players who supported different
teams. Another reason for the team’s decision to
provide training kits was that some of the kids from
different backgrounds may not have been able to
afford the best gear, and that they would be able to
mix with those that could.
The club has won various leagues and cups over the
years, most notably the Scottish Cup three times; in
1986, 1996 and 2001.The club stresses though, that
the team’s success on the park comes secondary to
the development of the player’s ability and attitude
towards the game, with an aim of setting them up to
achieve success at the highest level later in life. The club
ensures this by encouraging their coaches to gain their
badges and they do this to ensure that they are giving the
kids the best possible training that they can.
The team regularly travel to the Netherlands to
compete in various international tournaments. This led the
club to adopt a similar approach to the Dutch, in trying to
get kids in from a younger age to develop skills long before
they could have hoped for before. On the back of this
ethos, the club set up their nursery classes for kids under
five. They also set up a soccer sevens league to assist in
pushing this idea of development from a very young age.
With the setting up of their soccer academy, they
hope that the standard of the club is raised, promoting
discipline and fair play, whilst educating the boys to work
in a team. They believe that developing the young players
has been key in getting a number of players into the senior
development squads of successful clubs such as Celtic,
Hearts, Kilmarnock, Clyde, Hibs, Livingston, etc.
In 2007, Rossvale became the first club in East
Dunbartonshire to achieve the Scottish Football
Association (SFA) Quality Mark.
The club has won
various leagues and
cups over the years,
most notably the
Scottish Cup three
times; in 1986, 1996
and 2001.
Issue # 1 | YFS Magazine | 67