Young Reds Application Form - Click to Download

Soccer School Enrolment Form - Click to Download

Young Reds have a partnership with a company in Dunblane who provide football activities ro pre-school children - view their website

21 July 2010
One of the Young Reds Under 12 coaches, Brian Morrison, has offered to raise funds for the Young Reds by doing a sponsored run from Forthbank Stadium to The Falkirk Stadium on Saturday 21st August,when we play them in the league. The distance is approximately 12 miles.

If you would like to sponsor Brian, you can email youngreds@btinternet.com or you can make a donation by Paypal to that address.

Look out for possible fundraising collection bins at forthcoming matches.

July 2010
Renewal packs have been sent out to all members. The membership fee has been maintained at £10.00 with the usual benefits.

Also included in the renewal pack is an application to join the Soccer School and information about forthcoming fundraising events and Scotland Internationals.

March 2010
The Soccer School is now in full swing following the Christmas and New Year break with the FVFDA fixtures having re-started in the middle of February. The bad weather caused a few problems with 2 weeks having to be cancelled but, hopefully, we have seen the last of the snow.

We have been fortunate to have been allowed to enter a third Under 10 team in the league and, although the boys in the team are at a slight disadvantage playing against teams who have been in the league since August, the feedback from both boys and parents has been very positive. We are also grateful to have 2 experienced coaches, Sandy McMeechan and Roy McCallum, coaching the boys.
Both the Under 11’s and Under 12’s have had new boys joining the squads which should help the results as both squads were suffering due to lack of numbers. In fact, there was one week when the Under 11’s didn’t have any substitutes which meant the boys who played didn’t have the opportunity for a bit of a breather.

We are currently formulating our plans for next season. We have written to the parents of the current Under 12’s team to see how many would be willing to make the step up to playing 11 a side football. However, we will need to recruit more players should we go ahead with an Under 13 team. If any boy born in 1998 is interested in playing next season, they should contact Ian Jones.

The Young Reds are also collecting Tesco for Schools and Clubs vouchers and Daily Record Kits for Kids tokens. These can be handed in to the Stirling Albion Supporters Trust shop at Unit 14 Stirling Arcade in the city centre or to any coach at the Tuesday Soccer School.

September 2009
A number of members have still to return their membership renewal forms. If these have not already been returned, they should be returned by 30th September.
The Soccer School, which meets at Forthbank every Tuesday from 6-00p.m. to 7-00p.m. is again proving very popular with 17 children in the beginner’s class and 16 in the senior group. Unfortunately, we are unable to accept any more children for these 2 groups.
The teams who play in the FVFDA also train at Forthbank with the exception of the Under 14’s who train at Wallace High School both on Tuesdays and Fridays.
The under 10’s teams have been putting in some impressive performances with a number of players catching the eye. Results cannot be published but Team 1 has only lost one match out of five whilst Team 2 has lost two of their five matches. In addition to the 19 children in these teams, we also have a class of 11 children being coaches in preparation for next season.
The Under 11’s have struggled a bit due to the size of the squad but recorded their first win recently. Hopefully, the advert for more players will help the team over the next few months.
The Under 12’s have had a mixed bag of results with 2 wins, I draw and 1 loss. However, like the Under 11’s, they won their last match. Again, they are looking for more players.
The Under 14’s have struggled this season and the uncertainty over whether a team would be run at this age level resulted in the loss of several players including last season’s goalkeeper. They have also had to play 3 under age players simply to make up the numbers.
They have played 2 league matches, losing 7-1 to Crieff Juniors Blue and 6-1 to Hillfoots Community Club Blue. They also lost 6-1 to Ardencaple Boys Club in the Scottish Cup.
We would like to thank the Stirling branch of Unison who have provided the Under 10’s with strips and training tops. We are looking for sponsors to help kit out the remaining teams with training tops and anyone interested in helping should contact Ian on 07918611692 or e mail youngreds@btinternet.com
We would also like to thank Scott Mclean of Stirling Electrical Services for his ongoing support in providing tracksuits for the coaches.

Thursday 6th August 2009
Memberships are now due for renewal. A newsletter was sent out in July with re-enrolment forms. Cost of membership has been kept at £10-00 with the usual benefits.
The Soccer School re-starts on 18th August. Please note that this is only open to members and anyone wishing to attend must pre-register. The Soccer School will run to coincide with the academic school year and the cost is £100-00 for the year. This can be paid either as a single payment or by instalments. Information about this is on the Soccer School Letter.

The FVFDA season starts on 22nd September and this season we will be running the following teams:-
Under 10’s (children born on, or after, 1/1/2000) – we will be running 2 teams at this age group and they have already started training on a Tuesday night.
Under 11’s (children born on, or after, 1/1/1999)
Under 12’s (children born on, or after 1/1/1998)
Under 14’s (children born on, or after, 1/1/1996)

We still have places available in all the teams with the exception of the Under 10’s. Anyone interested in joining should contact Ian on 07918611692 or e mail youngreds@btinternet.com

Some of the Under 10’s took part in the coaching session organised by Stewart Taylor prior to the CIS Cup Tie against Ayr United recently. This was a successful venture and we hope that it will be repeated in the near future. The Young Reds will also be providing children to act as “runners” at the Level 4 Childrens Course being run by the SFA at Stirling University.

We would like to thank the Stirling branch of Unison who have provided the Under 10’s with strips and training tops. We are looking for sponsors to help kit out the remaining tops with training tops and anyone interested in helping should contact Ian.

We would also like to thank Scott Mclean of Stirling Electrical Services for his ongoing support in providing tracksuits for the coaches.

Sunday 8th March 2009
Since the last update, the Under 13’s have only managed to play 2 matches. They lost 10-1 to Dunblane Soccer Club Reds but, the following week, a much improved performance saw them take Central Rio to extra time in the FVFDA Challenge Cup before finally losing 4-3.

The league season is due to finish at the end of the month but, with almost half the league fixtures still to be played because of postponements, a hectic few months lies ahead.
Both the Under 12’s and Under 11’s have been producing good performances without getting the results they deserve.

We have started to formulate our plans for next season and a Parent’s Night will be held on 20th April for next season’s Under 10’s and Under 11’s. This will be followed by another evening for the Under 12’s and Under 13’s.

A newsletter has been sent out to all members and, included in this, is a voting form for Player of the Year.

The Young Reds will also be busy collecting vouchers to help get equipment for the Soccer School and the FVFDA teams.
Tesco are running their successful scheme which now combines the Computers for Schools and Sports for Clubs and Schools.
The Daily Record and Sunday Mail will also be starting their Kits for Kids on 21st March and we hope to collect 15600 tokens.
All vouchers and tokens collected can be given to Ian or Steven.

Sunday 8th February 2009
The Under 13’s hoped that their first victory a few weeks ago would have been the springboard for an improvement in the results. Unfortunately, they have lost their last three matches. Firstly, they lost 4-0 to Young Falkirk Blue. The main damage was done early in the second half when Falkirk scored three times in the space of eleven minutes.

Next, the Young Reds lost 6-0 to Hillfoots Community Club Red. Last Saturday, the Young Reds played Callander Thistle in a match switched to Stirling High School. The Young Reds played Callander in their first match of the season, when the league was at it’s developmental stage, and lost 10-0. This time round, the improvement in the team showed though they still lost 8-2.

This Saturday, the Young Reds play another team who beat them very heavily in the developmental stage, Alva Swifts. The game is at Stirling High School, kick off 10-00a.m.

The Young Reds are also starting to formulate plans for next season. Following a meeting of all the coaches, it now looks as though we will run teams at Under 10, Under 11, Under 12 and Under 14. These plans have still to be finalised and, once that is done, parent’s meetings will be held to advise all parents involved. However, at this stage, it would appear that we will require more boys at under 11, children born in 1999, and further information can be obtained from Ian or Steven.

We would also like to recruit more coaches, preferably with experience , and, again, further information can be obtained from Ian or Steven.

Sunday 18th January 2009
The Under 13’s played Young Falkirk Blue on Saturday but failed to follow up their victory of last week going down 4-0. The only goal of the first half, which was dominated in long spells by the Young Reds, was scored by Falkirk just after the midway point.
The second half saw the strength of the wind increase and Falkirk took full advantage scoring 3 goals in a 9 minute spell. The third and fourth goals were long range efforts which gave Rogers, the Young Reds keeper, no chance. Young Reds Man of the Match was Ryan Stewart.

The next game for the Under 13’s is away to Hillfoots Community Club Red. This match will be played at Tulligarth, Alloa next Saturday, kick off 10-00a.m.

The Soccer School continues to meet at Forthbank on Tuesday from 6-00p.m. to 7-00p.m. The School incorporates the current FVFDA teams at under 12 and under 11 and we have also started preparing for next season with the formation of next season’s under 11’s, born 1999, and under 10’s, born 2000. Places are available and further information can be obtained from Ian on 07918611692.
The general Soccer School also has places available for children age 5 to 14. An enrolment form can be downloaded at the link at the top of this page.

Wednesday 14th January 2009
Despite not having played since 22nd November and no training for 3 weeks, the Young Reds recorded their first victory of the season when they beat Strathendrick 4-3.
The highlight of the first half was a penalty save by Young Reds keeper Connor Rogers.

The Young Reds made better use of the wind advantage in the second half and scored 3 times before Strathendrick managed to pull 2 back. A 4th goal by the Young Reds was followed by a 3rd by Strathendrick. Despite a nervy finish, the Young Reds held out.

Scorers for the Young Reds were Dean Kelly (2) and Callum Ewing and Anthony Gray with one each.
Man of the Match was Dean Kelly.

Wednesday 17th December 2008
The Soccer School is now on a short break and will resume on Tuesday 13th January. The FVFDa is also on a short break and under 13’s matches will restart on 17th January whilst the under 12’s and under 11’s will restart on 14th February.

The under 13’s have had a frustrating season only managing to play 3 league matches and 2 cup ties. As well as being knocked out of the Scottish Cup and Regional Cup, they have lost all their league matches which leaves them at the bottom of the table. However, they have 7 postponed matches to catch up on and the hope is they will have improved sufficiently to start registering some victories.
The under 12’s got off to a slow start but results have improved and they won their last two matches before the break. Their record was 3 wins, 1 draw and 11 defeats.
The under 11’s have shown great promise though results haven’t always gone their way. However, their record of 5 wins, 2 draws and 9 defeats, is very pleasing considering that they are playing against teams who have been together for 2 years.

When the Soccer School resumes, the coaches and organisers will start to put into place plans to expand the number of teams next season.

Further information can be obtained from Steven or Ian.

Friday 12th December 2008
Stirling Albion Young Reds—December 2008 Newsletter

Welcome to the first newsletter of this season. A lot has happened since the season started in August and that is one of the reasons there hasn’t been a newsletter before this.

Inside you will find news of an award the Young Reds have achieved and up dates on the Soccer School and the FVFDA.
There is also news about International matches and the steps the Young Reds have taken to guarantee tickets for future matches.
If you want to keep up to date with what is happening you will usually find Young Reds news in Wednesday’s edition of the Stirling Observer.

Young Reds news is also available on the official website, www.stirlingalbionfc.co.uk and the unofficial website, www.stirlingalbion.com

Finally, we would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

SFA Quality Mark
The Young Reds has been awarded the Scottish Football Association’s Quality Mark Award Standard Level.
The Quality Mark is the Scottish FA’s “Youth Action Plan” initiative, which helps to support and sustain grass roots football. Via the Quality Mark, the Scottish FA and partners will promote the role of clubs and schools to broaden community participation and to enhance player, coach and volunteer development and best practice.

The Standard Level is the first stage and is awarded to clubs who run at least one team and who reach the required standard. This entails coach education where coaches attend courses to obtain the necessary qualifications, not only on the football side, but also in first aid and player welfare. Attendance at workshops is also required to ensure that the club is run properly.

The award could not have been achieved without the support and enthusiasm of everyone connected with the Young Reds. The coaches and volunteers who give up a lot of their own time and the children for coming each week.

The Young Reds would also like to acknowledge the support given by Andy Gilchrist, SFA Central Region Manager, and Scott Kinross, SFA Development Officer for Active Stirling. We would also like to thank Gordon Smith, SFA Chief Executive, for presenting the award at the Stirling Albion v Partick Thistle cup tie.

FVFDA and Soccer School
The Young Reds are members of the Forth valley Football Development Association (FVFDA) which runs development leagues for boys and girls. The league covers 9 age groups ranging from under 9’s playing Development Fours, to under 10’s to under 12’s playing 7 a side with under 13’s and older playing 11 a side.

No results are recorded at Development Fours and 7 a sides.

Last season, the Young Reds first season, we ran teams at under 11 and under 12. This season, we also run an under 13 team. Next season, we hope to add an under 10 team.

The FVFDA has its own website, www.forthvalley.leaguerepublic.com, where you can find out who the Young Reds are playing. The under 13’s also have their own website, www.clubwebsite.co.uk/stirlingalbionyoungreds, where you can see the results for the under 13’s.

The Soccer School, which meets every Tuesday, has been one of the major success stories if the Young Reds scheme. As well as the 40 children who play in the FVFDA teams, over 80 children are currently enrolled in the Soccer School.

The ages of the children range from 4 to 14 and they receive coaching from SFA qualified coaches who have also been disclosure checked.

The children are divided into small groups according to age. The younger ones, ages 4 to 7, use the small five a side pitches and they are coached by Brian, Alan, Austin, Darren and Grant. The older children use the full size pitch and they are coached by Gillian, Brian and Kevin.

The under 13’s FVFDA team is coached at Wallace High School by Norman, Willie and Tam. The under 12’s coaches are Chris, Andy and Wayne. The under 11’s are coached by Ewan and Sandy while Ian coaches the goalkeepers.

At the moment, we have 40 children in the FVFDA teams and our aim is to provide a pathway to the Stirling Albion youth teams. We have already had one success with Alex Cleland progressing from last season’s Young Reds under 12’s to the Stirling Albion under 13 squad and Alex has already been on the score sheet for the team. We hope that Alex will provide an inspiration to all the children who come along to the Soccer School.

We would like to hear from any adult who would be interested in joining the coaching team. Qualifications are not essential as we will put anyone through the necessary courses.

The Soccer School will take a short break at Christmas with the last night being 16th December and will re-start on 13th January. Everyone currently enrolled in the Soccer school will receive more information in December.

Internationals
The Young Reds have continued to make use of the Scottish Football Association’s policy of providing tickets for international matches to organised youth groups.
This season, the Young Reds have attended matches against Croatia, Northern Ireland, Norway and Argentina.
We have also joined the newly formed Scotland Supporters Club Youth Groups section. This will ensure that we get tickets for all future matches.

However, our allocation will only be 16 children’s tickets. Since demand for tickets is high, we have decided that applications for tickets will now go to a ballot should demand exceed the number of tickets we receive.

Player of the Year
Don’t worry, we aren’t asking you to vote just now. Pictured below is
Callum Sinclair who was one of the Young Reds who voted in last year’s ballot. Callum’s name was drawn out of the hat to win Steven Bell’s jersey from last season.

Saturday 29th November 2008

On Saturday 29 November at half-time in the Scottish Cup tie versus Partick Thistle, Stirling Albion Young Reds were awarded the SFA Quality Mark, Standard Level.  The award was presented to Ian Jones and Steven Leiper of Young Reds by Gordon Smith, SFA Chief Executive and Andy Gilchrist, SFA Central Regional Manager.

Young Reds have been working towards achievement of the Standard Level Quality Mark over the last year with support from Scott Kinross, local SFA Football Development Officer and Alan Morgan, Sports Central Football Development Manager.

The Scottish FA Quality Mark is a "National Plan for Youth Football Development" initiative which supports grassroots club development and encourages and rewards best practice principles.

Young Reds would like to record their thanks to everyone who provided guidance and support in the last year in the lead up to being granted the Quality Mark.

Sunday 5th October 2008
The Young Reds Soccer School will not meet on Tuesday 14th October due to the school holidays. It will resume on 21st October. However, the all 3 teams in the FVFDA will train at Forthbank on 14th October.
The under 13’s played their first match in the FVFDA where results will count and were very unfortunate to lose 4-2 to Hillfoots Community Club Blue. The Young Reds dominated for long periods in the game and even managed to miss a penalty. However, the results have shown a steady improvement and it shouldn’t be long before they celebrate their first victory.
Scorers for the Young Reds were Greig Robertson and Takumi Watanabe and Player of the Match went to Peter Bolton.