AMS Annual Report 2017 registered charity SC045906

Transcription

1 AMS Annual Report 2017 registered charity SC045906

2 introduction I m delighted to introduce our first ever annual report. The purpose of this report is to reflect upon the extensive work AMS carries out within Fife while offering us an opportunity to benchmark our progress in meeting our objectives as a charitable organisation, so we can further improve the quality and range of our provision within the local community for the coming year. Since establishing AM Soccer Club in 2006, and latterly AMS as a charitable foundation in 2015, each year has seen our level of activity and impact within the local community grow has been no exception. While of course AMS was founded from the AM Soccer Club, we attained charitable status in 2015 to reflect our role in delivering wider community and social value through football. Since then, we ve grown our programmes into the three strands of: AM Soccer Club, AM Special Needs programme and AM Seniors. While 2017 saw these aspects of our work continue to go from strength to strength we were also very pleased to develop a new strand of activity in the form of our Women and Girls programme which we ve developed in line with the organisation s ethos of providing sport for all. Since August we ve been delivering 2 hour sessions at our home of Duffus Park and in partnership with Bell Baxter High School. The initial response to the programme has been excellent and we re really encouraged for the future of the programme in We were delighted that the opportunities and support we offer young people within the local area was recognised by the Fife Chamber of Commerce as November saw us listed as a finalist for the Developing Young Workforces Award. This year also saw us undertake our first membership survey to find out exactly how we re helping our members and where we can improve for the future. The excerise was invaluable to us and reaffirmed some key facts about our activity: - Members are highly satisfied with the level and quality of our coaching. - Members believe our activity enhances the local community - Members believe our activity advances the values of participation in physical activity and education. This is a testament to the AMS staff and numerous volunteers who work tirelessly to support our members development and the organisation s wider community aims and objectives. You can find the full results of the survey later within this report which we hope you ll find an interesting summary and evaluation of the past year. As an innovative and aspirational club, we re looking to further kick on in 2018 and you find out more about our plans later in this report. For now, we hope you enjoy reading about the organisations successes which you will have inevitably contributed to throughout the year. Thank you for your continued support. Austin MacPhee AMS Founder ams in children and adults engaged in ams activity weekly throughout volunteers 91% of members very satisfied or satisfied with the quality of our coaching 9950 hours of community activity delivered throughout children and adults engaged in ams activity in total throughout coaches and staff employed 15 players graduated through our pathway to fife elite, professional contracts or scholarships 180k put into community activities

3 AM Soccer Club achievements spelled another successful for AM Soccer Club as we continued to increase and improve our provision and offerings within the community. Due to the quality of our football programme the charity was approached to become a partner club of local Professional Youth Club Fife Elite. This partnership allows a pathway for the most talented players to play professionally while also becoming a recommended club for players who are leaving the professional youth environment. Eight of our players signed for Fife Elite demonstrating the opportunities AMS is providing for young players within Fife. Three players from within the soccer club were offered full-time professional contracts with professional teams in the local area. In addition, three players in secured a scholarship opportunity at University in America where he will be able to study academically and gain a degree as well as playing football for the university team on a full-time basis for four years. AMS are now continually working with Fife Council via the Fife Job Contract to hire a Modern Apprentice for varying periods. Our third Modern Apprentice just completed his qualification and contract with the charity, with the next Modern Apprentice lined up to start in the near future. Additionally, we were delighted to be named a finalist for the 2018 Fife Chamber of Commerce Awards for our work developing young people and their employability. We look forward to the ceremony in March 2018 where we ll learn who is to be the winner of the Developing Young Workforce Award. We continued to hold a number of events throughout the year and were very pleased to welcome Stephen Gethins MP for Fife North East (pictured below) to our annual AMS Cup to lend a helping hand giving out medals to the numerous participants who travelled from all parts of Scotland to compete. am soccer club amateurs AM Soccer Amateurs enjoyed their fourth season in the Fife Football Association last year with a third place finish in the Premier Division and appearances in two Cup Finals bringing plenty of excitement. The average age of the team was far younger than in previous years, as we are now seeing the pathway in action with youth players filtering through into the men s section of the club. This has been a pleasing aspect of the club s general growth and the young players that have come through are showing up well around Fife. There were a few departures from the team but all for positive reasons, as Kyle Bell signed professionally for Raith Rovers, whilst Scott Wilson, Matthew Porteus and James Lang, all left for scholarships in the USA. There was also the introduction of a Reserve team, allowing greater participation and providing another option for players who may need longer to adapt to the adult game, or for older players who wish to remain competitive but not in the Premier Division with the first team. Progress is being made and we hope to continue developing this new strand of the club in the new season.

4 2001 s 2003 s The 2001 squad have continued to perform well on and off the field. On the field the group have made their first cup final of the year, while still being involved in the Regional Cup in the quarter final stages at present. Off the field the group have been socialising and fund-raising towards their very own football tour to Barcelona in March The players have hosted a 5 aside Football Marathon and a car wash, along with a fantastic Christmas Hamper raffle which will boast up to 6 winners. The tour in Barcelona will give the majority of the players a small reprieve from the stresses of high school exams whilst naturally allowing them to sample how the beautiful games is taught or played in a different country, but most importantly strengthening friendships and relationships socially with their teams mates and coaches s Our 2003 s are a developing group which last season got promoted into the top league in Fife at their age group. Since being promoted the group has developed as a set of individuals and group very well and played some very attractive football. The clear focus on development of the players and the style of play they have adopted has led to players from teams higher up in the table coming to join the team so that they can develop more as players. The group have grown in numbers and are now up to a squad of 18 players which is continually growing with tribalists continually coming to train with the group. This has led to interest from Fife Elite with multiple players from the team training and playing with Fife Elite whilst continually playing with AM Soccer. All of the positive things happening in this team all stem from the core values of the team which is to put development before results and continually review and develop ourselves whilst enjoying the game and always having fun s The squad participated within the Fife Football Development League for their final season before making the transition to the AFYFC for their senior youth years. An appearance in the semi final of the League Cup was a highlight but a narrow defeat to Lochgelly ended that run for the boys. The squad enjoyed healthy numbers and learned a lot about the tactical side of 11 aside football under Jack Wilson, who recorded a number of the matches to allow the players to monitor their own performance and make improvements. There was also the opportunity for three of the players to join the training with Fife Elite Football Academy, who had shown an interest after some consistently good performances. It has been pleasing to note that some of the players in the 2002 squad have also become motivated by a potential career in coaching or sport. At present, three of our payers are part of a mentoring scheme as assistant coaches within our Soccer schools. During the 2017/18 season, the squad will be coached by Lindsay Sharp, who will introduce a programme that educates the players on physical development as well as continued technical and tactical improvements. AM Soccer 2004s participated in their first year of 11 a side football. The team were set up in a basic structure of and were given pointers on how to stay organised, be active communicators & work well as a team (which included four extra players on the pitch from the previous season). The set up in the Fife Football Development League meant that we played organised friendlies instead of league fixtures. We competed well in every fixture and our results showed that we were in at least the top 3 teams in Fife. The club participated in the Scottish Cup and the Regional Cup (which includes teams from the Fife, Dundee and Perth Leagues). The teams performed well in both tournaments as we reached the last 32 of the Scottish Cup and the Semi Final of the Regional Cup. Our Scottish Cup run came to an end against Jimmy Johnstone Academy, from the Glasgow area, when they beat us on penalties at Ladybank. We were also defeated in the semi-final by Duloch Juniors. We were the better side and were unfortunate not to take the chances we created. As part of the Club pathway, one player from the squad had signed for Fife Elite Football Academy and another player has been continuing to train with the pro youth set up on a weekly basis. With this in mind, we have recruited well and still boast a strong squad of good players.

5 2005 s 2007 s This group have done particularly well at an age group that is strong around Fife, with teams generally being quite even when it comes to competing on match days. The 2005 s are in their final year of CEFFSA 7-a-side football before the switch to the FFDL 11-a-side development league, where everything becomes completely different and individuals/teams begin to struggle with the challenging transition. We have played a couple of friendly games, most recently against Glenrothes Strollers; when we played them during the 7 s season, AM Soccer were usually the team that came out on top in terms of good football played and winning the game. We have effectively gone back to page one with their footballing education by starting something completely brand new in 11-a-side as they now all play in new/different positions- something they aren t used to or know about. It has also been refreshing, as we have all moved on from repeating the same thing after a year or so, and are beginning to now educate ourselves on shape and play that will now begin as the foundations that serve them for the rest of their footballing days. With a healthy 22 players in the 2007 age group, we have two teams developing swiftly in both tiers of the CEFFSA 7-aside football set up. This group welcomes all level of participation from players of high technical ability to beginners with a love of the game. Being only 7 a side football, the focus for this age band is development in all aspects of the game. The players work off the AM Soccer Club curriculum which allows the training and games to be fun, more interactive and progressive. Even at a young age the players will receive individual video analysis from their games, player meetings with parents and online feedback on their technical, tactical, physical and psychological attributes. Off the pitch, we have volunteers supporting as much as possible with older siblings and local Fife college volunteers assisting coaching and a parent fund-raising team to help find funds for kit, travel and events s A strong group who have competed well within the CEFFSA league of 7-a-side development football. The 2006 s are well ahead of other teams in Fife individually and collectively, which has attracted strong interest from our partner club Fife Elite, who are keen to sign a couple of the players. For a side that involves 20 players, they set a high standard with their technical ability and competence on the pitch during match days, to be in control of their decision making and own actions; with some guidance from me. 7-a-side football is not results driven; it is about developing the players and making sure that they are educated in how, when, where, and why they are doing things with and without the ball. For this team, it s still important the understand the importance of winning, and experience the feeling of losing; they have gone the league season unbeaten (12 games, plus friendlies), and I foresee that happening again during the next lot of fixtures when the season restarts s The 2008 age group enjoyed their first season together. Many of these children have progressed through the AM Soccer Pathway as the team is made up of players who participated at our internal Fun 4s & Super 5s. The main plan with these players was to teach them the fundamental aspects of a 7 a side team but continue to develop their technical ability using the club curriculum. Having only one team, the club is continually recruiting players with the main goal of adding an extra team in to the league association. This will give us a healthy foundation for when these players hit 11 a side in 3 years time! The squad play and will continue to play in weekly fixtures against other teams who are affiliated with the Central and East Fife Soccer Sevens Association. From the league games played, we managed to score a total of 160 goals, and conceded 40. Our highest scoring match was 23-2, and lowest scoring 4-4. A clear indication of how strong the boys are on their day, and how they get on when they don t particularly play well.

6 AM Seniors AM am Seniors seniors in numbers Our Walking Football programme is the first achievement of our AM Seniors activity and has enjoyed a great Offering two hours of Walking Football each week for all persons in the community who are over 50 years old, the programme allows for the specific target group to stay active, meet new people and interact socially with people in the local community aiming to forge friendships for people in the latter stages of their life. One individual who has benefitted from the programme is 68-year-old John McIntyre, who had open heart surgery in September 2015, says the sport is a dream for him. This sport has given me a new lease of life. - john mcintyre The Seniors also took part in an action packed game against a Celtic FC & Rangers FC legends select team which included stars such as Ally McCoist, Simon Donnelly and Frank McAvennie (as pictured below). After the match the group made the short journey to Hampden where they grabbed a bite to eat then visited the National Football Museum. Going forward, if enough women show interest in the sport, we d hoped it could be opened up to females. In order for programme to grow and become more sustainable, we re looking to potentially link in with NHS target groups and other potential partners to offer a form of rehab. Walking football sessions take place at Cupar Sports Centre on Tuesday mornings. There s a light session between 10am and 11am before a slightly more competitive game between 11am and 12 noon. 100% of participants believe the programme improves their fitness 75% of participants believe the programme improves the opportunity to form new friendships for those living in isolation. 75% of participants believe the programme improves their mental health and wellbeing 83% of participants were very likely to continue participating in the walking football programme in the coming years

7 AMS Girls and Women AM special needs This year we were delighted to kick start our women and girls programme which has hit the ground running. Since August we ve delivered two sessions a week for girls in Primary 1 all the way through to First Year at High School, which run for 90 minutes; AM Soccer provide the most time (weekly) on the pitch in the East Region of Scotland! The sessions aim to be fun and educational, with the priority being getting girls on the pitch to participate in sport to keep fit and heathy; interest has now been that popular, we are now looking to get a team on the pitch against other girl s club. We have also been approached about the potential of starting a Women s team which is a testament to the popularity of our club and programme. Moving into 2018, we hope to establish our women and girls programme and form a league side. Additionally we re looking to introduce a walking football concept to encourage girls that don t normally participate in health and fitness activities to see this as a fun way to do so. We re looking for more girls to get involved in our programme in We hold sessions twice a week at the Duffus Park Astroturf: Tuesdays (5.30pm pm) & Sundays (12pm pm). Membership is charged at 25 p/m. funding Away from the pitch, we ve enjoyed another successful year as we ve grown our income well over 25% from the previous year. AMS have teamed up with local High School, Bell Baxter, to deliver football specific sessions to pupils in their Department of Additional Support. The classes run for one hour per week and offer additional physical exercise away from mainstream sports with pupils from the mainstream programmes. AM Special Needs has been working closely with the local high school, Bell Baxter, for over a year now. This happens in a weekly session within the school the participants spend one period playing football and developing general motor skills through football. This class has seen a large increase of numbers starting with less than ten children and growing to near 20 participants on a weekly basis as more special needs children want to come and have fun and socialise through football. The class has shown multiple benefits for participants such as the participants getting physical activity, gaining important skills such has eye foot coordination and a range of social skills. This is a safe environment for participants to relax and work together to play activities and football games which encourages them to socialise and encourage each other. The increase in numbers and the positive feedback from participants and teachers and led the class to being an important part in all participants week that they look forward to. We re now in dialogue with other organisations that deal particularly with learning disabled to extend this form of health and fitness activity to a wider group. We have two aims. First and foremost to encourage and introduce health and fitness activities that don t currently exist for this community. Secondly, for the smaller more able individuals, we intend to introduce a more competitive element. We expect use the model of walking football to introduce those participants to either health and fitness or a competitive element of football. Although a charity, we pride ourselves on functioning like a social enterprise, generating income through our numerous activities within the community. We enjoy a diverse range of income through membership fees, fund-raising activities and grant funding. In the past year we ve been able to extend our newer strands of activity with direct grants from a variety of funders including the likes of Foundation Scotland, Bailey Thomas Charitable Trust, LTSB Henry Duncan (now Corra Foundation), Bank of Scotland Foundation, Awards for All and the Coop Community Fund. Having a range of income streams to support our work is the sign of sustainable organisation and we d like to thank every one of our funders over the past 12 months who have contributed towards our work.

8 in the community plans for 2018 We continue to hold Legacy Club level status with the SFA, the highest award available for clubs in Scotland, demonstrating A M Soccer Club s commitment to developing young people and recognising that the organisation has become a key feature of the community. While we ll hope this has been demonstrated through our extensive activities, whenever possible, we ll work towards supporting organisations with shared aims and objectives as us. Two examples over the past year have been The Kilt Walk (pictured below) where AMS members raised a massive Community Activity Reach social reach Sponsors & Partners staff & Volunteers committee Facilitate football activities for the disadvantaged & disabled people Primary school & school holiday clinics Attendees at social functions club members; extended friends/ family; individuals 6033 which was shared between furthering our own activities and the Scottish Association for Mental Health and our annual Christmas Toy Drive Initiative. Following an appeal to members we received a huge amount of donated toys which we recently handed over to our friends at the Toy Appeal and will have gone a long way in supporting families around the North East of Fife. The football club s reach is significant and ex-tends beyond the players, coaches and volunteers within the club. Recent research revealed that for every one player, a football club reaches a further 10 people in their community and we believe we can play a major role in helping develop the local communities where we re active. Additionally, 84% of our members believe that our provision helps enhance the local community - something we re very proud of and will continue to work towards developing in the future. Education & awareness campaigns Volunteers & donations towards for wider community activities & appeals Participation in local festivals Spectators at football games Football game day functions Birthday parties Local partnerships such as High Schools, farmers, hardware, tradespeople, local supermarkets, bank, sports goods suppliers Coaches (staff), Coaches (voluntary), Office Manager, General Manager, canteen operators, handymen, kitmen, drivers Chairman, Vice-Chair, Founder, Secretary, Treasurer players 1st Team, 2nd Team, 2001s, 2002s, 2003s, 2004s, 2005s, 2006s, 2007s, 2008s, Fun 4s & 5s, Adult 6-a-side, Walking Football, Women and Girls, Soccer Schools, Soccer One, Soccer Tots. As a charity that strives to continually improve, we re already looking ahead to how we can further our offering to members and the local community. Looking to 2018, the trustees intend to continually develop and improve the service given to its members with plans to increase participation through our various strands. Coaching and Employability AMS are also aiming to build links with two local high schools to create opportunities for pupils to become involved in sports coaching and ultimately become more employable. This project will include delivering coaching sessions, employment workshops and offering places on nationally recognised coach education courses for students at High Schools in Cupar and St Andrews. AMS Girls and Women We re keen to build on the initial success and interest we ve received in our women and girls programme. In 2018 it is our aspiration to grow our number of female members and look at the possibilities of entering a team into a league setup. Facility Development AMS long-term aspiration has always been to develop a facility of its own that can be used all year round and enable us to sustainably grow as a charitable organisation. While we ve been able to deliver extensive community activities, this has often only been made possible with grant funding due to the high costs association with facility hire in Scotland. Going forward we believe a 3G facility we can call a home and can base most of our activity out of would be viable and in the best interests of the local area. This would obviously be a large scale project and require a significant sum of investment, however we believe we have skilled team of staff and Trustees who could best manage a facility in the interests of the organisation, our members and the local community. We re now into year 3 of our 25 year lease with Fife Council for Duffus Park. We remain grateful to the Council for the lease, although are keen to develop the land including potentially levelling the pitch there. A M Small Communities One of the main aims in the next year is to properly introduce the A M Small Communities programme, a project which provided pupils in rural areas where we ve previously run a pilot programme, with the opportunity to participate in various multi-sport sessions weekly. The project hasn t continued into 2017 as we ve been reviewing its potential for longer-term benefits.

9 membership A M S membership survey survey what our members like most about us 98% of members proud to be a ams member 75% of members believe our facilities either excellent or very good 91% of members either very satisfied or satisfied with the quality of our coaching 84% of members believe AMS provision of activity enhances the community 91% of members either very likely or likely to continue playing with AMS over the next couple of years 91% of members either very satisified or satisfied with ams activities 80% of members believe AMS is helping to advance public participation in sport 76% of members believe AMS activities help encourage and advance the value of education

10 contact ams Cuparmuir Industrial Estate, Cuparmuir, Fife, KY15 5RL + 44 (0) AMsoccerclub /amsoccerclub /amsoccer_club ams is a scottish charitable incorporated organisation (SC045906)