Year to remember for court stars

Dec 4 2012 by Andy Newport, Paisley Daily Express

Basketball bosses claim their young hoop students have enjoyed an “outstanding year” after releasing their annual report card.

Lindsay Lang, the chief executive of basketballpaisley, hailed the efforts of the club’s players, coaches and officials over the past 12 months.

The club – which plays under the banner of St Mirren – is one of the best run organisations in Scotland and to prove the point they, their senior and youth teams swept the boards with a list of trophies.

A staggering 10 league titles – nine national and one local – were claimed as they recorded their best ever haul.

The Saints Senior Men’s team lifted the Scottish Cup for the first time in 10 years while an astonishing 34 players from the club were handed international honours.

Among those capped for Scotland were Under-12 girls Shona McCrea, Niamh McLeod, Heather Fraser and Katie Simpson and Under-13 starlets Zoe McKinlay and Clare Dewar.

Also pulling on the dark blue uniforms were Under-14s aces Fiona Harris and Emilie Johnstone, as well as Anna Mitchell, Nicole Davidson and Nina Gilbert for the Under-15s.

Katie Fergus, Sarah Hunter and Erin Campbell, who compete at Under-16s level, joined the Under-18s of Jennifer Crawford Gemma McCrea, Sarah Thomson and Robyn Lewis and Senior women Gemma Black in receiving Scotland call-ups.

In the men’s category, Under-12 kid Jack Thomson, Andrew Deighan and Lewis Toal of the Under-13s and Under-14s youths Alastair Mathieson and Michael Storey all received invitations to play for their country.

In the Under-15s Scots squad, Jon Faulds was also involved, as was the Under-18s quintet of Ryan McKay, Michael Secker, Joshua McGillvary, Steven Docherty and Scott Rooney.

Meanwhile, Senior stars Colin Railley, Dave Johnston, Nick Collins and Fraser Glass all shone for the full Scotland side.

Lang said: “Season 2011-12 was an outstanding year for basketballpaisley, breaking record after record to remain at the forefront of Scottish basketball. Our club motto of maximising participation, developing potential and excelling in performance continues to be our aim and this year everyone associated with the club should feel extremely proud of our achievements.

“None of this of course, would be possible without the large number of basketballpaisley volunteers who give generously of their time, day after day, to raise the bar and drive the club on to new unprecedented levels.

“More primary pupils, more schools, more titles, more internationalists, more teams, more coaches, more partners, more funding, more profile – the list goes on and on and all our volunteers must be recognised for their excellent contribution during the past year.”

There was also special praise for the award winners who were hailed at the club’s annual prize giving night.

Talented teen McKay was named Player of the Year while the gong for Club Coach of the Year went to Stuart Glass.

Club secretary Jim Renfrew was handed the James Maclean Award for his outstanding contribution to the club, while the prize for Community Club Coach of the Year went to Lauren McKinlay.

Lewis Scoffield won the Young Assistant Coach of the Year, while the Young Official of the Year Award was claimed by Jonathan Corr.

Lang added: “Once again, this year’s annual awards ceremony took place in Ralston Golf Club and more than 120 players, parents and friends also enjoyed an excellent social evening. The celebration involved our club’s individual and team success for season 2011-12 and I’d like to congratulate all the recipients of the awards.”

Meanwhile, the club boss also hailed the impact of some of the club’s other community programmes.

He said: “The Friday Night Superleague continues to be our club’s main focus with more than 100 young people and their families actively involved in exciting and competitive matches every Friday from September to March. The standard of play, coaching and officiating has been a notable feature this season and augurs well for the future success of our club.

“We also have our Hoops 4 Health, RSN, and Post Code Lottery Initiatives. We are indebted to our key funders Renfrewshire Council, Renfrewshire Sports Network and the Post Code Lottery for their continued support of our Primary School Initiatives which operated in 31 Renfrewshire Schools, offering free coaching, festivals and transport throughout the session.

The ‘Hoops4Health’ Programme alone involved more than 1000 Primary 3-7 pupils in three rounds of coaching in November, February and May. Continued funding is essential for the future of our sport both locally and nationally.

“We continue to explore every avenue to secure funding for basketballpaisley. Many of our consultations with Renfrewshire Leisure Limited, during the past 3 years, have ensured that our extremely successful Programme has been recognised and that our voice is being heard by the key decision makers.

“We have had a major input into the new Lagoon Sports Hub which will continue to be our Club’s Centre of Excellence with our Friday Night Superleague and National League fixtures.

“The new events hall, which was Paisley’s old ice rink, has now been converted into a superb basketball arena to feature national and international competitions and events with a unique spectators’ gallery. Our talks with St Mirren FC with regard to becoming part of a community initiative still continue.

“The continued success of basketballpaisley relies heavily on its parents, friends and partners and we remain the envy of most Sports Clubs in Scotland. Our 17 year ‘journey of success’ has been truly remarkable. This has been due to the many hundreds of people and sponsors who have invested in us.

“My thanks once again to all our parents and to Reid Kerr College, Renfrewshire Council, Local Area Committees, Active Schools, Renfrewshire Leisure Limited, Strathclyde Police, Sportpaisley Limited, Renfrewshire Sports Network, St Mirren Football Club, the Paisley Daily Express and Glasgow Airport.”