A north football coach whose booklet for kids during lockdown hit the mark with Champions League winners has scored a national award for his efforts.
Alyn Gunn, head of Thurso Football Academy, accepted his UK Coaching prize from Caley Thistle chairman Ross Morrison ahead of the Championship side’s 2-0 win against Morton at the weekend.
UK Coaching arranged to have the prize handed over in the Highlands rather than have Gunn make the trip to Leeds as originally planned, and ICT were happy to oblige.
The 36-year-old was named as one of 25 winners across the country at the UK Coaching Hero awards, which was aimed to reward individuals who brought ideas to life during the pandemic.
Before yesterday's match Chairman Ross Morrison presented Alyn Gunn, from the Thurso Football Academy, with a UK Coaching Award which he won for his outstanding work during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Congratulations Alyn from everyone at ICTFC pic.twitter.com/akbobSQpsE
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) October 17, 2021
Gunn created a Tiny Tacklers booklet as part of a Keep Scotland Active drive in response to Covid-19.
Booklet hit mark with kids and stars
He used superheroes and cartoon characters such as SpongeBob SquarePants, Batman and the Avengers to keep youngsters aged between three and 16 engaged in training drills and football-themed games.
Initially meant for 25 local kids, it reached more than 10,000 children, along with footballs and water bottles.
The winning concept, which cost £3,500 to fund, received the thumbs-up from many huge names in the sport.
Champions League-winners Frank and Ronald de Boer and Pedro Mendes, ex-Scotland manager and Aberdeen star Alex McLeish, former Scotland and Rangers striker Kris Boyd, and Caley Jags head coach Billy Dodds were just some of the top figures who backed his award bid.
Gunn, who set up Thurso Football Academy with Richie Campbell in 2013, explained capturing the attention of such stars really drove it forward to a wide audience.
Fantastic to have the support from @OnsOranje @FCBarcelona @AFCAjax and @RangersFC legends @RdBoer1970 & @FdeBoerofficial for the training booklet initiative.
To vote please click the heart button five times in the link below.https://t.co/NPVkepIBz9 pic.twitter.com/skHTon7lsQ— Alyn Gunn (@alyn_gunn) June 13, 2021
He said: “I put it together and it really took off. Meant originally for 25 local kids, it hit the roof and we used our contacts to send it far and wide, putting 10,000 copies out across several countries.
“We sent it to Holland, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Italy, Germany, England and France.
“The links we had with the professional footballers helped us massively. The de Boer brothers helped make it popular in Holland and Pedro Mendes in Portugal.
Many thanks to new @ICTFC manager Billy Dodds for showing his support to the training booklet initiative .
Today is the last day for voting for it , please take 15 secs of your time to click the heart 5 times in the link https://t.co/NPVkeq0cXJ pic.twitter.com/05dlAUCV80— Alyn Gunn (@alyn_gunn) June 13, 2021
“To raise the money, we did online auctions and had various memorabilia from Scotland, Rangers, Aberdeen, for example. Again, we used our contacts to great effect.”
Award triumph was surprise to Gunn
Gunn’s bright idea came when he felt the need to get youngsters outside during the days of lockdown.
He added: “I just felt I had to do something. The kids were sitting at home, so I wanted to help get them back outside and being active.
“The award was not something I expected. Awards such as this don’t often come this far north, so I was delighted. It was special to get the award, even to be nominated for it.
“In Thurso, we don’t have a lot up our way compared to Glasgow, Edinburgh or even Perth.”
New links forged with Caley Thistle
And Gunn explained the trip to Caley Thistle on Saturday opened a new possible link between the Thurso academy and ICT.
He said:Â “It was great to speak to Ross Morrison in terms of youth development and the work we do in Thurso and hopefully we can do something to progress links between the two.”
Six years ago, Gunn was praised by Sir Alex Ferguson for his coaching style, which he developed from the age of 14.
Gunn said: “Sir Alex wrote to us, praising what we were doing and told us we should stick with it. That’s exactly what we’ve done and it’s obviously been beneficial.”
Gunn also landed recognition from Youth Football Scotland for the inspiring project and it completes a hat-trick, as last year he won a Coaching, Officiating and Volunteering (COV) prize at an award night held by sportscotland and UK Coaching.
