It didn’t take long for our “Sir Alex of Community Football”, Tom Elliott, to make an impression within Inverclyde. From the day Tom took up his post of Community Engagement Manager back in April, Tom has been driven to deliver all he promised and more to the delight of Warren Hawke; Consultant for Club Development and Crawford Rae; Chairman of Greenock Morton Community Trust.
Tom was overwhelmed by the huge success of the summer camps which ran for six weeks in four venues. The partnerships formed with the SFA, Active Schools/Sports Development Inverclyde, Inverclyde Council and Inverclyde Leisure have been tremendous with great support from all media partners especially the Greenock Telegraph who have featured all Tom’s work since he started.
Tom is also delighted with the support from Warren Hawke and all the trustees which has been first class allowing him to focus on what he does best; plan, promote and deliver a wide range of football programmes which continue to grow in Inverclyde. Tom’s vision is to inspire, engage and educate community football through the Player Pathway Pyramid by attracting, retaining and developing children of all ages to get active and enjoy being part of the brand that is Morton FC.
There are now four members of staff working in the GMCT office along with a handful of community coaches creating a first class team under the outstanding leadership of Tom with his 15 years experience working in the community. One final word from Crawford Rae who has visited many of the sessions Tom has been out delivering this year; “I am obviously knocked out by the pleasure that that the kids take from their activities, but from the Football Club’s perspective what has stood out the most for me is the enthusiasm that Tom Elliott has brought to our Club and instilled in all the coaches and volunteers. This is incredibly refreshing and exciting for the future of Greenock Morton’s involvement in the local community.”
It’s been an amazing first year for Tom and all the staff working for the community trust. Thank you to everyone who has supported GMCT and especially to all the children who have enjoyed being part of the football programmes. Have a wonderful Christmas and GMCT look forward to another success year in 2014 under the leadership of the magnificent Tom Elliott.