The past two weekends have seen Greenock Town Hall packed to the rafters for successive Morton Community presentation nights.
Over 650 mums, dads, friends, family and coaches came together to celebrate both individual and team successes achieved in the last year.
Morton Community are currently engaging 88 boys and 88 girls through structured teams that compete against like-minded clubs across the west of Scotland, and this number will increase moving into 2017, particularly with the introduction of Morton Ladies.
Many of our current Under-17s girls will naturally progress into the new senior side, while we may, on the other hand, bid a fond farewell to as many as a dozen boys after 12 of our 2007 squad were offered trials with the club’s elite youth academy.
Both nights kicked off with a real buzz after our special guests were introduced. First-team stars Jai Quitongo and Scott Tiffoney attended the boys’ presentation, while Mark Russell, Craig McPherson, and Doncaster Belles and Scotland women’s ace Christie Murray appeared at the girls’ presentation.
It was wonderful to have the support of five role models our young players can look up to and take inspiration from and we thank them for their time.
The Morton Boys Players’ Player of the Year award winners were:
2007 – Jay Dooley and Harry Vance
2006 – Grant Leitch and Lewis Hoy
2005 – Iain Begg
2004 – Lee Wilson
The Morton Girls’s Award Winners:
Under 17s – Lucy Marshall and Sophie McCahill
Under 15s – Jordyn Ingram
Under 13s – Niamh McColgan
Under 12s – Niamh McGarvey and Kayleigh McFadden
Blair Kelly, Team and Coach Co-Ordinator, said: “Overall, it was a fantastic night for the boys and we look forward to the last few training sessions and winter break before getting back into the new season next year.”
Women and Girls Development Officer, Laura Williamson, added: “I’d like to give a special thanks to everyone for their efforts in putting the evening together. We are hugely grateful to all the support our volunteers offer throughout the year. It is an exciting time at Morton Girls and we cannot wait for the new season to kick off!”
Brian McLaughlin, Head of Community Coaching, concluded: “I always enjoy this time of year as we get to come together as one and celebrate the success of the past year. Well done to all the players, volunteers and parents for supporting such fantastic nights. Finally, a special thanks to Laura, Leeanne and Blair for their continued hard work and for providing a fantastic learning environment for the players to develop.”
