Joy for Ross Sutherland Rugby Club's Stuart McPherson and Kevin Drain after jointly winning Community Coach of the Year Award at the 2019 Highland Coaching, Officiating, and Volunteering Awards
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AWARD winning Ross rugby coaches are celebrating after picking up a prestigious Highland sports honour.
Stuart McPherson and Kevin Drain from Ross Sutherland Rugby Club were the joint recipients of the Community Coach of the Year Award at the 2019 Highland Coaching, Officiating, and Volunteering Awards ceremony.
The pair coach P6 and P7 athletes and are current players at the Invergordon club.
Mr Drain said the win was “a total surprise”.
“I don’t think that we really do anything that special and the two of us just really enjoy coaching the kids,” he added. “It’s quite humbling that other people think what we do is worthy of an award, especially when you see the great work that all the other winners do.”
Mr McPherson added: “It’s really easy coaching with Kevin as we’re on the same wavelength, and we have a good laugh with the kids. It’s nice to hear the appreciation from them and their parents, especially after some of the long trips to Glasgow. It is very much appreciated.”
The two have been praised for their outstanding commitment, with one coach having to make an 80 mile round trip to take the Sunday morning session as well as attending the club twice during the week for senior training, and the other starting to coach the U13s.
The pair have previously won other joint awards such as Club Coach of the Year at the Ross Sutherland RFC Club Awards at the end of last season.
They weren’t the only Ross winners in the 2019 Highland Coaching, Officiating, and Volunteering Awards. Another winner from Ross-shire was Oscar Shepherd from Culbokie, who won Young Volunteer of the Year.
A collaboration between sportscotland and High Life Highland, the awards celebrate outstanding contributions towards developing sports within the region's local communities.
