DEDICATED volunteers have come in for high praise after helping grow the Ardeer Thistle Youth Academy.

The set up was first formed as part of the Stevenston club only two years ago, but has gone from strength to strength ever since.

The progress has been hailed by the head of the academy, Stuart Roy, as he reflected on the journey so far.

When the project first began, six teams were playing under the Ardeer Thistle banner. Now, that number has risen to an impressive 22 teams.

There is now a complete player pathway in their boys section, from the youngest 'mini-kickers' right through to the first team.

And the girls section is set to follow suit, with plans in place to have a full pathway up and running from under eights through to the current women's first team by January 2025.

As Stuart reflected on the progress made in such a short space of time, he was full of pride and thankful for those who made it possible.

He said: "When I first started my coaching career, my dream was to be part of and supporting a full youth academy set up in our local community and one that everyone could be proud of.

"Two years ago myself, and other coaches joined together with Ardeer Thistle FC and with our first six teams set up the Ardeer Thistle FC Youth Academy.

"Fast forward and we now have 22 teams, providing the full player pathway for the boys section and by January 2025 we will have completed all sections in the girls player pathway from U-8’s through to our Ladies Team under the management of Lauren Thomson.

"The development of the Ardeer Thistle FC Youth Academy has been accomplished because of the dedication of not only myself, but the other coaches, parents and committee members from the Youth Academy and the First Team.

"For us it is all about the kids, seeing them smile, challenging themselves and playing the beautiful game that we all love."