St Mirren Chief Executive, Tony Fitzpatrick and Head of the Youth Academy, Allan McManus were recently invited over to Navan in Ireland by inspiresport's Jed McCabe to host a masterclass for boys and girls of the North Eastern Counties Schoolboy/girl League (NECSL) elite squads on Sunday.
Representing the Buddies, Tony and Allan held a coaching session, presentation and Q&A to 40 NECSL coaches on the philosophy of the St Mirren Youth Academy and how Irish clubs can bring their teams to experience a tour to train and play at The Buddies Academy at Ralston.
Already 40 girls from the elite squad have pre-booked to visit St Mirren in March 2019.
Jed McCabe from inspiresport said: "I am lucky to work with some of the world’s top clubs and can honestly say Tony and Allan put on a show up there with the very best.
"Their love for the club shone through and that is something you can’t put a price on.
"My job is to bring groups from outside Scotland to St Mirren as I feel they will enjoy the attention to detail and the friendly family atmosphere at the club."
St Mirren’s partners inspiresport have worldwide connections and due to the success of Sunday’s event they plan to roll out more across the UK and Ireland that will put St Mirren front of mind to potential groups as well as having contacts who will keep them informed of potential players.
Paddy O’Reilly from NECSL said: "Jed from inspiresport, who I have known for a long time, informed me that he had the chance to bring Tony and Allan from St Mirren FC and I set about inviting our elite boys and girls as well as 40 coaches from different clubs in the NECSL.
"I have high standards and on the back of Jed’s recommendation was expecting a good show.
"Even my expectations were exceeded and I was absolutely delighted to witness first-hand the professionalism of Tony and Allan coupled by their passion for St. Mirren which rubbed off on the players and coaches alike. Many NECSL teams will be coming to St. Mirren Academy in the coming months and years."
Tony Fitzpatrick said: "Going to Ireland in conjunction with our partners inspiresport is a huge opportunity for the club as it gives us a platform to engage with a larger audience and encourage them to visit St. Mirren as well as expanding our scouting network."
