SAINTS

FOOTBALL

saints sport

PERFORMANCE PROGRAMME

OURVISION

In 2017 the football programme established a club philosophy for how we want our players and sta� to be on and o� the pitch. Our club motto, Our Legacy. Be Remembered. Along with our three core values

of Respect, Passion and Excellence are key in how we help develop our players and sta� as people, whilst the technical aspect of our philosophy enables us to develop players and sta� on the pitch. Our Philosophy

de�nes what we stand for as a club as we strive to improve each season.

Our vision is to o�er one of the best performance football programmes in the UK, to enable our

players and sta� to develop and progress to the best of their abilities and to compete at the highest

level possible year in, year out.

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OURPROGRAMME

The University of St Andrews football programme fosters a healthy relationship between athlete and student. Our players graduate with a world-class education, an exceptional sporting experience and teammates for life.

MEN’S FOOTBALL WEEKLY PROGRAMME1ST TEAM SQUAD- 3x Technical Sessions- 2x Strength & Conditioning Sessions- 1x Tactical / Analysis Session- Individual sessions- 1 x Competitive Match- Additional Games Programme

2ND TEAM - 6TH TEAM- 2 x Technical Sessions- 1 x Competitive Match- Additional Games Programme

DEVELOPMENT SQUAD - 1 × technical session- 1 × games programme

WOMEN’S FOOTBALL WEEKLY PROGRAMME1ST TEAM SQUAD- 3x Technical Sessions- 2x Strength & Conditioning Sessions- 1x Tactical / Analysis Session- Individual sessions- 1 x Competitive Match- Additional Games Programme

2ND TEAM – 3RD TEAM- 2 x Technical Sessions- 1 x Competitive Match- Additional Games Programme

DEVELOPMENT SQUAD - 1 × technical session- 1 × games programme

The performance aspect of the programme o�ers student athletes a professional weekly schedule inclusive of high level coaching in �rst class facilities therefore allowing them to excel in their sporting achievements at the same time of excelling academically.

The programme also provides plenty of activities for students not playing competitive football with the club running recreational football sessions weekly to cater for students of all levels and experience, allowing everyone the chance to enjoy football and develop their ability.

The University of St Andrews Football Club was founded in 1887 and as such, is one of the oldest sports clubs at the University.

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STRIVING FOREXCELLENCE

At Saints Football we aim to provide the very best support and a comprehensive programme of training, allowing our

students to harness their full potential and gain the very best football experience whilst at St Andrews.

Technical team training: 1st Team squads receive three technical team training sessions a week, focusing on skill development and team preparation. Our Men’s squads 2-6 and Women’s squads

2-3 receive technical sessions twice a week.

Football speci�c Strength & Conditioning programme: a dedicated team of full-time accredited S&C coaches, who have regular exposure to the professional game in Scotland, deliver a football

speci�c programme to both 1st Team squads twice a week. The specialised programme is made available to all players in the club.

Individual player reviews: take place throughout the season with each technical coach, in order to aid personal development.

Individual player coaching: is available to players throughout the season to enable them to continue their personal development.

Performance analyst: is carried out throughout the season for players in our performance programme using the latest analysis technology.

Coaching team: the programme is extremely fortunate to be supported by twelve technical coaches, two Strength & Conditioning coaches, a video analyst and a team of physiotherapists.

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CREATINGWINNERS

The coaches deliver our unique playing philosophy within the training programme, to enable our players to develop and compete at the highest level possible, playing in line with the club’s game model and principles.

All our squads compete in the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) championship, with St Andrews currently represented by three Women’s and six Men’s teams.

Our Women’s 1st Team competes in the top Scottish League whilst our Men’s 1st Team is currently playing in tier two.

As the programme has developed, demand from students for more opportunities for competitive play has seen the club grow from 17 female members and 85 male members in 2011, to 80 female members and 150 male members at present.

The Club also enters a Men’s team in the local Kingdom of Fife Amateur Football Association weekly league and cup competitions.

Men’s 1’s, winners of the Scottish Student Sport Cup Final

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DIRECTOR OF FOOTBALL Stuart Milne

The programme is run by the full time Director of Football, Stuart Milne, who has been in post since January 2011.

Stuart was the �rst to hold such a position in UK university sport and came to St Andrews after ten years coaching experience, working in academy programmes at East Fife and Raith Rovers Football Clubs.

Stuart also worked in community programmes for the Scottish FA and Dunfermline Athletic Football Club.

In his time with Saints Football, Stuart has seen the club grow dramatically on and o� the pitch, whilst simultaneously delivering a sustained level of success from a performance perspective. Stuart is a UEFA A and UEFA Youth Elite License certi�ed coach through the Scottish Football Association Coach Education pathway. He is also a level one Coach Education Tutor with the Scottish Football Association. He is supported in the running of the football programme by several dedicated coaches employed to a UEFA certi�ed standard and a student committee.

THEDIRECTOR

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OPPORTUNITIES

The University provides many opportunities for students to gain coaching quali�cations during their time at St Andrews, running subsidised courses each year.

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COACHING AND COACH EDUCATIONOur coach education programme allows students to develop their coaching and teaching skills in various training environments throughout the year.

- Through the Scottish Football Association we are able to run Level 1, 2 and 3 coaching courses in St Andrews aimed at candidates from our student body and local prospective coaches.

- We encourage students to take the next level when appropriate and can o�er considerable subsidies towards course fees.

- Once quali�ed, students can gain experience and develop their skills by coaching in local community projects.

- Our volunteer coaches also have the opportunity to travel to Africa each summer as part of the University’s Volunteer Zambia and Volunteer South Africa programmes.

Many of our student coaches who began as volunteers have now gone on to paid work.

“The pitches at University Park are amongst the best in the country and we’re so lucky to have such perfect surfaces to train on. The pitches, along with the coaches and the strength and conditioning facilities have helped me come a long way as a player.”

– Donovan Mawson, Football Club member 2014-2018

SPORTINGFACILITIES

The grass pitches at University Park are renowned across the country as amongst the �nest in Scotland and have been praised by many professionals who have visited, including players and

sta� from FC Barcelona, Manchester United FC, Manchester City FC and Everton FC. Dundee United FC continues to train at University Park throughout the year, making use of our equipment, football

pitches, Strength & Conditioning sta� and sports science resources. In 2015, the Scottish Football Association (SFA) Coach Education Courses at UEFA accreditation level were held in St Andrews.

As part of the Saints Football programme, players have access to: - Six high quality grass football pitches, played on all year round and maintained

by full-time ground sta� - A full size �oodlit FIFA two-star 3G synthetic pitch

- Our Strength & Conditioning Performance Suite- Gym & �tness suites

- Video analysis and meeting rooms

The University Sports Centre has recently undergone a major £14 million refurbishment and now provides some of the best

sports facilities in Scotland.

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ONCE A

SAINTALUMNIAt Saints Football we are constantly developing and expanding our alumni network. We run annual activities and events to engage with former male and female club members. In April each year, the University hosts an alumni festival weekend. Our alumni network plays a very important role in continuing to help shape what we are as a club and so this weekend is always a highlight as former players and committee members return to St Andrews from all over the world. During this time the club organises a series of events to coincide with our End of Season

Awards Dinner Ball that takes place at a local hotel. In addition to having a strong alumni presence at the dinner it also provides former Saints members:

- An 11 a side tournament or exhibition match against a team of leavers- A 6 a side tournament which includes current players across our programme- Spectating at one of our Amateur Team matches

JOINING THE CLUBAt the beginning of each academic year, the club runs a pre-season camp o�ering new players the opportunity to meet the team and prepare for the season ahead. Throughout Freshers’ Week the University hosts a Sports Fayre, giving prospective players the opportunity to talk to the existing team and sign up to a ‘Give It A Go’ session. Trials are then held and the teams are formed for the upcoming season. Teams are not set in stone and it is always possible for players to progress into higher teams.

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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

The club has a focus on promoting football and doing charitable work both within the University and the local community. Due to

our continued hard work we have been awarded Volunteer Club of the Year by the Athletic Union in 2013, 2014 and 2019, and were

voted Club of the Year in 2013 and 2015.

Floodlight Football: the club provides supervised recreational football sessions on

Saturday evenings for teenagers in and around St Andrews.

Girl’s football sessions and tournaments: in conjunction with the St Andrews and East

Neuk Girls Football Club, female members of Saints Football assist with weekly coaching sessions, aimed at encouraging more girls to get involved, play football and join local clubs.

The club also supports the following charities and campaigns through fundraising initiatives and promotional work:

- Storehouse North East Fife Food Drive - If you care you share Foundation- Bloodwise - International Women’s Day - International Men’s Day- CoppaFeel Campaign - Stonewall Rainbow Laces Campaign

Some of the projects that we are involved in throughout the year include:

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INTERNATIONALENGAGEMENT

Our international volunteering projects in Africa o�er students a wonderful opportunity to add value to their university education, enhance their global awareness and develop their leadership, teaching and coaching skills.

Each year, student coaches from the Football Club travel to Zambia and South Africa as part of the University’s international volunteer programmes. Volunteer South Africa is a project unique to St Andrews, and sees our footballers team up with members from other sports clubs at the University.

The Zambian volunteering initiative has been running for over ten years and is run in partnership with six other UK institutions as part of the Wallace Group.

Both projects present students with an incredible opportunity to experience African culture �rst hand, with our volunteer coaches spending four to eight weeks helping deliver PE sessions, sport speci�c coaching and classroom based sessions in various schools and compounds.

“It was great to see how much of an impact we made in such a short time and the smile on the children’s faces every morning will live long in my memory.” – Elliott Dixon, Stellenbosch Volunteer 2017

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The University of St Andrews Football Club is extremely proud of the partnerships that it continues to develop and maintain.

We have extremely close ties with Dundee United FC who use University Park as their full-time training High Performance Base for their full time male professional players and sta�. We have been partners

for over ten years and we are honoured to host the squad and be a�liated with their team. We are also delighted to have developed a partnership with Dundee United’s Women team in recent years which has

enabled players and coaches from Saints Football to continue their development in club football at the same time as University football.

- Saints Football has a partnership with the Scottish FA who deliver Coach Education Courses at our facilities.- Saints Football host Club Academy Scotland teams on a yearly basis as part of pre season tournament football.

The tournaments have been running since 2011 and showcase some of the best young players in Scotland.- Predominantly through our Floodlit Football Programme, we have links with Fife Council and Madras College.

We work in tandem to promote �oodlit football and other projects in the local community.- Sandy’s Bar has been a partner for the Men’s & Women’s teams respectively in recent times, providing spaces for

club socials and events.

BUILDINGPARTNERSHIPS

Postgraduate scholar, Nakia Graham, in action for Dundee United Women’s Football team

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THE ST ANDREWSE XPERIENCE

For more than 600 years, the University of St Andrews has established a reputation as one of the world’s leading research and teaching centres.

Today, the University o�ers a �exible degree structure based on your choice of subject specialism or research, creating an environment that nurtures inquisitive minds and a culture of sharing.

St Andrews provides a unique location for a very special university. Wherever you walk you are reminded of its rich and colourful history with buildings both ancient & modern. The beautiful unspoilt beaches with fresh clean air and wide expanse of sky provide the perfect antidote to the classroom or laboratory.

Programmes are available at undergraduate and postgraduate level; there are currently over 900 undergraduate degree programmes and over 100 Masters opportunities across our academic Schools. Each School o�ers supervised PhD and MPhil research with input from leading academic sta�.

There are plenty of opportunities to meet the University sta�, both in St Andrews and elsewhere. Whether you have questions about your application or student life, you can do so no matter where you live.

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GET INTOUCH

FIND US ONLINE AT:E: football@st-andrews.ac.uk

www.saints-football.com @UStAFootball

Stuart MilneDirector of Football

University Sports CentreSt Leonards Road St Andrews, Fife

KY16 9DY, ScotlandUnited Kingdom

E: sam25@st-andrews.ac.ukT: +44(0)1334 462190

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Saints SportUniversity Sports CentreSt Leonards RoadFife, Scotland, UKKY16 9DY

www.st-andrews.ac.uk/sportE: sport@st-andrews.ac.ukT: +44(0)1334 462190

@SaintsSport

Produced by Print & Design, University of St Andrews, April 2020.Printed by Winter & Simpson on an FSC® certif ied paper.Photography by Craig Doyle, Fergus Knight and Paige Onouye. The University of St Andrews is a charity registered in Scotland, No: SC013532.