Last month we told the story of how local school football volunteer Jon Morrison picked up the ‘Best Volunteer in Schools Football’ award at the Scottish FA North Region Grassroots Awards.
The Scottish FA Grassroots Awards are sponsored by the Sunday Mail and McDonalds and aim to recognise and reward people across the country that make a difference to grassroots football in their local community.
Donald Smith was another person to be recognised at the award ceremony and was presented with his award at half-time during The Dons match against KF Shkendija at Pittodrie. Donald picked up the award for Best Volunteer in Youth Football for his work with Cove Youth FC.
Donald has been involved with the club since day one, when it was known as Cove Boys Club and is extremely well known and respected in Cove for his football involvement. Although some know him from his time as a player with Highland League side Cove Rangers or local amateur team Cove Thistle, it is for his coaching endeavours that Donald is most well-known.
Having started out as a coach Donald went on to become Club Chairman, a role that he has held for some time. In his role as Chairman Donald has strived to improve all aspects of the club and follow the pathway to becoming a fully-fledged Community Club.
As a result of Donald’s drive and determination Cove Youth FC have developed a reputation as one of the most respected grassroots clubs in the North East. Cove Youth’s reputation extends beyond this region however as they were used as a pilot club in Scotland’s McDonalds Community Club Project.
Under Donald’s guidance Cove Youth also became the first Community Quality Mark grassroots club in Aberdeen. This has been achieved by ensuring that there is now an adult pathway for all players at Cove Youth FC to continue their football beyond youth level.
In addition to this Donald has also been instrumental in setting up a dedicated part of the club for girls to play their football with sides operating over two age groups. Scottish FA Club Development Officer Liam Duncan worked alongside Donald during the McDonalds Community Club Project, and is delighted for Donald to get recognition for the hard work he does.
"Donald has been involved with Cove since the start, and has been instrumental in the increase of football participation in the area. Donald is an excellent example not only locally, but nationally as someone who has dedicated years of their own time for the love of the game, and to get children playing football. This award is excellent recognition for Donald and Cove, which is long overdue. Becoming the first grassroots club from Aberdeen City to gain the Community Quality Mark award was a massive achievement for Cove, and Donald played a massive part in making that happen. "
