We are delighted to announce that Troon F.C. Youth Academy have tonight applied to join the brand new West of Scotland Football League‘s Under 20 Development League for the forthcoming league season.

Overseen by our Head of Youth Jamie McCulloch, under the watchful eye of our First Team Manager Jimmy Kirkwood, our current Under-19 side will make the step-up to Development side status and will take part in the new Friday night league.

Currently run under the banner of the Lowland League, the development league has been operating successfully for a few years now, but with the addition of new senior teams into the new WOSFL a new West-based League will begin this coming season – with Troon looking to be at the forefront.

Manager Kirkwood was enthusiastic about this latest development.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for our youth players. We recognised the gap between the youth leagues and the first team was widening in recent years & that jump was a tough one for some of the younger players to make.

This is the ideal bridge between the two; it will give the players a real chance to develop to their full potential & with the addition of two over-age players in each game as well, and on both sides obviously, the players will get a proper experience and be ready for first team football when their chance comes around. And we’ve always shown at Troon that youth will get their chance. Todd, Cammie, Clark & Glen all had competitive first team experience last season, and a fair few others in friendly matches, so the pathway is there.”

The players in our development squad will now be signed players with our first team and, with the implementation of 7 substitutes for this season in first team games, supporters should be seeing more youth players being integrated in the first team equation as the season progresses.

Player Pathway

Since our Academy was started in 2013, we have blossomed into a genuine player pathway which has already seen numerous players climbing through the ranks. Ross McCrea, Ewan Bain, Morgan Brown, Mark Curragh and Dean Fulton are just some of the players to have progressed through the ranks & with a promising list of players working their way through our system, more will surely follow.

We offer sides all the way from our 2015s right through to our Under 17s, Under 19s and our new Development Squad, and discussions have taken place regarding beginning a new Ladies team in the near future. We have top quality coaches & a really forward-thinking ethos to play exciting football all across the board, a style that will have smiles on the kid’s faces.

With continual investment in facilities, the Troon F.C. Youth Academy are looking to position themselves as the best alternative to Pro-Youth football in Ayrshire.

Everyone involved is very excited for the future of our club, and the next stage of Friday night football, playing against top quality opposition, is the final piece of the jigsaw.

Get in Touch!

If you would like to hear more about the Academy, or your child would be interested in joining, please contact Jamie on: academy@troonfootballclub.co.uk