Ayrshire teen wins prestigious sportscotland national volunteering award

A Stevenston teen has been recognised for his efforts as a sport volunteer by winning a prestigious national award.

Connor Paterson was been crowned School Sport Volunteer of the Year at the sportscotland Coaching, Officiating and Volunteering (COV) Awards 2024.

The 19-year-old Active Schools volunteer has been volunteering with North Ayrshire Active Schools since he was in S3. In that time, Connor has gone from helping out with the football team in his old primary school to being a sought after coach throughout the area.

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He used sport and leadership opportunities to re-engage with education and improve his own mental health, and he’s now helping others do the same.

Connor has done a lot of one-to-one work with pupils who have displayed challenging behaviour, having a big impact on the pupils with some being integrated back into the school football team and showing better behaviour in class.

The teen volunteers 15-20 hours every week to help improve sporting opportunities for school pupils across North Ayrshire. He leads coaching in lunch and after school clubs in Ardeer, Glencairn and Mayfield primary schools and also supports some teachers during curriculum time to deliver quality PE sessions.

A a keen bowler, Connor been part of sportscotland’s Young People’s Sport Panel for the last two years.

The panel provides a national platform to represent the voice of young people across Scotland.

Connor said: “I’ve loved sport from a really young age, as soon as I got involved in coaching it’s become life, really. I’ve loved it, every part of it.

“I always make sure my sessions are structed and well planned. The main point for me is if they come in happy, I want to make sure they leave even happier.”

The sportscotland COV Awards celebrated the people who make sport happen in communities across Scotland, who inspire and enhance the lives of others and often commit their own time to help make sport accessible to as many people as possible

Forbes Dunlop, Chief Executive of sportscotland, said: “Every year the Coaching, Officiating and Volunteering Awards give us the opportunity to celebrate the people across the country who have given so much of their time and dedication to Scottish sport and are making such an impact on their sport and their community.

“Across Scotland, there are thousands of people who recognise the impact that sport can have on us all. The people we are celebrating have taken that recognition and, with a huge amount of hard work, helped to change people’s lives.

“Individuals like Connor have dedicated a huge amount of their time to helping others realise their sporting potential.”