St Mirren Women captain Karen McCabe insists the “future is bright” for the Buddies as the academy’s numbers continue to swell.
The St Mirren Girls Academy held their annual awards night at the SMiSA Stadium on Wednesday night.
Skipper McCabe attended to help hand out the trophies to the under-14 and under-16 players, who were joined on the evening by their families.
And she believes the success of the academy will help the Saints keep their best prospects in Paisley, which in turn will help the women’s team further down the line.
McCabe told Renfrewshire Live Sport: “The girls all had a great night and it was wonderful for their families to come along.
“It was nice for the event to be at the ground too because it’s important they see they are part of the club and welcomed by the club.
“We’ve got a lot of full squads now, we’re not scraping by which is fantastic. That just wasn’t an option when I was their age, you just got lumped in with whoever and often were playing with girls a lot older, which was tough.
“It’s great these girls can compete with players their own age and some of the best under-16 players have also been coming to train with the senior team.
“That shows them the pathway is there for them to move from under-14 all the way through to the top.
“The under-14s see the older girls coming to train with us as well, so it all filters through.
“The main benefit of that is that we will keep our best players here, which means the future is bright for the entire club.”
Under-16 prospect Caitie Mackenzie, who picked up the players’ player of the year award, is one of the academy stars that’s trained with the senior squad in recent weeks.
She is determined to keep improving and believes she can keep developing by staying with the Saints.
Mackenzie said: “I started playing with St Mirren when I was 12 and then at under-14 level.
“I got to play with the women’s team last season to support them and at the end of this season I have been training with them.
“I love being at the team because I have got to meet a bunch of girls I wouldn’t probably have met.
“They have always pushed me to be the best player I can be. Even though we have hard times it’s brought us closer together and made us realise how much we love playing football together.
“I know I can have the opportunity to play with the women’s team here and I want to stay with the club. I have come through the age groups and want to keep moving up the pathway. I have really enjoyed getting the opportunity to train and play with the women’s team.
“It’s a much higher standard but it pushes me to be a better player and that excites me. I want to be the best I can be and I feel I can do that here.”
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