Partnership in action

With Dundee FC being based at the Gardyne Campus it offers students the opportunities to engage with players and staff from the club. The football club also wants to engage with students and build relationships.

The club’s commitment to this was seen in action last week when Sport and Fitness Students were given the opportunity to attend a talk delivered by Gordon Strachan (Football Coordinator of Dundee FC) and Greg Fenton (General Manager of Dundee FC).

Greg a former Sports Student at the College himself, shared about his path and experience. He previously sat where the students were and at that time did not know what path to go down. “I just had to push doors and see which ones opened. When I was 18 I would never have guessed that I would be in the role that I am now in, there are lots of different paths.”

Gordon Strachan spoke about challenges and resilience and the importance of having a good support unit around you. He highlighted to the students that whatever path they go down there will be challenges and shared about several challenges he had faced. “There are no shortcuts to being successful, there is also disappointment and challenges on the journey but don’t be scared of this, embrace it and turn it into an energy that can make you move forward.”

Reece Hurl HND Coaching student, shared afterward, “I loved hearing from Gordon Strachan who has been through it all, playing, coaching, and now coordinator, hearing his stories and advice was fantastic.”

Connor Scott also studying the same course, commented, “It was inspiring hearing from Greg, hearing that there are many different ways to be involved in sport, it really encourages you to keep going.”

Students in attendance were informed of the different volunteering opportunities available to them through Dundee Football Club with Greg Fenton saying, “In terms of the partnership it is all about getting the students on board. We want to utilise the placements we offer within the community trust, the academy, and the football club. There are many opportunities to coach a variety of ages as well as getting involved with other programmes that we run. There are a lot more than coaching opportunities for students.”

Caryn Gibson, Business Partnership Manager for Dundee and Angus College, spoke about why they wanted to give students the opportunity to hear from Gordon and Greg. “We are at a really pivotal part of the year for our students, January is a tough time, so we wanted to inspire and motivate them to keep going with their studies. There were three key takeaways for students from the talk. Firstly, surround yourself with great people, they will keep you motivated to keep going. Secondly, only you can do it, you have to keep going when times get tough. Lastly, There are a wide variety of careers out there, there is a whole industry behind sports and what they are currently learning will link into many different careers, it doesn’t have to be the physical side of sport.”