PLAYERS WERE HANGING BY THEIR HANDS FROM RAFTERS . . . ’BURN’S INGENIOUS SOLUTION TO HELP PLAYERS GROW

The Butterburn Youth Club photo, featured o n November 11, instigated quite a bit of interest.

Several readers, while not quite actually contributing to the column, spoke in glowing terms of some of the coaches at the club over the years, particularly Baxter Mitchell and Dave McHardy.

Their “day” jobs were truant officers — or “plunkies”, as they were locally known.

And both men became legends in their own right for the decades of dedication given to the club.

It was in 1965 — as a 14-year-old — that I was approached by Dave McHardy on a Saturday morning after playing for my school team Morgan Academy against Harris Academy at a very windy Riverside.

This game may have been just a friendly as I recall Morgan and Harris didn’t have official football teams in their first year playing in the Dundee Schools Leagues — and maybe another year beyond that.

I knew of the Butterburn club as several older fellow-pupils at Morgan were already players with the club, playing in an age group a year ahead. These included Dave McNicoll, Graeme Smith, Stan Martin, Neil Wilson and John Summers.

After that particular Riverside game, as I changed behind the goal (very little use of dressing-rooms in those days), Mr McHardy identified himself and invited me along to Butterburn’s training.

At that time, this took place on a Thursday evening at Butterburn School in Strathmartine Road, at the junction with Canning Street.

The irony is that, in the game he had just watched, I had just been given the runaround by a Harris player.

However, this ‘wizard of dribble’ was also to receive the same invitation, and he was to become my team-mate at ‘The Burn’ — Derek Currie, whom I believe now lives out Longforgan way.

Dave said he had watched me for weeks and was kind enough to comment that any player would have wilted against Derek’s amazing dribbling skills.

There were just two boys’ leagues in operation in those days — U/16 and U/18 — run by the now-defunct Angus Amateur FA.

Butterburn’s policy was to field two teams in each division — with U/15 and U/17 sides also operating.

Their view was that playing against older players — yes, the year was a massive difference — set you up for the following year.

When I arrived at the club, Gordon Gallagher — an avid Rangers fan — looked after the U/15 team, while Dave was in charge of the U/16s.

Alex (or is it Davie?) Stewart and Tam McCabe were at the helm of the U/17 side, with Baxter monitoring the U/18 outfit.

The training was tough, and it was not uncommon to be running up and down the wide staircases of the school, and sprinting along the corridor — something head teachers always frowned upon during school hours!

There was also the runs around the bottom of The Law, hard work going uphill, but a breeze coming back down.

Butterburn also had a unit in Gussie Park, an old building which had a number of exercise equipment, and we seemed to go there only when the school was closed.

The equipment included weights, medicine balls and chest-expanders and the like — all very hi-tech for those days.

My abiding memory of the Gussie Park training sessions is of two team-mates — and great friends — hanging by their hands from the rafters with weights on their feet.

Nippy striker Billy Christison and winger Colin “Tush” McDonald weren’t the biggest of players, so, in an effort to add an inch or so to their height, there they were hanging from the rafters.

It was always a great source of amusement to us of the “taller” variety, especially when, more often than not, they came down with splinters in their hands.

I don’t really know if it worked or not and perhaps Billy, now living in Sweden, and Tush, in New Zealand for the past 30-odd years, can come back to me with their own views.

All in all, I spent around three years at the club and was well looked after.

Dave McHardy also served the Boys Brigade movement with great distinction for decades.