Cumbernauld side Tryst ‘77 scoop up a handful of handball awards

Alan Govan took the award for Coach of the Year for Juniors while Gary McCafferty lifted the Coach of the Year for Seniors.

Alannah Thomas and Craig Yule won the under-16 girls and boys players of the year award respectively and Tryst ‘77 was also named Junior Club of the Year

Alan has played and coached at Tryst for more than 30 years. He has also played for and coached the Scotland National Team and age group Great Britain Teams and currently coaches the Tryst ‘77 and Scotland under-16 boys’ teams.

Gary is the current coach of the club’s womens team and the mens team. The women recently won the League and Cup double and the men were runners-up in both competitions. Until recently Gary was coach of the Scotland U-16 Girls and GB U-19 women.

Alannah and Craig have both had excellent first seasons in the U-16 league and were key players as Tryst ’77 won their respective league titles.

In the first of what is hoped will become an annual occasion, the association wanted to recognise and reward the dedication, commitment and contribution that volunteers willingly and unselfishly provide in the ongoing development and progression of handball at all levels.

In addition there was a desire to acknowledge the achievements and performances of the players and clubs.

The awards are called the Cooper-Neilson Awards, named after Tom Cooper and Stephen Neilson - two individuals who have made significant contributions to the sport of handball over a number of years.

Tom Cooper, who sadly passed away earlier this year, was the original general secretary of the Scottish Handball Association and was a major driving force in the development of handball in Scotland in its early years.

Stephen Neilson is the current chief operating officer but for many years has immersed himself in countless roles and functions to ensure that handball obtains a healthy and progressive position in the sporting landscape within Scotland, the UK and more recently Europe.

He is also originally from Cumbernauld and his family still stay in the town. He played for Tryst ’77 for more than 10 years and also coached the senior men’s team.

The club would like to thank all five of its winners for their efforts over the season and also previous seasons and congratulate them on their well deserved awards.