Football Stories: Toni

Toni – Ticketing Volunteer

I volunteer at a team local to me in the East of Scotland League and while I moan about it consistently, I didn’t realise how much I would miss it.  I volunteer as the team pitch side first aider and Sports Therapist.  I have been with the club for 18 months and now also help with the media side of things, helping with sponsorship and fundraising.  I wanted to share with you the proudest moments at the club as they have come in recent weeks. Obviously with football coming to a sudden halt, it was difficult to prepare the players for this and put plans in place regarding fitness and club income.  The boys have steadily been doing their bit to keep fit this whole time, but they came up with the idea to cycle or run to raise funds for the club and our local NHS board.  It was agreed, the club would cycle or run one mile for each person who sadly lost their life due to confirmed coronavirus in Scotland.  While we all miss football massively, in the grand scheme of things football is quite small and we felt it important to remember that each of those lives lost are more than a statistic.  We cycled and ran over 2400 miles in two weeks and raised over £800.)

As the club’s mental health first aider I can see what a difficult time this is for everyone who is missing the routine of normal life and human interaction.  I have never been prouder of my club for the way that they have pulled together even when they are apart. The people who make up  football teams are generally ever evolving but I believe in years to come we will ask ‘what club were you at during the coronavirus pandemic?’ and I know that I for one will be proud to say I was at Ormiston, with the people I was with and there is no place I’d rather be.