PICTURE SPECIAL: Inverness Caley Thistle Women's youth academy celebrates a season of success and stunning progress at city football awards ceremony
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The sheer growth of girls’ and women’s football in the Highlands was showcased at a glittering awards ceremony on Sunday evening.
Celebrating the young heroes of Inverness Caley Thistle Women’s FC youth academy set-up, more than 300 people – including more than 150 girls aged from eight to 18 – attended the event at the Kingsmills Hotel.
The 2023 season brought league and cup success for the club at different age levels, with those feats and individual success stories within the teams recognised on the night.
The big screen showed footage of some of the best – and some of the funniest – team moments from the season including great goals, thrills and spills.
In all, it was a trophy-laden campaign with the under 18s crowned Cross Regional North/East league champions.
There was north cup-winning success for the under 14 Reds and under 14 North sides, while the under 16s team reached the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup.
Paul Beaton, the head of the youth academy, admitted he was blown away by the evening and the girls’ great progress and endeavours.
“It was a fantastic turnout for our club and a great showcase for the strides girls’ football is taking in our area,” he said.
“We now have more than 150 young players involved in our academy, which has grown to double the size it was when we first were taken into the Caley Thistle fold.
“It was a very entertaining night celebrating the growth of our foundation level age groups, the under 8s, 10s and 12s, through to the successes of our older age groups with league and cup wins.
“I think it was also a real eye opener to our parents to see the pathway we now have in place for their children to aspire to, as well as to myself and our coaches.
“We are all so involved with our own squads throughout the year, it really hit home seeing the professionally put together overview brought together in video and pictures from our talented media team.
“It reaffirmed our belief in what we are building here, really and underlined the massive success we have achieved in such a short space of time.
“We have a fantastic group of coaches, volunteer helpers, social media, and media teams.
“They do such a professional job and they are all volunteers, and I’m so grateful to them all for their time, experience and support
“We are here to put girls and women’s football in the spotlight not just locally, but to represent the area nationally. We will continue to keep challenging our girls to reach their fullest potential."
There was also a special 'above and beyond' award for Senna Petrie who overcame self-doubt and emotion to take – and score – a crucial penalty in a dramatic cup final shoot-out for the Under 14 Reds as they defeated rivals Ross County.
Full list of ICTWFC youth academy award winners for 2023:
Reds Under 14s
Player of the Year: Eliza Higgins
Players Player of the Year: Josie O'Brien
Most Improved Player of the Year: Lily Kerr
Top Goalscorer: Jessica Gibson
Blues Under 14s
Player of the Year: Zoe Dowden
Players Player of the Year: Ria Thompson
Most Improved Player of the Year: Layla Mackenzie
Top Goalscorer: Ruby Ross
North Under 14s
Player of the Year: Freya Hall
Players Player of the Year: Freya Hall
Most Improved Player of the Year: Freya Soden
Top Goalscorer: Kelsey Benjamin
Under 16s
Player of the Year: Rose Fraser
Players Player of the Year: Erin Campbell
Most Improved Player of the Year: Lauren Smith
Top Goalscorer: Erin Campbell
Under 18s
Player of the Year: Helen Urquhart
Players Player of the Year: Carys Hollands
Most Improved Player of the Year: Zoe Rankin
Top Goalscorer: Connie Bell
