Kieran made it three awards out of three last night after winning Young Coach of the Year at the UK Sports Awards hosted by Princess Anne in London.

Just last week Kieran won Young Coach of the Year at the Sport Scotland Awards in Glasgow. He also won Junior Coach of the Year at the Aberdeen Sport Awards 2016 earlier in the Year.

Kieran Henderson is a 17-year volunteer football coach with Aberdeen FC Community Trust (AFCCT). So far, he has completed over 500 hours of volunteering through AFCCT and his development, commitment and desire to help others through football is nothing short of inspirational.

Kieran lives with Autism and faces different challenges every day to progress his career as a young coach. As a young person living with autism, Kieran has never once let his condition affect him or stop him getting to where he is today. He is an inspiration to other young people who aspire to be a coach. He motivates and engages young people through coaching with his energy, enthusiasm and desire to be the best coach he can be His commitment to giving back to those who have helped him is something to be proud of for someone so young in their career.

Since he started volunteering with AFCCT just over one year ago, Kieran has now completed his 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 SFA ‘early touches’ coaching badges. These qualifications alone show the development from Kieran as a coach over the last 12 months. Kieran coaches regularly throughout the week, helping young people from all over the city improve their football skills through helping at AFCCT’s Football Centre’s.

Kieran has also completed Dementia Friends training and volunteers his help at AFCCT’s Dementia Friendly programmes, taking part in Health Walks and TechnoGym sessions to support those affected by dementia stay involved in the community as well as keeping fit and healthy.

Furthermore, Kieran gives up his summer holidays to volunteer at AFCCT’s Soccer School holiday programme, where he works as part of a team coaching over 400 young people over summer. Kieran also coaches voluntarily at 3 AFCCT Football Centres based in Sheddocksley and Aberdeen Sports Village. He also volunteers at the AFCCT Equity Centre where he works with young people from the local Mosque to help use football as a way of supporting the Muslim Community in Aberdeen access footballing opportunities around their cultural commitments.

Kieran also wants to give something back to his local community and does so by volunteering to coach his local football team in Northfield, North Star Under 10s. Northfield is an area he grew up in and attended Northfield Academy. He has seen first-hand the challenges of being a youngster living in this type urban setting and how difficult it can be for young people to access coaching opportunities. Kieran works with over 20 young people per year through North Star and has developed as a young coach through volunteering opportunities and his desire to improve as a coach. Kieran’s main motivation to be a coach is to “help inspire others to become as good a player as they can be”.

Kieran has now completed his First Aid qualification and has enrolled in the North-East College Level 4 Sport and Fitness course to gain further knowledge and qualifications. All of the above show a young man who has overcome exceptional challenges to be successful and continues to strive for further success.
Congratulations Kieran from everyone at Aberdeen FC Community Trust.