TWO Greenock footballers who have amassed more than 600 professional appearances between them have gone back to where it all began as they look to nurture the next generation of talent.
Former Aberdeen, Dundee and Arbroath midfielder Nicky Low teamed up with former St Mirren and Brechin City star Craig Molloy to deliver six weeks’ worth of coaching over the course of the summer holidays.
However, the duo are just grateful to have the chance to help the next generation of stars who hope to have a career in the game that has been so good to both.
The summer camp saw almost 50 kids a day putting their skills to the test within the confines of Lady Octavia Leisure Centre, which is just a stone’s throw from where both Low and Molloy took their first steps in the game.
Low started his footballing journey with East End Boys Club over 20 years ago and Molloy has watched his own children learn their trade at the youth outfit in recent years.
This has been a full-circle moment for the pair, who have enjoyed giving the youngsters a place to take their game to a new level.
But the duo get the most satisfaction from seeing their young charges' overall development on and off the park.
Former Dons midfielder Nicky told the Tele: “It’s been brilliant to be back, but it’s been even better seeing all the kids come out and keep coming back.
"That means they’ve enjoyed it and to be fair that’s what football’s all about and I think people forget that at times.
“We could have gone to a lot of other places to run this. We could have gone to the Battery Park, we could have gone down to Port Glasgow, but we chose Lady Octavia because this is where we grew up.
“I’ve got my top that I wore for Aberdeen up on the wall next door, there’s a few others in there who have gone and made it as well but it’s a nice full circle moment.
“It’s nice to give back, football has given me a really good life up until now so if I can give back and help the people that we coach, if we can play a small part in helping them get there, then it’s job done.”
Former Brechin man Molloy said it was important for the duo to make the camps as available and inclusive for everyone.
Thursday’s final session saw kids treated with a festival of football and pizza as they put their skills to the test in a World Cup tournament.
Parents were charged just £5 a head for the two hour session and Craig believes that football should remain inclusive for everyone.
READ MORE: Former Morton coach welcomes 20 kids to summer camp
He added: “It’s been excellent. It’s good to see similar faces joining the new ones who come along.
“We have been involved in football for our whole lives, Nicky still plays whilst I don’t anymore but it’s about helping the next generation when your legs get that bit older.
“I live locally, my kids play for East End United, and there’s a lot of kids that we see who come from there or even as far as Wemyss Bay and Bishopton.
“It’s not a job, it’s a passion, and it’s a pleasure to see the kids enjoying it.
“Between the two classes we’ve seen around 50 a day come. If you add it up, we could be having an influence on around 10 or so youth teams across the area on footfall alone.
“You just need to enjoy it, which we do, and it gets the best out the kids.”
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