Hello there, I’m Andrew MacKenzie, the new SDS Regional Manager for the West of Scotland. I’ll be covering the areas of Glasgow City, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, East Dunbartonshire, West Dunbartonshire, Inverclyde and Argyle & Bute. I’m looking forward to the role and being part of the SDS family to build on the progress and good work that Lori Ure has done.
A bit about my past:
I went to UWS to study Sports Development and achieved a Bachelor of Arts Degree. During this time I was volunteering for South Lanarkshire Leisure & Culture with Active Schools and the Community Sport Hubs. I built my coaching skills and experience to then be a paid coach for SLLC. I wanted to be in Sport Development and I got my first opportunity as a Club Development Officer for The Lady Rocks Basketball Club in Cumbernauld in November 2015. I was with the Lady Rocks till December 2016 and helped develop grassroots basketball in Cumbernauld and Coatbridge. This is an inclusive club that welcomed all abilities and levels to try out basketball, as well as coach education and promotion.
I then moved to Aberdeen to be the BadmintonScotland Grampian Regional Development Officer in January 2017 and was with the organisation for two and a half years, and had a great experience. I worked in the area to support and develop clubs, pathways, competitions, increased coach education, and bring more people into the sport. I helped set up a Inclusive Badminton Club in Aberdeen; this club was for disabilities of all ages, levels and abilities, mixing with mainstream participants so everyone is able to play and learn. The club has seen players attending National events and winning competitions, while one player has been entering International competitions to boost their skills and development.
Now I’m with SDS and looking forward to my next adventure and putting all my effort to help the volunteers, coaches, partners and my team to develop disability sport.
Gavin Macleod, CEO said: “We are delighted to welcome Andrew to the Scottish Disability Sport team and look forward to working with him.”