Kieran McMaster, Young Coach of the Year

That the Parliament congratulates Kieran McMaster, a sports mentor with East Ayrshire Council and a coach at the North West Amateur Boxing Club in Kilmarnock, on being named sportscotland Young Coach of the Year at the Coaching, Officiating and Volunteering Awards 2019, which were held at Glasgow City Chambers; recognises that 15 winners were selected from more than 350 nominations covering 47 sports and 32 local authorities; further recognises that Kieran, who is an accomplished boxer, works tirelessly to help the next generation of boxers in his community; acknowledges that Kieran has worked with some of the most vulnerable young people in East Ayrshire, using boxing as a tool to build meaningful bonds to allow challenging conversations to take place on topics such as mental health, drugs and alcohol; further acknowledges that these relationships have seen the young people that he mentors flourish, not only in the boxing ring but, for many, attendance at school has also increased; commends Kieran on this fantastic achievement, and wishes him further success in the future.