A PASSION FASHIONED IN THE PITS
JUST another Saturday on the road. A tale of a secretary needing FIFA clearance to sign a player for the West of Scotland League Conference A, a meeting with an internet sensation, and a legend of the Juniors still doing his stuff — and that is just the Caddis family.
Craigmark tells other stories, mostly inspiring though ultimately one tinged with deep sadness.
But the Caddis crew first. Ryan Caddis, at 35, may not be quite as mobile as he once was but at this level he stands out starkly. He finishes emphatically on two occasions, delivers passes of precise pace and weight, and generally urges his side to ‘pass to feet’.
He is watched, of course, by his stepson Dylan, 11, and the more famous, Riley, three, whose imitation of his father’s coaching style was placed on social media and drew the crowds.
At Station Park on Saturday, he confined his efforts to trying to score post-match. He was successful. He may be another of the Caddis footballing dynasty that also includes Ryan’s brothers Paul, Liam and Dylan. The latter two have been stalwarts of the Junior scene.
Ryan played with Alloa, Stranraer and Ayr United and gained acclaim as an exceptional Junior with such as Cumnock, Hurlford and Irvine Meadow.
He took over at Craigmark in the summer and is both excited and self-deprecatory about his efforts. ‘A good three points today but the finishing was poor, particularly mine,’ he says.
He is focused on what he wants his team to deliver. ‘I want to play a passing style,’ he says. ‘I want to have possession of the ball and use it well. My assistant, Andy Bell, and I work on this hard in training.’
These efforts were shown to good effect in several moves against the Vics with one goal, in particular, being deftly conjured by swift passing and good movement.
He adds: ‘It’s a different style here but I believe it can work.’
His brother, Liam, is in the dugout and Dylan may be headed out on loan. The story of Paul and Craigmark almost involved FIFA.
‘He is a free agent at the moment,’ says Ryan of the former Celtic, Swindon Town and Birmingham wing-back.
‘We had him here for a couple of training sessions and he played a couple of games for us before going back down south.’
Craigmark thus briefly featured a player who had marked Ronaldinho in a Champions League tie.
His signing caused secretary Dougie Boyle some stress. Boyle, 55, who owns a printing business, was threatened with overwhelming paperwork. ‘I was advised by the SFA at first that I would need FIFA clearance to sign Paul and then we would need his passport. Thankfully, his agent stepped in to clear the path.’
Boyle came to Dalmellington, the east Ayrshire home of the Burntonians, five years ago to watch his son, Ally, who is still keeping the midfield ticking over. ‘I was suckered in,’ he says with a laugh. ‘David Conway, who did so much to keep this club going, asked me to join the committee. He said it would give me a hobby. It certainly has. But I have come to love it.
‘We are slowly but surely getting organised, getting some money, getting a good team on the park. But there is just something about being here that I really like.
‘It might seem strange to say this but there is a romance about it all. I believe this is what football is all about. We make or earn every penny we spend. It can be tough but it is rewarding.’
IN a small hut in a corner of the park, Debra Conway prepares the pies, heats the Bovril, passes out cups of tea to supporters. She is the president of the club. The title comes with duties that are more than ceremonial.
‘I enjoy doing it,’ she says as she bends over the oven to insert another platter of pies. ‘It keeps me busy. It keeps me in contact with others, too. People talk of community clubs but this is a place where people come to every match and I enjoy talking to them.’
David Conway, Debra’s husband, died last October, aged only 54. ‘He died in his bed. He had been in ill health but it was sudden,’ says his wife.
Ten years ago when Craigmark was teetering, David Conway came in to lead the club to safety. ‘He just felt that this club should never die,’ says Debra.
‘He went around businesses trying to find money. He worked at everything to keep this club going.’
He succeeded. His wife still plays her part. ‘I was never going to give it up,’ she says, returning to her pies.
The history of Craigmark Burntonians stretches back to 1929. Its name comes from two villages (Craigmark and Burnton, obviously) but matches are played in Dalmellington.
One worthy, who withholds his name as if it was a tenner I wanted to prise from his grasp, informs me that the team once played ‘on a field up there’, pointing to the hills surrounding Station Park.
The backbone of Craigmark — and arguably of all the glories of Ayrshire Junior football — was the pits. All the supporters of a certain generation talk of living in various villages but all in “miners’ rows”.
Station Park (the station is long gone) holds a physical connection to the work of miners. Alex Knox, a 73-year-old supporter, points to poles and spars and tells how miners helped build the park before heading to a shift down the pits. ‘There was a lot of work that went into creating this. It was important for people,’ he says.
It still is. Kenny McRobert, a retired forestry worker, tends to the ground.
‘I suppose I am here every day,’ he says. ‘I do at least four hours before going back home. You get your reward by seeing the team and hearing the manager saying you have done a good job. That’s what it’s about.’
Robert Douglas, at 79, has a long history with the club. ‘I would come here first with my friends, sneaking in to watch a game,’ he says of a time 70 years ago.
His career — in the RAF and then the police force — took him away from the team for spells. But why does he come back?
‘It brings me back to my roots,’ he says. ‘I wanted to be good enough to play here — that was never the case but I love watching the team.’
The glory days have been fleeting. The most famous day recalled by the unofficial historians gathering outside the club house is the 3-0 defeat in the semi-finals of the Scottish Junior Cup in 1962-63 to eventual winners Irvine Meadow.
It seems a long time ago, I gently interject. ‘Aye,’ says one worthy, ‘but, remember, we won the Cumnock and Doon Valley Cup not so long ago.’ Records suggest this was in 1989-90.
There is a group chuckle at this. The men, women, boys and girls at Station Park are not glory hunters.
It’s the grit, not the glitter, that makes football something of substance.