  Around 20 Aces turned up at Airdrie Leisure Centre on Wednesday 7th April to take part in the first ever Aces Training Event with the Airdrie first team squad. All the Aces present had 8 or more stamps on their Match Passport, achieved by attending Home matches, which entitled them to take part in a training session with Kenny Black, Jimmy Boyle and the players.
There were no trips to Pubs or Night Clubs for the Aces on the evening before the training session as they followed a strict footballer’s routine of an early night, a long lie in and light breakfast before being transported to the Leisure Centre at 11:30am for the serious work to begin. After a short warm-up at the pitch side, which entailed much running and jumping around (with their parents running after them), they watched the players taking part in a bounce match followed by a game of three touch football. Shortly after 12:00, manager Kenny Black summoned the Aces onto the park, gave them a ball and allocated each one to a player, and training commenced. It was evident at this point that many of the Aces knew a thing or two about football and they all participated in a range of activities from passing to keepie-uppie, head tennis, shooting and a few other activities. It was reported that some were even seen practising their goal celebrations. The next activity saw goalkeeper, Stephen Robertson facing a penalty shoot-out that he has never faced before - 15 Aces all shooting at him at the same time. And you know what…he never saved a single one of them. Yes, the Aces had all been watching Paul Lovering slotting home penalties over the past two games and every one of them scored with poor Robbo being left picking balls out the back of the net. Penalty kick hero and Captain, Paul Lovering then fancied his chances in goals, as he then faced the Aces, but he too was left with a sore back as he bent down to pick the balls out the back of the net. Then followed a bounce game between two teams made up of a mixture of Aces and players, one led by Manager, Kenny Black and the other by Captain, Paul Lovering. During the game, it was often difficult to tell the difference between the players and the Aces as great skill was on display from both sets of players, however, one keen observer was able to spot one subtle difference between them…the players were wearing tights under their shorts…..and none of them were girls!!! I wonder if this will start a trend for future Aces events. After a keenly fought game the match ended at 5-5, which meant that a dreaded penalty shoot-out had to take place. Both goalkeepers, Kenny Black & Paul Lovering, had pulled off tremendous saves during the game but would they be able to withstand the pressure of facing the Aces powerful strikes from just 5 metres? Well, the answer was a resounding NO. And I got the impression that Airdrie Physio, Michael McLaughlan, was a busy man after the game sorting out Kenny and Pauls aching backs as the Aces penalty takers hit the back of the net with impressive regularity. At the end of this, the training session finished and all the Aces and players left the field to a huge round of applause from those watching. I think I can safely say that every single Ace had the time of their life. The training session with the players was a huge success and the Supporters’ Trust owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Club Directors, Kenny and Jimmy and all the players for being so encouraging and supportive of the boys and girls of the Aces.
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