New Kingussie shinty captains have been unveiled at the Dell
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Calum Grant has been named as the new Kingussie first team captain.
The Scotland under-21 cap takes over captaincy duties from James Falconer who led the side to three out of four trophies last season.
Kingussie manager Iain Borthwick said: “In many ways, Calum was the obvious choice.
“The only complication surrounded whether he had to return to Australia through his work as he did last year.
“That would have been a problem. I had a sit-down with Calum, and I was absolutely delighted when I heard news of his job change which means he won’t have to go abroad.”
Borthwick was referring to a change of role meaning the energy storage engineer will work within the UK this year.
Borthwick added: “Calum has been excellent for us. Even when he can’t make training, he’s always on Strava and he’s a fit lad. He’s also a hard tackler, he wins the 50-50 challenges and he’s never beaten.
“Even when players think they have got away from him, he gets back to tackle.
“Calum’s a quiet lad though so he might need to work on that aspect.”
Grant said: “It is a huge honour to be selected as the captain of Kingussie Camanachd Club.
“I am very fortunate to play with such a talented group of boys and to be competing at the highest level in the sport.
“Following on from James Falconer will be a hard task as he was a great captain last year and he led by example.”
It has been a difficult period for the Kingussie squad following the passing of wing centre Calum Mackintosh.
The squad will wear especially embossed shirts next season with a newly designed emblem on the sleeve to remember their teammate and friend.
Calum Grant said: “There is no doubt it has been a very hard few months for everyone associated with the club.
“However, looking ahead, the tragic passing of Cal has brought us all closer as a team, and we are determined to build on the success of last season with the memory of Cal pushing us on in every game.”
Meantime Sam Thain is the choice as skipper of new Kingussie second team co- managers John Gibson and Russell Jones.
Gibson said: “Sam is an aspiring first team player who is ultimately looking to push into the senior squad over the next couple of years.
“He’s a strong, fit, athletic player who hits the ball well on both sides.
“Sam’s dedicated and shows a good attitude.
“We have high hopes for him.”
