A volunteer who has been giving up his spare time to coach Dumbarton kids’ sports for over two decades admits he gets a ‘buzz’ from helping youngsters get active.

Douglas MacKechnie, 40, - who was a professional tennis coach in a previous life - has volunteered with West Dunbartonshire Council’s Active Schools programme for 20 years both as a parent and a tennis coach.

“Duggie” - as he is well-known throughout the area - plays and coaches at Kirktonhill Tennis Club in Dumbarton and has shared his expertise with hundreds of local pupils over the years.

During the last school year, he has volunteered in not just one but two local schools, delivering basketball and tennis clubs to St Michael’s Primary and a tennis club at Renton Primary.

And, speaking to the Reporter as part of Volunteers Week, the popular coach explained: “Some kids in St Michael’s, they don’t really get much opportunity to play much sport.

“Some do, we have a diverse group there, so we have some kids whose parents are doctors or teachers, and they can afford to do the sports.

“But a lot of kids, who grow up in a deprived area of Dumbarton, can’t afford to do the sports.

“So, I’ll go in there and do the sport for them.”

Douglas revealed he got into tennis coaching as an 18-year-old after the club he was a player at suddenly had no coach, forcing him to go for his badges to fill a gap.

“Tennis is quite a niche sport, he added.

“There are not many tennis coaches in Dumbarton.”

The father of three insists he takes satisfaction from seeing children create some of their earliest memories through competing and described an example of this when he was approached by a primary five pupil who was part of the basketball team Douglas coached to a famous tournament win recently.

He said of the girl: “She doesn’t play sports that often unless it’s at school.

“She’s never won anything.

“But, what a wee high for that wee person.

“That wee kid who, it’s a buzz for them, and a buzz for me and you just know they are going to cherish that moment.”

Despite already dedicating half his life to trying to pass on the sporting bug, he explained he wouldn’t change his experiences for the world and may even go on for the next 20 years.

He finished: “The thing with the schools is, it is very difficult for the teachers to stay on for another 45 minutes to an hour and give up their time.

“It’s a hard job and I can understand why they don’t.

“I just feel like I’m going in there fresh, and I can go in there and have a good session.

“It’s important for kids to do sports and play sports for lots of reasons.

“So, I just feel if I didn’t do it then they’d really struggle.”