Parrots Squad

Player Bio

I have always been obsessed with sports. I played football from an incredibly young age and played for various teams around Perth until I unfortunately suffered an ACL injury at 17. Due to the lack of opportunities and rehabilitation in women's football at the time, this unfortunately meant the end of my career. For me, I also thought this meant the end of me playing sports. Years later, I started up Perthshire Pride, a local LGBT+ charity which aimed to increase visibility of queer people living in Perthshire and reduce social isolation. During this tenure, I met Frazer, who had moved to Perth and decided to start up the LGBT+ friendly team we all know today as the Perth Parrots. I attended the first session and the rest is history. I now run Parrots Socials, along with a fantastic team, which offers events more than just sports to the wider Perthshire LGBT+ scene. I finally get to revive my love of sports while contributing to the greater good.

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What the Parrots Means to Me?

I love being a Parrot. Not only have I gained so many incredible friends but I have also been able to meet and mix with people who have had vastly different life experiences than my own. I feel being a part of this team has ultimately made me a better person. I feel more authentically myself than I ever have.

Player Bio

I joined the parrots to get my fitness up and try a new sport.

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What the Parrots Means to Me?

The inclusivity of the group has made it a pleasant experience to learn a new sport! The group is very encouraging and always has good advice to help me improve.

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Player Bio

After playing established sports (like football, tennis, golf), Injury and boredom made me look for something different, which I found in floorball. One session of floorball was enough to hook me and here I am over a decade later coaching the Parrots.

 

After helping at the Parrots' inaugural taster session as part of Festival Fortnight in 2019, I joined as Head Coach in 2021 and haven't looked back since. Helping the club join the Scottish Floorball League and putting Perth on the world floorball map, introducing new people to the sport, creating a strong, cohesive and ambitious league squad as part of a wider club of recreational players and supporters has been equally challenging and rewarding as well as invigorating as we look to what we can achieve in the future.

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What the Parrots Means to Me?

We are more than a team. We are not just a club or a community. The Parrots is a family of some of the most diverse people. The opportunity to bring everyone into floorball, see them develop improve and challenge themselves and those around them to do the best they can do every week is what any coach would want to see.

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Player Bio

I played football on and off for most of my life (winger and striker), but never went back to it post-pandemic as I had come out as trans and didn’t feel there were any local teams that would be a comfortable fit for me. It felt like a big loss as I knew how much I would miss team sports - running about a pitch or court has always been my favourite way to exercise, not to mention the social aspect is a huge boost to my mental health and wellbeing. Then, as restrictions were lifting in 2021, I saw a post on social media about Perth Parrots training starting back up. I had been to one or two Parrots training sessions when the club was brand new in 2019 and really enjoyed it, so I thought it would be worth having a go. I genuinely look back on showing up to that first training session in 2021 and introducing myself as one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, and being part of the club as it goes from strength to strength has been an absolute joy.

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What the Parrots Means to Me?

​Perth Parrots gifted me the opportunity to continue playing sports when there was simply nowhere else for me to do so comfortably as a trans person in Perth, and that will always be the most meaningful thing about this club for me personally. On top of that, I’ve been able to discover a whole new level of enjoyment in team sports because I can be completely myself and be actively accepted. I look forward to training every single week, no matter how much work stress I have going on or whatever else I’m struggling with, I always feel better after the session.

Player Bio

I did little sports before the parrots, but them being an LGBTIQ+ inclusive team helped me to want to get involved, I joined because I felt I needed more fitness.

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What the Parrots Means to Me?

The parrots are a great team, and the sport and other activities are amazing fun, the parrots mean a lot to me as they have allowed me to get involved in a sport and not have to worry about discrimination for being gay.

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Player Bio

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What the Parrots Means to Me?

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Player Bio

Growing up, I played a lot of competitive sports with football and rugby being the main ones. I enjoyed the competitiveness, challenges and health benefits that came with it, but the toxic masculinity along the way is what eventually led to me stop playing. I joined the Parrots because I could get them benefits back without the negatives that came with it.

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What the Parrots Means to Me?

The Parrots allow me to enjoy playing a sport again. Even on days when things don’t go according to plan, the Parrots are always supporting and encouraging and are a shining example of how a team should be.

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Player Bio

I have always enjoyed sports and physical activity with Badminton and Running being my main two areas of focus. Growing up as a gay man, both sports were "safe" choices; running is a solo pursuit and with Badminton your opponent is safely on the other side of a net. So both Floorball and it's the element of team sport is something which was relatively new to me. Learning team formations, terminology, physicality and resilience has been a steep learning curve but hugely enjoyable and rewarding in equal measure. Floorball is a fantastic  sport and I encourage anyone to try it.

#JoinThe Pandemonium.

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What the Parrots Means to Me?

I am immensely proud of the work our club has championed since forming in 2019 and in spite of the Covid-19 Pandemic. Our flock are a marvelous bunch of people, and as a community, more akin to a family which cares for and supports each other than any other sports club I have ever encountered.

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Player Bio

As someone who immigrated to Scotland for university, I was keen on finding something to help me feel more settled within the country and the local community in Perth - that's how I found out about the Parrots, gave it a go and realised quickly it was just what I needed. Coming from a football background and having played floorball in school, the club offers a fantastic opportunity to have sports as part of my life while being amongst like-minded people from the LGBTQIA+ community.

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What the Parrots Means to Me?

​The Parrots are more than just a sports club to me, and the people there more than just my teammates. The Perth Parrots feel like another family, and I've met some of my closest friends through training. The club goes beyond sports in building a stronger sense of community, particularly to the LGBTQIA+ and allies within Perth and elsewhere in the UK. Every Parrots event from regular weekly training to our socials is a place where everyone is welcome just the way they are regardless of their identity or background.

Player Bio

I was at hockey with Perthshire but just fell out of love with it. Then, through my collage volunteering placement, I found the Parrots

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What the Parrots Means to Me?

So much, from the get go they have been so supportive especially when i was doing my coaching so much so ive decided to stay on as a player

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Player Bio

I've played various sports all my life from football to watersports but had never heard of floorball and never played on a competitive LGBTQ+ sports team. So when Perth Parrots Floorball Club was suggested to me whilst I was looking separately for both a sports team to join and somewhere I could meet fellow LGBTQ+ people Parrots seemed ideal. I commuted from Edinburgh to train and from the first training I attended I was committed to become a Parrot. A year later I actually ended up moving to Perth to be near all the friends and community I had found here.

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What the Parrots Means to Me?

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For me Parrots means acceptance, friendship, sportsmanship and mental and physical wellbeing. Parrots has helped me so much in relationships, work and study outside of the club and sport as it has helped me grow in confodence and assertiveness and given me social skills.

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Player Bio

Growing up I was in to all types of sport, then life, age and health over the years became a factor, I came across the Parrots in 2020 , it gave me chance to get back the part of life I had lost, the Parrorts were so welcoming and I really enjoy playing with such a great team.

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What the Parrots Means to Me?

The Parrots is so welcoming and friendly group, the Parrots is more like a big family.

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Player Bio

I have always been into individual sports but even then the group I would practice with was very important so when I got the chance in uni to start floorball, I jumped into immediately. I used to play goalie for my brother in order for him to practice his shots. That combined with my background in individual sports made goalie a natural for me, although sometimes washing the kit gets too much and I sneak out to outfield.

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What the Parrots Means to Me?

Parrots is a way to keep up my fitness, provide a cool down after a stressful day at work and allows me to satisfy my need for competition. I also enjoy the frequency and variety they offer for social events.

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Player Bio

I joined the Parrots as I was looking to take up a new sport after the pandemic and a few injuries. Floorball was a new sport to me but very quickly I identified that I could draw on my previous sporting experiences in Hockey and Football. Throughout my two seasons with the Parrots I have adapted and played as an attacker and defender leaving without a preference of position as while i like scoring goals, playing in defense allows me to see the whole rink and Quarterback the team using the skills I have from playing American Football. 

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What the Parrots Means to Me?

Positivity and Inclusion! The Parrots provide a space which allows my mental health to thrive in sport, something which is incredibly important for me. With sport being something that has been a huge part of my life I strongly believe that sport is for everyone which something the Parrots champion in everything we do and i couldn't be prouder to be a part of this team. 

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Player Bio

I played hockey at school and really loved it. Since school I have mainly enjoyed running, swimming, yoga and horse riding but found motivation difficult due to chronic pain and having children. I joined the parrots as playing with a team encourages me to go along each week and makes it fun.

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What the Parrots Means to Me?

The Parrots gives me a safe space to get to know other Queer people and allies. It's great to be part of such a friendly community and it has allowed me to feel more comfortable with my Gender.

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Player Bio

Long-time floor hockey veteran from overseas, who was thrilled to discover floorball and the Parrots, convincing him to come out of retirement for another go.

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What the Parrots Means to Me?

The Parrots are an inclusive and incredible organisation. The culture of the team is second-to-none and I'm thrilled to be a part of it.

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Player Bio

I had played field hockey a little in high school and at university. Late 2021, I entered recovery and began a life moving on from alcohol and drugs. I needed to find a new social circle and positive activities to fill my time. I had been aware of the Parrots via social media for a while and noticed the similarities with my old hockey discipline. And I've been a Parrot ever since. When I'm not training, playing or at socials, I'm either glued to my PS5, running recovery meetings, or running about daft doing random projects.

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What the Parrots Means to Me?

The Parrots means so much to me. It has enhanced my social life and fitness, which has been fundamental to my sobriety and management of my mental health. Parrots is more than a run about. It's a social movement, a family, and been part of the (long overdue) formation of a solid LGBT+ network of like minded people that has been a long time coming to our lovely wee town. Parrots forever!

Player Bio

I enjoy Ice Hockey and was quite keen to give the sport a shot having never learned to skate.

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What the Parrots Means to Me?

It's a safe community and gateway for people to play organised sport who otherwise would face barriers to doing so.

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Player Bio

When I moved to Scotland I didn’t know anyone. I needed somewhere I could be myself as a non-binary queer person. Having played floorball in school and eager for friends and exercise the Parrots was the perfect club for me.

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What the Parrots Means to Me?

Building a strong and caring community. Without the friendships and connections I’ve built thanks to the club I wouldn’t have stayed in Perth as long as I have and now I can’t imagine leaving. My club members have supported me through thick and thin and I would do the same for them. The impact the Parrots have is indescribable.

Player Bio

I have always played lots of sport and after moving from Perth to Edinburgh I saw the Parrots advertised and wanted to try a sport I'd never heard of before with like minded players from the LGBTQ+ community and allies.

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What the Parrots Means to Me?

It's great to be part of such an inclusive sports club aimed at our community. I have lots of friends at the club and really enjoy the social aspects as well as actually playing floorball!

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