Ross County Football and Club and HI~Arts are delighted to announce that Ross County's innovative programme of community outreach work, 'Life Skills Through Sport', is being extended in a new project with the arts agency.

Under the project, HI~Arts' 'Embedded Poet', Stephen Watts, will be holding regular discussion and creative writing sessions with young people attending the Unit's training sessions. The project is the first joint project between the club and the arts development agency.

Poet Stephen Watts, said: "It seems highly appropriate to me to be working with Ross County on this project. The Club's impressive outreach programme enables many young people to gain skills and confidence, and this will also enable me to gain understanding of the contexts of young people's lives and emotions. The language we all use reflects our lives, and discussion and the writing of poetry enables us to clarify issues in our lives. Poetry simply reflects what we do, what we feel and what matters to us."

Alastair Kennedy, Project Manager of Lifeskills through Sport and Director of Ross County Football Club said: “We have been in discussion with HI~Arts for sometime and we see the importance of creativity in both sport and art. This innovative project will provide opportunities for young people to express themselves within a new and different environment under the guidance of Poet Stephen Watts.

Robert Livingston, Director of HI~Arts, said: "It’s too often assumed that there is a gulf between the different spheres of sports and arts.  That’s nonsense, and we’re delighted to be working with Ross County to achieve mutual benefits for the communities we work with."