SWNT skipper reflects on her leadership journey
Following Euro 2017 Rachel Corsie was announced as the new captain of the Scotland Women’s National Team.
While it is a new role for her on the international stage, it is something she has been building up to on and off the pitch for a while.
The 28-year-old defender has built up a vast array of experiences to sculpt her into the leader she is today.
Captaining Glasgow City while also studying to be a Chartered Accountant at Robert Gordon University presented many challenges, but having overcome them all she is now in the perfect position to help Scotland reach the next level.
“I’ve picked up a lot of different things throughout my life that have helped me become a leader,” she said.
“I’ve always tried my best to make good decisions as well as being a good person for other people. As captain that is extremely important.
“A lot of the players at Seattle Reign, Notts County and Glasgow City have obviously helped me along the way but outside of that my working experience at Ernst & Young changed me in a really good way.
“There was a huge expectation there to behave and act in a certain way which has just set me up in life.
“I graduated from university and was employed as an undergraduate with Ernst & Young in their Chartered Accounting Audit Programme so I worked for them for three years and played for Glasgow City at the same time, doing my professional exams.
“Once I qualified, I put it to the side and moved to England to play professionally.
“I’m not sure how I’ll use the degree and what area I’ll work in but I certainly put in an incredible number of hours and work. It was extremely hard to do while juggling my football.
“Doing that has certainly made me stronger as the football was so intense around the time of my studies so I had to use all my holidays from work to play football. I literally didn’t have a minute to myself.
“I used to come away with Scotland and my entire bag would be filled with tax books and notes. It was a challenging time but it made me hard working, disciplined and organised which is transferable in any walk of life.”
Now living in Seattle, Corsie is enjoying the lifestyle in the Pacific Northwest playing in the NWSL.
She said: “I’ve been across there for three years and I now refer to it as home.
“I’m involved in coaching various club and academy teams and have also been recently appointed as Seattle Reign’s Women’s Under-17 assistant coach.
“My parents came out for the first time recently and now understand why I enjoy it so much. It’s a really cool city.”
For the first time in 12 years, Scotland have a new head coach in the shape of Shelley Kerr, who took the job having managed Arsenal Ladies and University of Stirling previously.
The Scotland captain sees a lot of promise in the new coaching set-up: “It’s been really exciting. Whenever there’s change it makes people a little bit nervous and in sport I think nerves and that added energy opens up an opportunity for standards to be raised.
“With Shelley’s experience on top of all that, I think the sessions and work we’ve done so far have been great.
“The team vibe is excellent and everyone wants to be here and be part of it.
“There is a real desire to work together and that is very positive.
“Everyone is looking forward to what the coming years might bring.”