Q&A with Scotland Under-17s Women’s head coach
Tell us about your coaching journey with the Scottish FA and how you’ve developed since you first started?
Throughout my time at domestic level I was identified by Anna Signeul as a possible coach that could be mentored for our youth national teams.
For the last 10 years I’ve been involved across all the age groups as an assistant coach in various roles and also in the latter years at under-15s. I’m now very fortunate to now hold the position of Under-17s head coach.
What does your job entail?
Being head coach of the Under-17s is only part of my remit. I’m also a youth performance programme manager which entails planning on the annual calendar, identifying when our training camps will be and who our international challenge matches will be against, all in preparation for the UEFA qualification.
What is your yearly schedule like?
The UEFA tournament runs on a yearly cycle so for our first group phase is in October and then we would like to play at the elite round stage in April/May. Upon successful qualification to the finals, that would take place in June/July. That would also present the opportunity to qualify for the World Cup.
How closely do you work with Shelley Kerr and Pauline Hamill?
We work very closely together. Shelley is very adamant that it is key to our success as a Performance department that we work closely together, support each other as much as possible and have regular conversations to make sure we’re all on the same wave length.
What do you look for when appointing your coaching staff?
For me, you want to identify confident individuals who have real belief in their ability and expertise in their field. I also want people who are real team players and want to go beyond the call of duty so that the experience for the coaching group and players in the most positive that it can possible be.