5th year student Catherine Watt is an upcoming coach for the St Aidan’s girl’s football team. Catherine’s love of football stems back to the age of 13 she was inspired by her mother’s previous involvement within primary football teams. Catherine’s commitment to the team is clear as she is developing her skills in hope of receiving the Scottish Football Association coaching badge. She trains a team of a dozen driven young women with a passion for the sport, in the high schools games hall.
Catherine believes that female football teams should receive more recognition for their talents and skills. Catherine claims “Female teams within the school don’t usually get much attention unlike male teams who have sponsorships and new kits handed to them… we had to raise money to buy new kits.” The young coach believes that “Mixed teams should be introduced as long as they are of the same ability.”
Catherine thinks women’s football should be of a higher profile as she points to her role model Gemma Fay, Scottish international goalkeeper, who is popular within the girl’s team. They have worked closely with another Scottish female footballer, Sarah Crilly. Sarah is an ex pupil of St Aidan’s and has went on to play for the Scottish Women’s Premier League and Celtic. Crilly has coached the girl’s team occasionally and is popular amongst the girls on the team.
Miss Donnelly, previously involved in the team, says she is “Delighted that girls wanted to form a team and that they have had lots of success and fun in the past.” She is extremely proud of the team and would like to thank all those involved, especially Mr Robert Nimmo who has been involved in the parent’s council for many years.
I really liked this article. Catherine has a really positive message about the importance of girls football in the school.