The website dedicated to women's football across the country, at ALL levels of the game

@en

New girls talent centre to help identify stars

Two new talent identification and development programmes will launch next month that aim to discover the best young talent in the country.

The ‘Emerging Talent Centres’ programme is designed to have a significant impact on the development of young female footballers in Scotland.

The Scottish FA have teamed up with Coerver®️ Coaching as the main delivery partner for the programme.  Coerver®️ Coaching has a rich history within the fabric of football development for players and coaches across the globe. With over 40 years of experience working with many top clubs and federations, both in the men’s and women’s games.  

This programme aims to create opportunities for young girls to access high-quality coaching, that can help to develop their technical skills and reach their potential. By providing this support, the programme hopes to influence our pipeline of talented players by enhancing skill acquisition towards competing at the highest levels of the sport in the future.

280 players will be selected across 14 centres to participate in a 24-week programme that will be delivered in two 12-week blocks.

The ‘Developing Talent Centres’ will provide weekly sessions to identify talent potential within our regions which will provide a pathway towards being considered for Youth National Teams.

Sessions will run in identified areas where there are currently no pathways via performance club environments - initially in Inverness, Fife and Dundee.  This programme is targeted at potential talent which could be considered for future Scotland International under-16s squads in the coming years. The age group eligible for this programme will range from Primary 7 to S3 initially.

The introduction of these two programmes follows the launch of our ‘NextGen’ performance strand earlier this year which aims to support our clubs in developing the next generation of elite girls’ talent in Scotland– designed to align with our Performance Strategy: Accelerate our Game 2021-2025.

Head of Girls’ and Women’s Football, Scottish FA, Shirley Martin said: “These programmes aim to create opportunities for young players to access high-quality coaching, facilities, and competition that can help them develop their skills and reach their potential.

“The ‘Emerging Talent Centres’ are a great addition to the girls’ pathway and will make a significant impact on the development of young football players in Scotland, whilst our ‘Developing Talent Centres’ will provide an opportunity for additional weekly sessions with our coaching team as well as provide us with a regional base for future talent identification.

“Players will be introduced to the Scottish youth national team way of playing, provided with education and athlete development support.

“We are excited to have Coerver®️ Coaching on board, they have already impacted millions of players and coaches globally, with a curriculum focused on individual skill development, small group play, and team tactics.”

Director Coerver Coaching Scotland, Gordon Craig added: “When the initial conversation with the Scottish FA began around the opportunity to become partners to help deliver part of the new girls’ and women’s pathway, we felt it was not only a fantastic opportunity for us to share our methodology and expertise, but also to reinforce our commitment to helping develop potential talent in the women’s game from a young age.  

“At the new ‘Emerging Talent Centres’, our established global Coerver®️ curriculum and methods will play a vital role in developing and creating the type of person and player with the core skill set and player DNA for the future.

“We believe the players within these centres will help shape the game going forward and can become the role models of the future.

“On a personal note, I am absolutely thrilled about this new partnership. It presents a significant opportunity for us to make a substantial difference in the Scottish women’s game, and I am eagerly looking forward to getting started.

“I’m sure we will see many of these young players emerge in first teams of the future, and hopefully go on to become top players featuring in Scotland national teams going forward.”

Scotland Women’s National Team midfielder, Emma Watson said: “Training with Coerver®️ was a great experience for me. It helped in so many ways from technical and skills-based training to the mental aspect of the game.

“Being involved in that type of programme at a young age was really beneficial as it helped me to develop an awareness of lots of important areas which you might not otherwise be exposed to until later.

“Ultimately, it helps enhance your development and understanding of the game and the earlier we can get young girls into that type of environment, the better chance we have of bringing more talented young players through to the national teams.

“The roll-out of these talent centres is fantastic news and I’m delighted that more young girls are going to have the opportunity to reach their potential."

(scottishfa.co.uk)