Playing to Lead: Jill Scott

Manchester City midfielder Jill Scott took her Level 1 badge at seventeen, coached in the women’s football academy at Gateshead College, and has now launched the Jill Scott Soccer School. She describes camps in Durham drawing 46 girls at Christmas and parents reporting that their daughters came out of their shells in a girls-only environment, a contrast with her own childhood as the only girl among fifty boys. Daily training with City limits how often she can run them, but she intends to expand after retirement. Scott credits Mo Marley with giving her an England Under-19 opportunity at eighteen, wants to add the UEFA B, and says coaching has made her more aware of tactics and team-mates’ roles. Hope Powell’s instruction to become a student of the game has stayed with her.