DRIVING AMBITION
Foster switches to life in the fast lane after wise words from partner Amy Macdonald
WHEN your singer/ songwriter partner enjoys trappings of fame such as a fleet of luxury sports cars in the driveway, life could be lived in the fast lane with pit stops in multiple comfort zones along the way.
Richard Foster must remain driven himself, however. The St Johnstone defender has professional ambitions to fulfil — and it’s Amy Macdonald pressing the right buttons to ensure he meets them.
Without Amy, his inspiration, Foster admits he would have given up on dreams of completing a psychology degree and forging ahead with a career in coaching when his playing career ends.
Considering that it was his own version of stage fright which needed to be conquered before entertaining thoughts of becoming a manager, Foster chose the right girl in the Glasgow-born star.
Ahead of their Las Vegas wedding, Foster was at Oriam, Scotland’s Sports Performance Centre, last week to continue his work towards gaining a UEFA ‘A’ Licence with the Scottish Football Associationled course.
With his degree studies working alongside the coaching lessons, Foster is attacking his aspirations from two sides. But he needed much encouragement to be persuaded not to let the good work go to waste.
The former Aberdeen and Rangers defender explained: ‘I’m doing this and my psychology degree through the Open University — and I’d have given them both up if it hadn’t been for Amy.
‘A lot of these things I want to do. But I talk myself out of. The psychology degree has been tough.
‘The person I was before I met her would’ve just given up. I wouldn’t have been bothered with the hassle and the stress. But all these things she’s achieved, she’s worked hard for and done most of it on her own.
‘Yes, she’s got a team around her but she’s an inspiration because she’s constantly out of her comfort zone.
‘Flying all over the world, knackered, putting on a nice face to greet the world. Just seeing what she gets through and how tough the job is makes me think: “You know what? I can do these things”.’
Conquering anxiety and being dragged away from the easy availability of an excuse has enabled Foster, 32, to return more confident following a fraught beginning to his coaching education last summer.
‘It’s very alien,’ he admitted. ‘Asking me to come here and play football? Fine. I’ve played in front of huge crowds. But coaching’s different.
‘You do thousands of sessions in your career but when you’re on the other side having to tell people to do it, it’s a totally different scenario.
‘I haven’t done much coaching so I was nervous — and worse at the thought of having to come back and do another one.
‘But I put that to bed because I felt relaxed when I did my main component of the course. So now I’m wondering why I was so scared because it was nowhere near as bad as I thought it was going to be.
‘Now that I’ve done a bit, though, I’m losing less sleep over doing it again. So now I understand why it was a good idea to come.
‘I did my B (licence) last year and was in the midst of wanting to keep it going — I’m out of my comfort zone already, so I may as well keep it going and see if I can develop and get better.
‘I was kind of forced into it — persuaded, let’s say — by Amy and my dad. Amy offers me a no-nonsense perspective.
‘Get on with it, do it, stop moaning about it, stop making excuses. If you want to do it, do it. If you don’t, don’t. But don’t moan about it.’
Foster is coming to the end of his fourth year of the psychology course and has deferred his next exam until September in order to get married and honeymoon this summer.
Having overcome many bumps in the road already, postponing his next major test is no sign of determination waning. Fatigue and time constraints have come close in the past to beating him, but not now.
‘The reason I contemplated stopping was simply because it was difficult and demanding,’ he said.
‘At Ross County, I did a fair bit of travelling up and down to see Amy and also to see my son.
‘It was time consuming. And when you’re trying to learn, you need to invest the time otherwise there’s no point. I want to do it properly.
‘It’s a big commitment when you’re working. But as hard as it is to sit down and do the assignments, it is rewarding. But you get back from it what you put in. The last one I did, I was doing it in the wee hours after my little boy went to bed. I look back at the tutor’s comments, and I’m thinking: “Yup, missed that bit, missed that…”
‘I was so tired. It wasn’t as good as the last one because I put in less time and there’s no point doing something unless you’re giving it your all.’
Foster believes his studies can give him a huge edge in running a football team if he lands a managerial role. As a player, he’s no stranger to fall-outs from his often opinionated approach.
Constantly banging heads with Jimmy Calderwood at Aberdeen eventually resulted in the manager having enough of challenges to his authority and transfer-listing Foster.
‘I started the course because I love studying the dynamic between people,’ he said. ‘When I saw the psychology degree, the ability to choose the sports side, the child side, the criminal side, different bits to make your degree your own, I wanted to do it — to get my brain active, if nothing else.
‘Football is simple. People are complicated. So if you have good relationships with players and staff and a good environment, it should be reflected on the pitch.’