Scots kids will have winning mentality
SFA performance director Malky Mackay has revealed he plans to send Scotland’s kids to sports psychologists from an early age as he continues his radical reforms.
The former Cardiff City and Wigan Athletic manager has implemented his Project Brave initiative since he took on his new role in December.
And last month he lashed out at the lack of dedication from the younger age groups coming through, which was widely backed up.
He’s convinced the tide is turning though, starting with a new generation of talented youngsters.
This week, Mackay will jet out with the Scotland Under-17s who are in the European Championship Finals in Croatia.
Scot Gemmill’s kids are highly fancied after winning six out of six qualifying games, including against holders Portugal and conceding just one goal.
They kick off on Wednesday with a game against the Faroes, before facing Hungary and France.
And ex-Celtic defender Mackay now wants to introduce sports psychologists from an early age for Scots youngsters to give them a winning mentality.
He explained: “We have to get them driven. One of the things we have talked about is the psychology of becoming a footballer these days.
“For a pro, there are so many ups and downs in your career.
“It could be not getting picked, injuries, transfers, whatever.
“We need our youngsters to have that strong mentality and one of the things we spoke about was bringing in sports psychologists from the universities on a regular basis for the young ages.
“We want to start dripfeeding that into them over a longer period so they get the hang of what sports psychologists are all about and building those strong mentalities.
“It’s about educating them, so the first time they meet a sports psychologist isn’t when they are in the first team.
“That’s something we will try to do and have the universities linked in with the academies and the performance schools.
“That mentality thing we are talking about is so important.
“There is an issue in Scotland. The fact we have qualified for the Euros at Under-17 and 19, the 21s have been invited to Toulon and the women’s team is in the Euros, the more chance you’ll see more getting in.
“Success breeds success. We have to take that on board and the 19s and 21s have to get to those stages.
“When they see that, it’s a case of ‘Scotland must be doing something right here’.”