In the absence of football, young players across the country have been starved of their favourite hobby, pastime and passion.

Without a ball to kick or a player to tackle, Brodie Greenwood – an Aberdeen FC Ladies under-15s performance player – took matters into her own hands to find her football fix during lockdown.

Brodie successfully completed an online course at the Open University in Football as a Business, Motivation Factors in Football and the Globalisation of Football.

Speaking to YFS, Brodie’s father Gary said: “It just shows how much she loves football. She’s sensible enough to know that although the dream is to play professionally and get paid to do it, failing that she wants to work within football.

“She’s not old enough to start coaching properly yet, but you can start learning about football at any age.”

Brodie is a pupil at Hazelhead Academy, one of the SFA’s performance schools, and is already on track to succeed in the world of football.

The youngster was able to combine her impressive academic talent with her advanced football knowledge to achieve a ‘Statement of Participation’ Award from the Open University.

“She plays in the boys league, the performance league for the girls and at a regional level as well. [In] The last three or four years, the chances and opportunities have grown so much. She’s doing everything she can physically and mentally to get as much out of football as she can.”

And dad Gary admitted that the whole family were able to learn from the course.

“We’re a football family! We [dad Gary and mum Shona] sat alongside her and helped her where she needed it – but to be honest, we were working through lockdown so she was left alone to do it all on her own through the day.

“She took a lot out of it, for sure. She would make comments like ‘I didn’t realise that’ or ‘I didn’t understand Germany was so different to England’. It’s education but it’s a subject area she loves as well.”

Explaining the course in a little more depth, Gary added: “They’ve taken chunks from various different sports-related courses that they do. Some of the tasks are reading through things and making notes yourself, and everything is online so they can see what you’re doing.

“It’s supposed to take about three weeks. I think a lot of coaches around Scotland have been doing it as well. 

“The content is quite complicated and some of it was probably above her age group but she took her time to go through it because she’ll be using it in PE related subjects as well.

“There was three main components to the course. The first was how football is as a business across Europe – different countries and different approaches. 

“The second was about motivation in sport and football – what motivates people, what demotivates them. The third was about how global football has become and how much money is involved and how powerful the people involved in football are.

With schools and football clubs now edging closer to normality, we are confident that Brodie will enjoy a successful season both on and off the field.

In the absence of football, young players across the country have been starved of their favourite hobby, pastime and passion.

Without a ball to kick or a player to tackle, Brodie Greenwood – an Aberdeen FC Ladies under-15s performance player – took matters into her own hands to find her football fix during lockdown.

Brodie successfully completed an online course at the Open University in Football as a Business, Motivation Factors in Football and the Globalisation of Football.

Speaking to YFS, Brodie’s father Gary said: “It just shows how much she loves football. She’s sensible enough to know that although the dream is to play professionally and get paid to do it, failing that she wants to work within football.

“She’s not old enough to start coaching properly yet, but you can start learning about football at any age.”

Brodie is a pupil at Hazelhead Academy, one of the SFA’s performance schools, and is already on track to succeed in the world of football.

The youngster was able to combine her impressive academic talent with her advanced football knowledge to achieve a ‘Statement of Participation’ Award from the Open University.

“She plays in the boys league, the performance league for the girls and at a regional level as well. [In] The last three or four years, the chances and opportunities have grown so much. She’s doing everything she can physically and mentally to get as much out of football as she can.”

And dad Gary admitted that the whole family were able to learn from the course.

“We’re a football family! We [dad Gary and mum Shona] sat alongside her and helped her where she needed it – but to be honest, we were working through lockdown so she was left alone to do it all on her own through the day.

“She took a lot out of it, for sure. She would make comments like ‘I didn’t realise that’ or ‘I didn’t understand Germany was so different to England’. It’s education but it’s a subject area she loves as well.”

Explaining the course in a little more depth, Gary added: “They’ve taken chunks from various different sports-related courses that they do. Some of the tasks are reading through things and making notes yourself, and everything is online so they can see what you’re doing.

“It’s supposed to take about three weeks. I think a lot of coaches around Scotland have been doing it as well. 

“The content is quite complicated and some of it was probably above her age group but she took her time to go through it because she’ll be using it in PE related subjects as well.

“There was three main components to the course. The first was how football is as a business across Europe – different countries and different approaches. 

“The second was about motivation in sport and football – what motivates people, what demotivates them. The third was about how global football has become and how much money is involved and how powerful the people involved in football are.

With schools and football clubs now edging closer to normality, we are confident that Brodie will enjoy a successful season both on and off the field.