We are delighted to feature our Programme Officer Aishwarya in conversation with the increasingly renowned footballer Mary McAteer. Mary recently volunteered as a CoachBright coach and has just made her senior debut for Wales against Germany in the Nations League international window. We are so proud of Mary’s achievements and thank her for being such an incredible role model - to young and old alike!

What inspired you to volunteer at CoachBright?

I'm always interested in helping people, especially in and around schools. Both my parents were in education, and my dad is still a teacher. So, I learned quite a lot about the education system and its flaws. Volunteering was an awesome opportunity to maybe just make that little bit of difference myself. During the recruitment process, I was like, "Oh, it's everything I've been saying for years!"

What are some of your favourite memories from your time at CoachBright?

My favourite moment was seeing maths click with kids. My dad is a maths teacher, so maths sort of makes sense to me. It was cool being on the other side of it and watching kids go through the steps to the point where it makes sense!

Another favourite is when they started teaching each other. I remember going around and I had probably about seven students one day because one of the other coaches wasn't in. My usual group had finished their subject just before. So I was like "Aww, would you mind explaining that question whilst I help these guys?" They were straight on it, bang, and I was thinking, wow, these kids just took over! I could’ve got a cup of tea or something! So yeah, that was cool.

Did you develop any new skills from volunteering at CoachBright?

It certainly developed my abilities to communicate and teach. You're always on the receiving end as a student, so to get a chance to be on the other side was cool.

And it's quite funny because midway through coaching, we were talking about football. And I told them "I'm in the Under 19s", and they're like, "You're only 19 Miss?!" They were thinking I was older. And I was like "Oh my gosh!"

The ability to pass on what I know is special; coaching has quite similar skills to football, which made it a cool overlap. Before CoachBright, I'd been in a senior role in the national Under 19s team. So I used some of those skills for coaching. But also I had the opportunity to be Captain for Wales back in February, and I think coaching with CoachBright helped me to apply the leadership and communication skills needed. It all just went hand in hand and helped me with that experience as well.

What do you think sets CoachBright apart from other organisations?

It’s the grassroots level of working directly with young people. Lots of organisations have a top-down approach whereas I think the bottom-up approach is massively effective. And in some ways, it’s more effective for individuals. I know it's hard to reach everyone, or it's practically impossible, but I think just having that small but measurable impact on as many young people as possible is what sets CoachBright apart. It's the individual touch.

How did you get started with your football career?

I was fidgety as a kid! I couldn’t stop moving - my parents said I’d even climb out of the car like a ninja. I must have been four or five years old and my mum sent me and my little sister to a Saturday club. There were two activity options for us: ballet or football. So my sister chose ballet and I chose football. And I just loved it. I took to it like a duck to water. Kicking a ball! At that point, it wasn’t competitive. I was just learning football, playing with my friends. Then I played football every break time at primary school.

I didn't realise I was good at it until I went to a competitive grassroots team and joined them. In my first game, I scored a hat trick! Then the second game I scored a hat trick! I went on to Bristol Academy and was there for a long time and then moved to Villa. Again, another brilliant team. I sort of broke through into the first team and made my debut. Then went out on loan to Coventry, where I've been this past season. Now I'm off to the top. It's exciting! It's a team in the Championship, which I'm looking forward to.

I’ve always loved playing football. I've never played football for anything other than enjoyment. And I think I've just kept progressing. And I thought, well, why stop? I don't know what my identity would be without football. I live and breathe it. And I still love it as much as I did when I was five.

How do you balance studies with your football commitments?

A lot of it is time management. I went to a high school halfway between where I live, and my football club. It was an hour and a half in distance, which is huge when you’re 11 - 15 years old. So a lot of the sacrifice made was social time. I couldn't easily go and meet school friends, and I couldn't do things at the weekend as I’d be off playing football.

But then I’ve made such great football friends. I could go anywhere in the country and probably know someone about an hour away, which is just brilliant. And they know exactly how I feel because they’ve made those same kinds of sacrifices.

I always got to school early and left later than everyone else. It was like, “Okay, I've got maths homework, I'll do that in the hour before.” I don't think I ever missed a deadline for homework! So a lot of it is time management but also the work ethic to do it.

I was just so focused on doing both the things I wanted. I'm also highly competitive, which is perfect for football. But it creeps into my academics too! The support as well, from my friends and family, is amazing. And I wouldn't be where I am without them. Nowhere near.

Before you start a game, what is your pre-game ritual or routine?

I don't have a ritual! But I don't like being late. So I've got to be there either half an hour early, or 20 minutes. I don't like being anywhere near late. We always have a meeting time. And I'm always there before that because I like to be. So then it's sort of just listening to music, getting my head in the right space, chatting with people in the changing rooms and coming in to talk to the coaches. Getting to a place where I'm relaxed, but also pumped, like I want to be not worrying, not nervous, but also ready to go and ready to win because that’s what it is about at the end of the day.

What would you say were the challenges in a competitive sports environment?

Pressure can get a little bit overwhelming sometimes. If we have a bit of a bad run, it's like, “our manager's jobs are on the line” or “our jobs are on the line”. It can be quite scary. You need to be aware of the pressure that you put on yourself. There are internal and external pressures, something we all have to deal with individually. People have different ways of doing that.

Other challenges include injuries. I picked up quite a nasty injury. In this last season, I was out for about nine weeks, which was horrible, because I think again, mentally, it stopped me from doing what I loved. Football is part of my identity. So without it, I was a bit lost.

What are some of the common misconceptions about football as a sport that we should know?

I’d probably just say that footballers aren’t as dumb as you think! There’s some sort of misconception that they’re not all the brightest sparks - there are some very interesting people with interesting knowledge. I speak to many people that are in football but we don’t speak about football, and it’s really interesting to hear people’s different stories and what their world views are. Everything isn’t all football! So, yeah, I’d probably just say, try and see the person behind the footballer. There’s this quote: person first, footballer second.

What advice would you give to young aspiring footballers who are thinking of sports as a career?

I’d just say - for football or any other activity that you’re into - if you love doing it, continue doing it, and make the sacrifices to keep doing it. Keep working hard and your talent will shine through. The work you do will feed that potential and take you as far as you’re going to go. If you stop loving it, because people do fall out of love - don’t force it. I think lots of people stay at football, and other activities, and jobs - because they’ve done it for so long - and I think it’s a waste because if that’s not your true passion then that’s not something you should force. Otherwise, keep on enjoying it, work hard and keep on making the sacrifices to help you keep on doing it better and better.