Nia Davies: ‘It's a landmark achievement’

“To go to any major tournament for any country is a big achievement, especially in Europe where it’s so competitive, but to do it for the first time is a landmark.”

 

Wales Women’s under-19s coach Nia Davies is excited for the summer. Rhian Wilkinson’s senior team will compete in the Women’s Euros for the very first time, and the impact it will have extends beyond the matchdays.

 

“You saw it in previous competitions where winning it has a huge impact on the girls in that country, the fan base, and on youth players coming through.

 

“For the team itself, it’s what they’ve been working for, for so long. They’ve had disappointment in previous qualifications. It’s a massive thing for them.”

 

The Welsh technical team

This summer, Nia takes a role within the wider technical team, reporting on the opposition Wales are likely to face if they progress beyond the group stages. That will mean watching all three Germany games, and not just seeing what they do, but what the opposition do against them.

 

“You find solutions in in other teams. Coaches are thieves in the sense that you take a little bit of tactical knowledge from other coaches and other teams as well to benefit you.

 

“You have to keep up with the game. The game evolves, and as coaches, we have to evolve as well. On my coaching courses, I try and ask questions as much as possible, and even in coach education where I’m mentoring people, [I try to] instil that love for learning, You can learn in any environment and any situation.”

 

Nia’s role as a coach in the age-group national teams means that her work has had an impact on some of the players who have now progressed through to the senior squad. It makes watching Wales’s progress even more exciting and fulfilling for her – “if that was possible!” she smiles.

 

It also means that there is now an awareness and an acknowledgement that reaching these major tournaments is something within Wales’s grasp – and the young players coming through can repeat these feats.

 

“Now can we actually make that more consistent in the qualification for women’s [tournaments]? Can we do it a youth national level and being competitive in that tournament as well?

 

“It will take a little bit of time, but this is the [first] step in achieving some of those targets moving forward.”