Scotland’s under-21 women are confidently taking the pitch at the EuroHockey Junior Nations Trophy in Prague this week, with an aim for promotion to the Championship and a chance to play in the Junior World Cup next year.
 
The Scots have an exciting and talented squad of young players, many of whom have already achieved much in the hockey world.  Becky Merchant and Nikki Kidd represented Great Britain in the Youth Olympiad of 2007 in Australia, while Kidd was also a member of the 2006 Commonwealth Games team in Melbourne.

Coach Dave Stott said: “There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be in the final. We’re right on track with no signs to indicate otherwise.  Our preparation work is done, over the last 12 games we’ve seen major improvements in areas we had outlined.
 
“This is one of the strongest squads I’ve had at U21 level, we have several experienced players.  We’ve reduced our turnovers and gained continuity in our passing motions, the benchmark has been set and we need to make sure we go to the Europeans at this level.”
 
Many players in this squad are likely to form the nucleus of Scotland’s team in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.  They have followed an ambitious programme leading up to Prague including successful matches against Germany, England and Poland, as well as taking the Junior Celtic Cup, held in Edinburgh this June.
 
Despite being confident, Stott wants to make sure his players keep a level head: “The pressure or reality of us being favourites might get to us but we’ve prepared for that.  Another concern is the heat which why we went to Poland for test matches to acclimate ourselves.”