There has been, for some time now, a number of mums who play for Lovat Ladies who also bring their daughters to training. These young girls are generally primary school age, seem to love shinty and join in with the drills and games that are on offer. These girls however, did not have the confidence to train with the boys in the mixed primary session the club also offers on a Saturday morning.

The idea to start a girls only session was to cater for these young girls who wanted to play but not at this moment in time with the boys. The club with the help of the Shinty Development Officer made up some flyers, delivered some taster sessions in the local school and then launched their first ever girls only primary shinty session.

Nineteen girls turned up on the first week, and not just from the local school but from all around the surrounding area. The majority of these girls have returned every week along with a number of new participants.

The girls’ session is coached each week by a number of the Lovat Ladies Team players. The session has grown with a lot of these girls now members of Lovat Shinty Club and are so involved they are purchasing their own equipment and practicing at home in their own time.

A number of these girls have now attended mixed training as well as the girls only session which has shown how much they have grown in confidence since the first session in June. The older girls in the session have also tried out ladies’ training which has meant a larger pool of players for the Women’s Development League.

The girls are looking forward to participating in both mixed tournaments and festivals in the future but also in the WCA Girls Only Festival.

Lovat SC would encourage any club looking to run a girls only session to ‘Go For It’. It really has helped these young girls grow in confidence and ability.