Inside St Andrews Women’s 1s: Commitment, Community and Championship Ambitions
Three evening training sessions, a Wednesday fixture and the occasional overnight away trip is just a snapshot of the commitment it takes to be on the St. Andrews Women’s 1st football team. With ambitions to win the BUCS national championship again and claim the Scottish Cup, the team has high goals this season. This week, I spoke to Diana Dicello, a second-year student on the team.
The team’s weekly schedule consists of training on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday evenings, with each session lasting around two hours. Mondays and Fridays include strength and conditioning, while Tuesdays also involve an analysis meeting. Generally, on Wednesdays, the team has a fixture against another university team.
Aside from the physical work, Diana says that the 1s is nothing without its culture.
“Culture is a huge part of the team. We have really good camaraderie, and everyone is super dedicated and hardworking.”
That combination of commitment and friendship is evident; from pre-season to now, the 1s have developed a close-knit community where players feel part of the team as soon as they join. For students arriving at university or joining a new squad, that sense of belonging has been an important part of finding their feet.
When asked about balancing academics and athletics, Diana highlighted the importance of time management, especially as a second-year student.
“Away games can be tough, especially with overnight trips because that means I’ll usually miss a lecture or a tutorial, and need to make sure I don’t fall behind.”
We also talked about the social side of things. We all know that university life, especially as student-athletes, is more than just school and sport.
“We have football socials every Wednesday, which are a lot of fun, and it helps ensure the social aspect is a part of the club culture as well.”
Emerson Fitzgerald is also a member of the club and serves as Social Secretary. I asked her what culture and the role mean to her.
“We [The Women’s Football Club] have so many different and separate teams. Socials allow for everyone to get together and get to know each other, regardless of team or age.”
I wrapped up the one-on-one with Diana by asking what she thinks people misunderstand or don’t know about the 1s.
“We have home games super often and would love for people to come out and support us. We wish that in general more students came out to different sports events.”
For a team investing so much of its week in training and competition, more support from the university community would be welcome. As the Women’s 1s pursue their goals this season, support from the St. Andrew’s community would serve as a motivating factor and offer other students a chance to see their commitment in action.
The 1s next home game is October 14th at 16:30 against Edinburgh.
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