Kurt Herd: The only Scot to lead a national team

Kurt Herd: The only Scot to lead a national team

According to Sports.

Background

Kurt Herd, who serves as Dominica's coach, brings a variety of experiences from various countries, including Sweden and Australia. His aim is to take Dominica's national team, which is largely made up of amateur players, to a higher level, while at the same time representing Scottish football culture at international level.

Why this is important

Kurt Herd is a pioneer in international football as the only Scottish coach to lead a men's national team. His role at Dominica is particularly challenging as he not only acts as a coach but also acts as an analyst and scout. This shows the diversity and challenges that coaches in less established football nations face as they look to improve the team in the Concacaf Nations League and beyond.

Key findings

• Kurt Herd: The only Scot to lead a national team.
• Kurt Herd, a Scottish coach, is the only coach from Scotland currently leading a men's national team.
• Meet the only Scot managing a national team in world football - Yahoo Sports.

Over 4,000 miles from his hometown of Dundee, Kurt Herd is the poster boy for Scotland in international football. The 34-year-old coach leads the national team of Dominica, the Caribbean island, making him the only Scottish coach currently leading an international men's team. Herd was officially appointed to his position in August after an interim appointment. However, his job is significantly different to that held by Steve Clarke or his successor, Sebastien Pocognoli. In addition to being Dominica's coach, Herd is also an analyst, scout, nutritionist and yoga teacher all rolled into one, as he is the only full-time member of the team's coaching staff - including the players. "A real whirlwind program over the last few weeks but it's been great for me as a coach to be able to test myself in this way," Herd told BBC Scotland. "It was the hardest, but also the best three to four weeks of my career so far." In his 34 years, Herd has already gained a lot of experience. The former Dundee United youth coach has worked in Sweden, Australia, Malaysia and Kyrgyzstan. Along the way he met great football personalities like Arsène Wenger. Now his job is to improve Dominica's national team, which is ranked 182nd in the FIFA world rankings and is made up of mostly amateur players from a population of around 65,000 people. Most of the players on the Dominica national team are active in the domestic league, which Herd roughly assigns to the fourth English division (League Two). While other Caribbean countries such as Haiti and Curaçao sign large numbers of players from abroad to qualify for the World Cup, a regulation in Dominica limits this opportunity to just six players. However, starting in January, there will be a rule change that will allow Herd to sign players with Dominican grandparents. He has already identified one such player: Shamal George, a former St Mirren and Livingston goalkeeper who now plays for English club Bromley. "I spend two to three hours on Instagram looking at the players' profiles. I try to see if there is a little Dominica flag symbol there," explains Herd. "I'm constantly on the phone, whether to browse social media profiles - and not for fun - but i.e I am actively looking for players. I have people in the US, Canada, Europe and the UK whose job it is to contact clubs, players and player agents and tell me, 'Yes, coach, we found one.' These people are invaluable to me." Matchmaking is not the only tool Herd uses to raise the level of the national team. This season of the Concacaf Nations League B, which begins in the fall, the players will receive additional training through yoga and mindfulness exercises. Herd also attaches great importance to eating and sleeping habits and supplements the training with individual units. “It’s tough, to be honest – it’s tireless,” admits Herd. "I'm doing everything at the moment. I'm the only full-time member of the coaching staff, so everything is my responsibility. All the other members have 'normal' jobs. I have an assistant coach, but he's a teacher. Even while we're in training camp, he continues to teach the students. I don't have anything against that, because I want to be in control of the situation at the moment. I think it has to be up to me to drive the changes now, because we're in a state of change." Herd has been living in Dominica for two years. He previously worked there in the role of a FIFA talent coach and trained the youth teams. He says he fell in love with the country and the people who live there, who also consider him one of them. Life on a beautiful Caribbean island sounds tempting, but Herd admits he doesn't always get to enjoy the amenities of life there. Because, as he says himself, he is obsessed with football. His ambition and obsession were already the reason why he chose Australia as a destination for his coaching career many years ago, because he really wanted to work in a foreign country. So he left Great Britain without a job and went to Australia. However, there he immediately got the opportunity to coach a football team. On his further journey, he trained, among other things, a team in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and he worked in Kyrgyzstan, where a training session once started four hours late because of a herd of goats that blocked the way. Herd doesn't know where his coaching career will take him next, but he definitely wants to get back into club football, and ideally at a high level. "I want the daily training, I want the pressure that comes with working in the club," he says.

What happens next

Herd will focus on improving the performance of the Dominica national team, currently ranked 182nd in the FIFA world rankings. Future games could be crucial to advance the team in international competitions such as the Concacaf Nations League. Developing players and improving team dynamics will be crucial to realizing Dominica's ambitions in international football.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kurt Herd's role in Dominica?

Kurt Herd is the coach of the Dominica national team and is the only Scottish coach of an international men's team to lead the team.

When did Kurt Herd officially become coach of Dominica?

Kurt Herd was officially appointed to his position in August after a temporary appointment.

Why is Kurt Herd a special figure in international football?

Kurt Herd is the only Scottish coach currently leading an international men's team and has a variety of roles including coach, analyst, scout, nutritionist and yoga teacher.

What experiences does Kurt Herd bring to his role as a trainer?

Kurt Herd has already worked as a youth coach at Dundee United and gained experience in Sweden, Australia, Malaysia and Kyrgyzstan.

What is the composition of the Dominica national team?

The Dominica national team consists predominantly of amateur players and has a population of approximately 65,000 people, with most players active in the domestic league.

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