Young coach Ollie enjoys an unforgettable day in Scotland camp

International players are used to getting put through their paces by all manner of coaching staff, as they prepare their bodies and minds for the rigours of elite sport. As the Scotland squad gathered ahead of the Skyscanner Americas tour, they were joined by a very special guest by the name of Ollie McMillan.

Ollie, 10, had to put the brakes on his own burgeoning playing career after being diagnosed with the rare condition Marfan Syndrome. Having been a keen proponent of the oval ball since starting out at Rugby Tots aged three, and then on to Stew Mel Lions and North Berwick minis, Ollie decided that his situation wasn’t going to get in the way of his love for rugby.

As well as helping the coaching set-up for youngsters at North Berwick, Ollie has taken a liking to team management and on visiting Oriam in Edinburgh to meet some of his heroes, the youngster was tasked with ensuring that scrums were on point, as well as lending a hand to the rest of the coaching and analyst group with their own remits.

With whistle in hand, Ollie presided over scrums in front of Scrum Coach, Pieter de Villiers, before chatting with Attack & Contact Coach, Pete Horne, as well as Steven Tandy and John Dalziel, Defence and Forwards Coach respectively, and Specialist Skills Coach, Chris Paterson.

He then sat down with Lead Analyst Gavin Vaughan and Performance Analyst Tom Stodart, who explained how the latest technology is used to collate as much information about those on the pitch as possible, to then feed back into the coaching team.

And of course, Ollie got to meet and even offer some insight to Head Coach Gregor Townsend on how he thought Scotland’s training session was going – a clear sign that a future in the off-field part of the game is something he aspires to.

Pictured: Gregor Townsend and Ollie share a few thoughts on Scotland training.

“I loved spending time learning from the coaches, using the drones, catching the high kicks offs and getting to boss the big guys at scrum time.”

“I know I want to be a coach like Gregor, Steve, Peter, Pieter and Mossy [Paterson]. I can’t wait for our season to start again. I may miss playing, but still get a buzz from being involved with the club.”

On his experience at the forefront of the national team, Ollie said: “I think it’s given me a few ideas for North Berwick to help [them] win a few more trophies!”

Ollie continues to inspire with his fundraising efforts, having already raised £6,000 by taking on the three peaks challenge, and climbing Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowden. If you’d like to donate to this determined young man please click here.