“For the coaches at the top end of the game in Scotland – whether it’s Hibs, Celtic or (Glasgow) City – they’re looking at things a lot more in depth and there’s plenty for them to get out of it as well, whether it’s tactically, mentally or physically.”
Gillies believes that the achievement of qualifying for the finals of a major tournament is vital for future success, and the governing body is aware of their responsibility to capitalise on it.
“We’re at a point now that their status as role models is at such a level where other women are interested in playing and coaching,” Gillies said.
“We’ve got a number of mentor programmes, we’ve got our very strong coach education programme at grassroots and now we want to start churning out more high-quality coaches and certainly a more regular amount of female coaches back home in Scotland.”
Gillies said the group of 35 coaches have been following the European championship participants closely, to learn as much as they can.
“(There have been) loads taken from the games, like Holland who are fantastic to watch from their style of play, physicality, ability and their pace,” Gillies said.
“From a sport science perspective, it’s interesting to ask how they have got them to that standard and what they have done in their programmes at grassroots and senior game (level).”