Why England teenager Parkinson has a mindset coach

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Erica Meg Parkinson can speak four languages

BBC Sport women’s football news reporter Published 43 minutes ago Erica Meg Parkinson was an unknown quantity when England manager Sarina Wiegman unexpectedly named her in the senior squad in March.

The teenager was playing in Portugal and had only made the jump up to England's Under-23s a few months earlier.

People are now starting to take notice as the midfielder secured a move to the United States this summer, joining North Carolina Courage on a three-year deal.

Wiegman was in the stands watching on Saturday as the 17-year-old made her debut, coming on as a half-time substitute in a 3-0 loss to Bay FC and performing well.

But behind the raw talent is an ambitious footballer who has planned out her route to the top by training her mind in order to stand out from the rest.

BBC Sport explores how she is developing off the pitch as well as on it.

'I like surprises' - Wiegman calls up 17-year-old Parkinson

Published 31 March Why multilingual rising star Parkinson picked England

Published 27 November 2025 The Lionesses list & pre-season goals Parkinson was born in Singapore to an English father and a Japanese mother, and is eligible to represent both nations, as well as Portugal, where she spent most of her playing career.

She was with Leixoes from the age of 10 and had some involvement with Benfica before breaking into Valadares Gaia's first team in the 2023-24 season.

Since the age of 12, Parkinson has been working with a mindset coach, developing skills to handle pressure and expectation off the pitch, and to improve her leadership, decision-making and awareness on it.

She connected with Martin Fairn, founder of Gazing Performance, who has worked with a number of elite athletes including the New Zealand men's rugby team and former England cricketer Ashley Giles.

Fairn was approached by Parkinson's father, Richard, and quickly began working with Erica and her brother Dennis.

"I knew straight away that Erica had a determination not everybody has," Fairn told BBC Sport.

"I said to Erica: 'What do you want to do?' And she said: 'I'd like to play football for England.' That was how it all kicked off.

"It's relatively rare someone that young seeks out mindset training. Do they need it? There won't be one person who couldn't benefit from it.

"In football particularly, it's viewed as a problem that needs fixing rather than a skill that needs developing."

Parkinson and Fairn have worked together for over five years, catching up in person at the end of each season and holding regular meetings over Zoom.

In a pre-season session before the 2025-26 campaign - which BBC Sport has seen summary notes of - Parkinson focused on raised expectations and on developing more clarity of her role on the pitch.