Lochlan's Legacy: Ayrshire teen on mission to change diabetes stigma in sport
Lochlan wants to remove stigma surrounding diabetes in sport and help educate coaches on the illness.
A young lad from Cumnock is making it his life's mission to inform and educate people about diabetes in Scottish football and sports.
Lochlan Murdoch was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) when he was 4 years old and has been living with its effects for the past 9 years.
The now 13-year-old has had a passion for football since he knew how to kick a ball, and after years of playing with diabetes he thought there wasn’t enough being done in grassroots football to let coaches know about the autoimmune condition.
Lochlan did what most teenagers wouldn’t think of; he started his own charity called Lochlan’s Legacy.
The Killie daft teen was even recognised for his charitable work on a national level when he was announced as the People’s Award winner for 2022, in The Quality In Care Diabetes Awards.
Speaking of the moment he found out Lochlan told West FM: “My mum got the email through, and it said you’ve been selected as a finalist for the award, and I couldn’t believe it. I found out it was in Reading. So, we got my suit and figured out where we were staying.
“I remember walking into the event, it was massive and there was security and a red carpet. There was also free drink which my parents definitely enjoyed”, he laughs.
"I want to make a difference" Reducing the stigma and educating people.
Although, as Lochlan admits he enjoys being the face of the charity and getting awards, his main aim is to ensure young kids like himself suffering with T1D can feel able to play the sport of their choice and be just like any other young person.
For Lochlan, it’s about reducing the stigma and educating people.
He added: “I would say people think diabetes is as simple as type 1 and type 2. A lot of people know about type 2 and think you only get it from type 1.
“What I have, is in my autoimmune system in my body and type 2 is usually a result of your diet.
“When I’m playing football if my sugars are low, I have no energy to play, and if they get too high I just can’t think and it all goes to my head.
“From playing, I’ve found not a lot of coaches know about it. All I want to do is to make a difference, and if another person like me joined a team at a young age, the coaches would know what to do if anything went wrong and the parents weren’t there."
Through raising awareness for the illness, Lochlan has picked up endorsement from the SFA after his mum, Lesley, helped him set up a meeting with bosses.
From that, Lochlan toured all senior football clubs in Scotland to make them aware of T1D and to get them on board with his hope to let everyone know how to deal with any potential ‘hypo’ without fear.
Now he’s working with his parents and the SFA to help develop player profile cards which will inform coaches which of their players has T1D and ensure they know how to deal with it.
Lesley Murdoch told West FM: “We’re now also offering workshops to coaches and referees, which is a basic awareness and understanding certificate from grassroots to professional level.
“As a parent, if I had taken Lochlan to any sport years ago and said he wants to join and has type 1 diabetes. If the coach had turned around and said I had a basic awareness and understanding course on that, the relief that I would have felt would have been incredible and we want that for other parents.”
At only 13-years-old, Lochlan has accomplished a lot, and he’s showing no signs of slowing down as the young teen balances school life with football, and of course the small task of running your own charity.