May, 2011
Two days of football, a bit of sunshine, a lot of rain, hurricane force winds and meeting a footballing legend [‘who’s that old bloke on the stage?‘] all combined to make the girls trip at Butlins a memorable one.
The girls played some amazingly brave, skilful football against teams that were a year older and sometimes much bigger and stronger too.
I was particularly pleased to be told by several managers and referees how impressed they were by Broughton Ravers and – in the case of the Garforth manager – how they wished they had players who were as committed and fearless as our girls.
We may not have won any trophies but – to use a footballing cliche – I took a lot of positives out of our performances.
The desire to win is still there and the girls support each other during matches and off the field. They are playing with freedom and aren’t afraid to take risks.
Individually:
- Macey was tireless, fast, skiful and must have covered miles over the six matches.
- Danielle grew in confidence with every game and pulled off some fine saves in our last two matches.
- Alex was a rock in defence, very strong going forward and always had a smile on her face.
- Lucy had a very good two days. She improved in every match, chased balls down, tackled hard and listened to what I told her.
- Leah played very well, in midfield and in defence. She is getting very good at stepping in front of opposition players and nicking the ball off them. Her first touch is improving too.
- Jodie was often the smallest player on the pitch but she never gave up. Her ‘twinkle toes’ were on show again, even against the Amazons of Garforth, and she took every chance she could to shoot. Lots of smiles too, which was nice to see.
- Chloe found it difficult to get through the big, strong defences we often played against but she kept at it and it was great to see her coming back to help out in defence when the going got tough – which it often did!
- Lauren was outstanding. Brave, fast and determined not to let any opposition players anywhere near our – sorry, HER – penalty area. Several times I thought she had no chance of getting to the ball first but she surprised me every time. Lauren doesn’t know the meaning of the words ‘give up’.
It was all a bit tiring perhaps, especially for mums and dads :), but our weekend in Butlins was a worthwhile experience that will make the girls a stronger and a better team next season – which is why we play tournaments.
My special thanks to Shaun, Collette, Leah and Abby for letting me lodge with them and smuggling me into the restaurant…