Personal Statement
I have been playing club soccer for the past 10 years. During this time I have played for both boys and girls grassroots teams, Development Centres, Academy Teams, College Teams, Tier 6 ladies Teams and currently now playing for Billericay Town Reserves in the FA Women’s National League Reserves League. (South East & Central Division)
From the age of 8 to 12 I trained and played for both a boys and girls grassroots team, playing 2 matches each weekend. Alongside this I was selected to train weekly with the Essex County Girls Player Development Centre, where I received dedicated coaching from highly qualified coaches and played in training matches monthly against other Development Centres around the country.
At the start of the u12 season after a number of successful trials over the summer, I was invited to play for the Arsenal Player Development Centre, this involved weekly training sessions and Monthly matches against other pro club Development Centres. I loved this time, especially being an Arsenal fan, but it did involve a lot of dedication and an increased amount of travelling time.
In the same season I was also selected to play for Billericay Town Ladies in the Essex County Girls League, where I stayed for 3 seasons. During that time we won the A Division League, The League Cup, The Essex County Cup, The ESF Regional Trophy at u13 and u14, which meant that we attended The ESF National Finals twice at St George’s Park. This was my most enjoyable moment, playing and experiencing the atmosphere at the National Training Ground is something I will not forget.
Towards the end of my u14 season I started to look for a new club, I wanted to challenge myself and play up an age group to test myself against faster and more skilful opponents. After a successful trial I started playing for Canvey Girls u16s, who subsequently became Hashtag United. During this season we won the League with games still in hand and made it to the Essex County Final but unfortunately due to covid this was subsequently cancelled. Covid also become a big factor in us not being able to compete at the National Futsal finals after winning the County and Regional finals.
In my u16 season with the newly named Hashtag United team decided to play in the u18 Essex County Girls League, this was a great experience for me, as a 15 year old I was playing against 17/18 year olds and this was a great test. The game became so much faster and physical and was a great challenge. During the latter part of the season I also started training with Millwall u16 Academy team, following a 2 week trial I was invited to sign. This involved training twice a week in central London and playing matches all around the country on a Saturday alongside training at Hashtag locally and playing on a Sunday for them.
At the end of the u16 season I was retained by Millwall to progress into their u18 academy, but with my planned college football schedule ahead at SEEVIC in the National Youth Football League on a Wednesday and all the travelling I knew I would not be able to commit the number of hours needed to stay at Millwall. With this in mind I decided to return to Billericay Town and play in the now much bigger Girls/Women’s set up.
During my u17 season I played in the National Youth Football League for SEEVIC, the FA Women’s National Reserve League for Billericay, the u18 Billericay Team playing in the Essex County Girls League and the Billericay Ladies Development Team playing in Tier 6. Increasing my exposure to many different teams and players. I was particularly proud to be part of the successful u18 squad that won the treble of winning the League, League Cup and Essex County Cup.
Last season I continued to play for SEEVIC in the National Youth Football League and Billericay in their Development team in Tier 6. Towards the end of the season I was invited to just train with the First Team and I received my first call up.
This season I am just playing for Billericay in the National Youth Football League on a Wednesday and in the much bigger FA Women's National League Reserves League South East and Central Division. We now train alongside the Ladies First Team so I hope to secure more opportunities with call ups to the First Team Squad.
Alongside being a massive Arsenal fan I take a particular interest in watching most sports, I previously enjoyed playing futsal and netball to a high standard and going on tours including to Barcelona, but soccer has now become my priority, as I look forward to working hard in order to study and play soccer in the USA.
