Serena Hand '24 Recruiting Profile

I currently play at North Idaho College in Region 18 of the NJCAA. In the first year of NIC’s return to the NJCAA we qualified for the tournament and placed third in our region. I personally ended the season on a high receiving SWAC goalkeeper of the week a few weeks prior to the end of the season.

I have been playing club soccer for almost 8 years, in that time I have played in academy teams, for first team clubs and now I am playing in the Professional Game Academy League with London City Lionesses (u21).

In 2019 I joined Millwall Lionesses u14s, successfully entering into the Regional Talent Centre set up, which was a women’s academy. During the 3 years that I spent in the youth set up, I started every game, even when facing teams like Chelsea and Arsenal. After each season, I was kept on throughout the retain/release processes; and in my final u16 season I was captain of the team.  I also captain the school soccer team, which we were crowned Essex Champions last year (having beaten the national champions in the finals!).

I was also fortunate enough to be invited to more than one England Talent Pathway even, this was a great experience for me to play with the best players from all over the country.

After progressing through the Millwall academy, I earned my spot as the starting goalkeeper for the first team. I gained so much valuable experience from my 2 years with the first team. 

For the 23/24 season, I am played for London City Lionesses u21s and Barking Ladies 1st Team. London City Lionesses  play in the PGA league alongside WSL u21 teams. Barking Ladies play in tier 5 (The Eastern Region Women’s League).

I played for both teams last year to increase my exposure to all different forms of football, because from my experience there are skill and physicality differences between the two age groups.

Education is extremely important to me, because I know that it can open up so many  opportunities, in the form of a successful job or play college soccer at a higher level. I am a very self-motivated person when it comes to studying, as I am aware of what different techniques I can use to get everything into motion.

I achieved AAB in German, Business and Physical Education A-Levels (GCE) at my sixth form; and I thoroughly enjoyed each subject despite how difficult A Levels can be. I believe by having a wide selection of subjects, I will be able to form a well articulated perspective on a variety of topics, ranging from political to economic and even scientific.

In my free time, I work as a qualified FA Referee, where I help out within the local community and ensure that young people can have a safe and enjoyable experience of soccer. Throughout the summer I also volunteered at Millwall’s Food Bank, supporting those that are struggling financially especially within the recent economic climate.