We are constantly listening to feedback from local communities cross the county on what they need to increase their activity levels. The Harwich and Parkeston Football Club noticed that there was a need for a girls and women’s football training group and with the help from the Find Your Active Fund, they were able to set this up which has already proven to be very popular.
We spoke with Michael Wallace, who is the coach of the women’s football training in Harwich, to find out more about the drive behind it.
“Women’s football is a growing sport and I felt there were few opportunities available for girls locally. There was a high demand for a women’s football club, and I set up the Harwich and Parkeston Women’s FC project to provide football training sessions for girls aged 15 and above.
Every week, our sessions see anywhere between 15-20 girls in attendance of all abilities, and we are pleased to have been able to bring girls from different backgrounds together since starting. Our sessions run every Monday, and they are open to every girl that wants to join and give football a try for the first time or re-join after a break. We have been able to recruit enough girls to start a side next season and we intend to keep our training sessions open to all, so people who do not necessarily want to play matches can still train with the other girls.
Our ambition and next steps are to set up a women’s team and provide sessions for girls under 15. We want to ensure every girl in Harwich has a place to play football, whether that be training or joining a side to play matches.
The Find Your Active funding we received from Active Essex helped to cover the costs of our training equipment and allowed us to carry on training during the winter months.
I am looking forward to starting the team next season and hopefully setting up a wild cat session for younger girls under the name of Harwich and Parkeston.”
One of the girls on the team said; “I cannot express how much I enjoy playing football. I feel healthier and more confident. I’ve made new friends and I have seen them grow in confidence too. As an older woman I was hesitant about starting a male dominated sport… but I was so wrong. We have been supported and welcomed into the sport with no questions and have had sponsors offer their support, positive messages, and feedback. The coaches have been fantastic, and we train and laugh throughout each session. Football is so inclusive, age, fitness, gender…. There are no barriers.”
These training sessions have managed to provide a safe environment where the girls feel encouraged to get active and we look forward to keeping up with the team and we hope they continue to enjoy their sessions!
