Last season we regularly shared the success of our then U8’s (U9’s) Doves Girls, so we wanted to learn more about this exciting group of girls and spoke to their manager Nicola Harding.
Nicola, congratulations on your successes last year with the girls, tell us a bit of background on the side, and when they were formed?
Thank you, we formed in 2022 but for the first football season we just trained. It just started with a few girls showing an interest and each week we had more and more girls given it a go. By the end of the 2022/2023 season the girls had already learned so much and grew in confidence with the basics, so we entered the Windsor Annual Tournament but had to play a year up. Despite losing every game the girls had a fantastic time and learnt so much. I think the girls gained so much respect in that tournament and showing everyone we were here to have fun, even the Refs had a soft spot for them. They had gained so much confidence from this tournament which meant we were pushing to enter a league. So in 2023/2024 we entered our first competitive girls football league. We had a tough few months, where we were just getting used to to the game, getting used to each other, but still each week the girls turned up in all weathers to train and play in games (even when the parents were hoping they had taken up ballet). By Jan 2024 we found our stride and were now winning matches, playing well together and learning every week, we really had nailed our basics and with some new faces adding to our squad, the girls were also forming great friendships.
Did last season’s successes surprise you?
I think if you asked me as the beginning of the season that we would win a plate cup final and win tournaments – then yes it would have surprised me. However, by the end of the season their successes didn’t surprise me, it was a result of them all working really hard and listening.
How much are the girls enjoying being part of WEFC?
They love it, i think at this age they want to look the part too, wearing the kit and being lucky enough to play our first season at Stag Meadow gave them extra confidence. Then being able to be mascots at the Men’s and Women’s game, showing off their trophies they really felt lucky to be part of a big club, they were proud of themselves and rightly so. For young kids, seeing that they wear the same kit and could be like these older girls and adults when they are older really helps encourage them.
What have you enjoyed most about managing them?
Seeing their progression. From starting with a bunch of girls who hadn’t kicked a ball before, to now seeing them make those passes, the tackles and running with the ball is so rewarding. Seeing them enjoy it too is just amazing!
Girls football is really growing, how exciting is that?
It is fantastic and so exciting. I grew up as a girl not having the chances to play football, that it was a boys sport. So for these young girls having the chance to play and it be accepted is just amazing. For the girls to also watch the women on the TV is so inspiring, it is a shame it took so long but incredible that it is finally being given a chance to succeed. If i am honest, when i started to coach the girls i did think it may not last, once colder weather hits and the novelty of it has worn off it might fizzle out, but the fact its grown, doubled, is exciting.
For any girls considering joining WEFC, what would you say to them and their parents?
Definitely come and give it a go, now is a great age for them to see whether they like it, whether they are good at it and if its something they can progress with. If they don’t give it a go, they will never know. You may have the next Leah Williamson or Mary Earps in the family! Plus its a great way to make new friends.
There feels like a real pathway is building at the club for girls all the way up to the new women’s team?
100%, with the clubs girls/womens football growing it will only encourage more females to take part. It also gives all the girls at all ages something to work towards. We are lucky that it is growing and we are being given the same opportunities as the boys.
What are your hopes and ambitions for this season?
We’re moving to bigger pitches and bigger squads now, so i hope that the girls can develop as a team and continue to learn like we did last season, if we win games and trophies on the way then fantastic but really i just hope that they continue to enjoy it. I hope we can encourage more girls to take part, to strengthen squads and ideally have two teams running. I want us to be a team that puts development first before winning, so that when they are older they can flourish, that they’ve become a group of unstoppable girls!
