Each month, Graham Devereux will offer his thoughts on sports and recreation matters from the heart of the Overton Recreation Centre. To kick things off, he talks about the development of girls and women in football.
Recently, I visited the FA with some colleagues and we discussed how exciting it is to see the development of girls and women in football.
Overton has already started mixed teams, and selects U10 & U12 teams for competition in the local league. Overton Youth has an impressive expansion plan. You will also read more below about Emily Hill who has a career in professional ladies football at Watford.
Whether I’m watching football, cricket, athletics, and golf or the panoply of sports my wife complains about, I’m bowled over by what’s happening with respect to the development of sports for girls and women. Our local commitment to equality and inclusion is helping us to reap rewards. Well done to all those volunteers that are making this a reality!
By the way, Kevin has won another Hants FA award (Bronze) for providing an excellent football ground at Bridge Street – excellent facilities helps create an environment for our talent to prosper! Let’s all keep working on improvement.
Local Emily Hill plays for Watford FC!
It was great to find out that a local talent had broken through into senior football with Watford’s Golden Girls during the 2017/18 season & was voted Player of the Season! They play in the FA Women’s Super League 2nd Division. Emily continues to be a first choice and is happy playing in midfield or defence and is particularly threatening at set pieces. She scored recently against Oxford though unfortunately lost at Sunderland in the cup. Rob and I will be interviewing Emily soon and you’ll be able to listen to the interview on our brand new podcast which will be available to download from all major podcast providers as well as our new website!
Girls Youth Football
Overton Youth formed its first girls’ football teams this season. There is an under
10s team and an under 12s team playing in the Hampshire Girls’ league. We
are also an FA approved Wildcats centre, meaning the club is qualified to offer
weekly sessions to girls between 5 and 11 so we can introduce them to
“the beautiful game” in a fun and friendly environment.
Our plan for the new decade is simple, yet ambitious. The coaching team is
working with Hampshire FA to prepare a foundation and philosophy for Girls’
football at Overton which will allow us to deliver the best football experience
for our girls from year 1 through to adulthood. Our Wildcats sessions will be
starting up again during January. If you’d like to know more about our Girls’
football or you’d like to get involved in some way, please contact us via our
website: https://www.overtonyouthfc.co.uk/contactus
Image copyright © Watford Football Club
