When I was growing up in England, soccer was always seen as a “boys sport”. I used to kick around with the boys in the playground and in the park after school until dinner time, but there wasn’t a younger girls team in my area I could play on and the school team was just for boys. When I was 14 I attended my local fair at the cricket club, one of the ladies soccer teams had a beat the goalie competition and after taking a few shots they asked me to join the open aged team. I fell even more in love with the sport and the team became my family who I played with for over 10 years.
I went on to study Sport and Physical Education at York St John College and discovered that I really loved the coaching/teaching side of sport. After finishing my degree I came out to the USA in 2008 to coach soccer and have never looked back, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. I met Nick and some other CCSC coaches working through the same coaching company in Chicago. Nick and I had talked a few times over the years about working together, and in 2017 the timing was finally right to join the dream team. I knew it was a club that cares about it’s coaches and families and would help develop me into a better coach and person. We share the same values and everyone works incredibly hard to support each other and do the best job we can for our community.
I hope that I can be a positive role model for the players at the club, developing their skills and love for the game. Soccer has given me so many great experiences in life and I hope I can give back and provide the same opportunities for the kids in our community.