What to do when the Football season is on a break?
Music - I love it, so so much
I have been so lucky to be able to fill my last month with festivals and Concerts, some of them working their, others enjoying as a fan;
Download in Donnington - 3 days of rock music. Rock isn't my choice music, but quite a lot of it did grow on me, in particular I now love Alestorm, who I also met backstage. Download covers a large area, with two main stages. Fortunately the weather did shine upon us and it was beautiful all weekend. The main stage was massive, it laid host to amazing acts, finishing with a fantastic set by Aerosmith, who had loads of energy, and sounded great.
I spent 90% of my time working second stage. It was obvious very quickly that this stage was where the bucket list of 'crowdsurfing' was popular. It meant for a busy time for Pit Security. I actually love it, constantly on the lookout for the telltale feet making their way towards front of stage. Several times it was like a tsunami of people coming out of the crowd. I was definately able to keep my fitness up during this festival.
Glastonbury - Talking of bucket lists. Glastonbury should be on everyne's bucket list. It is the most incredible festival. It is suited to everyone in the family, it has around 360 stages, coverimg every type of music, all sorts of comedy and even a variety of presentations. You can be electrified in Block 9, with the incredible DJ's. move on to the wood for a spot of relaxation in front of the real fire. Then jog across to Shangri-la for total music mahem. Get away from it all by going to the holistic area, where you can even get in a cinema visit. We went up to the Glastonbury sign, where the views were stunning and while we were there a chap suddenly went down on one knee and he proposed to his girlfriend - In true Glastonbury style the gathered crowd went into uproar, and the bar handed out special shots.
I was working on the 'Other Stage'. We hosted acts such as George Ezra, Liam Gallagher, Kaiser Chiefs and the most incredible RagnBone Man. The crowd was massive, you couldn't see the end, the atmosphere was electric. The celebrities were all around, and were up and down the celeb rabbit run which takes VIP's from the Pyramid to the Other stage. At one point I was keeping the crowd happy with my kick-ups, only to turn round and see Beckham watching me - Cool!!!
Glastonbury is 24 hours, so as soon as we finished work (around Midnight), we got changed and went out into the site to party the night away. So many choices, so much fun and everyone so nice and in such wonderful moods. It is absolute escapism, it's somewhere that you can be whoever you want to be, it's totally safe, and it's just full of fun, quiet, loud, music, comedy, faith, just everything.
I've got another couple of festivals coming up, but before these I actually managed to go to a couple of concerts as a fan. I went to Elton John, who was great, his audience was a variety of ages. I didn't know all his songs (went with Mum), but I sang along woth those I did know. Tonight I went to see 'Little Mix' - Amazing. I had the best evening, they got the crowd going, I danced non-stop and sang as loud as I could. The atmosphere was fantastic, and their set was so enjoyable.
My off-season is going really quickly, and I still have so much music to go - Love it
It's that time of year again, the 'kick it out, raise your game' conference. Held at the most amazing and inspiring of location, which is the Ethiad Stadium, home of Manchester City. The conference is there to attract all type of females regardless of ethnicity, background, job role or qualifications to either get involved in job roles in football, be inspired or gain advice and guidance on how to excel in your chosen football career path, or there to see what opportunities and options are out there. Therefore, it's pretty much open to any female who has a interest and passion for football.
Throughout the day, you wont be bored. There is everything on offer to attend from Media and career workshops, to one to one sessions, followed by a general talk of leading women already in top roles within football. The workshops are a great way to extend your knowledge on how to get involved, what you need to do to be involved in football and then a summary of the stories from the speakers of there job role and how they got to where they are now. These are all about learning and listening to people who are already in the jobs they want to be in so a great way to inspire the next generation and brilliant way to gain extensive knowledge in how to thrive within the world of football.
The one to one session are of course a lot more intimate then the workshops, as you get the chance to speak one on one to the leading professional in a variety of career paths. This is your opportunity to not ony ask every question under the roof, but being a opportunitiest and telling them how good you are as well, as there are constantly jobs arising and you never know they could be on the look out for someone!
The days agenda provides so much relevant information and fantastic opportunities to lean you towards a career path or maybe even eliminate career path that maybe aren't as up your street as you initially thought, both technically as good as each other.
Of course, the importance of it being at such an inspiring venue such as the Ethiad, only emphasises what is out there for you in your career and hearing the stories of great panel of leading professionals, that one day were all in your position, looking for there way into the industry.
In summary, if you're a female looking to get into the football industry in any way, shape or form. This is like LinkedIn but in real life. Leading professionals that are prodominantly there to help you and offer you all the help they can, to hopefully allow you to get in and go far. Or even if you don't get the opportunity to have a one on one chat, like stated previously the workshops are filled with so much advice from a numerous amount of backgrounds, it's so easy to gain great advice and be inspired to fulfill your dreams.
The most exciting times lie ahead when it comes to the end of the football season, we know what it means dont we? The cup finals. The match where two teams will go head to head for 90, maybe 120 minutes to battle it out for the winners trophy.
This season Radcliffe Olympic Ladies, were lucky enough to be involved for the third year running in the Nottinghamshire women's cup final, against Nottingham Forest Ladies. This game has so much history behind it, which of course only increases the emotion even more, ultimately making it more than just who wears the winner's medals at the end of the game.
The match was played Thursday 27th May, held at Basford UTD's ground. The weather was definitely on our side, maybe a little too much, this obviously then encouraged many local football fans to come down and support both teams and be entertained by a real local derby. Around 300 people attended, so you can imagine the atmosphere of the crowd in ratio with a small ground was pretty amazing, and a pleasure to be involved in.
The game itself, I must admit it was a tough one to play in due to the weather. For the first couple of minutes Forest dominated and tried to show us who was the dominant of this game, however, we, as we always do, took over control after around 20 minutes. Radcliffe were confident on the ball and always looked like we could score when in possession of the ball. However, in the first half we did lack quality on the finishing side, we could definitely of been 3/4 nill up by the time the half time whistle went. But luck wasn't on ourside and it remained 0-0 as we went in for a well deserved break and refreshments.
This is it now, 45 minutes to showcase all that we had worked for within the 2016/17 season, which like most teams, had been full of ups and downs. We came out, straight away taking possession and dominating the game, Forest quite evidently weren't able to play there usual game of football and began to get quite impatient, which of course played in our favour as this meant they were consistently hoofing the ball forward and not really creating any chances for themselves. We were creating chances after chances and both teams new there were only a few minutes left, and there were evidently going to be no goals in the 90 minutes, therefore both teams were preparing for a tiring extra half an hour worth of football!
And then, the cruelty of a game of football struck. We dominanted the game from start to finish, creating numerous amounts of chances, the team in control, always. 90+3 minutes
, Nottingham Forest get a corner. Drilled in to the penalty area, and of course, you know what's coming, a forest player gets her head on the end of it, hits the bottom left side of the back of the net. Heartbreaking. Our heads went down for a split second as any teams would, then we rushed the ball back to the centre spot and tried so hard to get that last second equalisers. The dreaded final whistle was blown, and that was it, it wasn't meant to be. Football can be a very cruel game.
Even though the game didnt end up in our favour, after a few days of being able understand we did all we could and it just wasn't our day. The day was a pleasure to be involved in and it was a fantastic opportunity for Radcliffe Olympic to showcase what our team is about, even though we were the underdogs, every single person who attended that game, and I would say even the Nottingham Forest players would say we deserved to win that day.
That's the way football goes sometimes, we have to dust ourselves off and prepare for the coming season and hopefully be back again next year to claim the title back.
Always keep your eyes open, and listen out for opportunities. Refereeing is full of exciting events, matches, and chances. You just need to reach out and grasp them - don't wait for them to come calling (cos they won't!!!)
This last week;
I played twice last week.
Woverhampton 0 - 2
Loughborough 3 - 1
To be honest I played really well against Wolverhampton. The whole team played well. I think that because we didn't have such a good game away to Wolverhampton, we were determined not to let ourselves down. Even though we lost, we were definately happier with our performance.
I wasn't feeling too well during the Loughborough game, I had an awful headache. I played through until around the 60th minute, but asked to come off. I knew I wasn't putting in the turns or sprinting as I should, and I wasn't going in for tackles or heading the ball. It's no use just keeping going when you are not well. You're not doing yourself any favours, and you're not helping your team. I literally went to bed as soon as I got home.
Leicester FC
I was fortunate to be given tickets to watch the Leicster v Watford game this last weekend. I've only been to Leicester once before and that was when I was around 12 years old, in a tournament with Neils Angels. It brought back those wonderful memories, and made me smile. Although that last time there definately wasn't the parking lot of vehicles by the font reception - I would love to park my VW Polo in the middle of them. I reckon it would look so cute.
I enjoyed the match, it was end to end with several chances for both sides. Leicester did start to take control of the match half way through the second half, and won with well worked goals. It was great being at a Premiership match, the size of the crowd, the noise and excitement, The crowds involvement is so much a part of the whole experience. The Leicester fans are so passionate, their commitment so intense, I could only imagine what it must have been like this time last year when they were literally knocking on the trophy door
Referee Diversity Day
Sunday I spent the day at St George's Park at a Referee Diversity event. I love St George's Park. The centre is in the most beautiful rolling countryside, with so many different footballing facilities; Football grass, astro and inside, Futsal pitches, pitches for every type of match thinkable. The event was in the Hilton hotel which is within the grounds. It's the most wonderful hotel, so spacious, so comfortable, with incredible decor and memorabilia all around. The restaurant has panaramic windows allowing the wonderful views to greet you. The food is scrummy and the service is top-notch. The staff at the hotel seem to just love working there - Who wouldn't?
The event was well attended. We were split into round tables of around 8 people, and had discussion topics. The topics were interesting, they were subjects that were current and relevant, and when we had finished discussing we had to present to the rest of the attendee's and open discussion to the floor. The event speakers were very professional and brought with them an incredible amout of experience. They were inspirational and gave you even more confidence to be able to get to the top - no matter what. I particlarly loved Stephen Child's presentation. Stephen has been deaf since he was born, his presentaton skills are great, his presentation was interesting, inspirational and funny. He has never let his deafness stop him progressing. But hat's ff to the PGMOL who also ensure that he has the best aids to ensure that he is equipped to do the job.
Over a lovely lunch I also had the chance to Network. A couple of people from the RA and PGMOL were there who I had met at the film premier last month. It was good to keep conversation with them. I also met with the new lead of womens referee which was great.
The week has been educational, it has been great for my knowledge and for building relationships.
I was working on the 'Other Stage'. We hosted acts such as George Ezra, Liam Gallagher, Kaiser Chiefs and the most incredible RagnBone Man. The crowd was massive, you couldn't see the end, the atmosphere was electric. The celebrities were all around, and were up and down the celeb rabbit run which takes VIP's from the Pyramid to the Other stage. At one point I was keeping the crowd happy with my kick-ups, only to turn round and see Beckham watching me - Cool!!!
