Following the recent lockdown we thought it would be a perfect opportunity to look back at the players who have gone through our female pathway and had some great success along the way.
Many of our Ladies players have been with the club from a young age and over the years have progressed through our female pathway. Initially, players have the opportunity to train in our Elite & Development Centres up to 16 years old, we then offer a post-16 education programme, representing Peterborough United whilst studying for A-Levels/BTECs at Nene Park Academy. Both routes can lead to opportunities within our Ladies First and Reserve teams.
Nicole who has played in our Elite & Development Centres since the age of 7, looked back with fondness at her time with the club.
“I have had a great 8 years in the Posh Women’s and Girls’ set up and I feel it has really helped in my development as a player and person on and off the pitch playing with lots of quality players. Throughout the 8 years I have been coached by many different great coaches which have taught me lots of different things which have helped me to be the player I am today. I am now really enjoying doing the Posh Scholarship and being able to get a good mix of education and football whilst getting experience playing against lots of good EFL teams.”
Her Mother spoke proudly, and as a lifelong Peterborough United supporter, she was thrilled to see the progress Nicole is making in becoming a key player for the Posh Ladies.
“Nicole started at Posh in November 2011 - this was when they only had a Development Centre. Nicole joined in with the girls who were 2 years older due to them not having a set up at her age, she was 7 at the time. Nicole is a massive Posh supporter and has been a season ticket holder since she was 3 years old. I feel the set up at Posh has always helped with Nicole’s development. She has always wanted to represent the Ladies team from a young age and now she is in the Reserve team also doing the Scholarship, which was the natural progression after she had finished the Elite Centre. It has helped her advance into Women’s Football.”
Georgia Clarke, who manages both the Elite & Development Centres as well as the Scholarship Programme, held high praise for Nicole and believes she can only get better from this point:
“Nicole has made excellent progress through our female player pathway, starting within our Elite Centre, moving into the Scholarship Programme whilst also playing for the Ladies Reserves. It is clear to me that the coaching Nicole has received throughout our Elite Centre has made her a very adaptable player with a strong technical ability and who is able and willing to play in a number of different positions. Nicole is continuing to develop her understanding and ability within our Scholarship Programme as the training becomes tailored to our specific ‘playing principles’ with a tactical focus. This year in particular, there have been a number of players that have progressed from the Elite Centre to the Scholarship programme/Ladies teams showing that the player pathway is extremely effective and the opportunities we offer are realistic progressions. It would be great to see more females following in Nicole’s footsteps and progress from the U16’s into our Scholarship Programme and Ladies teams.”
Our Elite & Development Centres are aimed at 8-16 year olds and take place weekly at the Idverde Training Academy. If you are interested in finding out more about our Elite & Development Centres please email Georgia.clarke@theposh.com