Chesterfield FC Women currently sit at the top of the table after playing 14 games – an impressive stat for a team that was only set up at the start of the campaign.
Andrea Parkinson is the manager of the women’s team and she spoke about her delight with recent results and touched on how things are going.
She said: “I’m absolutely delighted with the progress that my team are making on and off the pitch.
“It’s a privilege to be the manager of this team and there’s truly nothing better than seeing the girls win.
“We’re a newly established team and our aims at the start of the season were literally to just finish mid-table and now we’re sat top, hoping to gain promotion.
“We’re also in the quarter-finals of the cup, which for us is amazing, we’re so excited for that.
“The players have shown me really good commitment, togetherness and their work ethic is unbelievable.
“They deserve a lot of credit and I’m buzzing with how things are going.”
Andrea also outlined the team’s training schedule to give fans some insight. “We have a set training schedule that the girls follow brilliantly,” she said.
“On a Monday evening we train and that is more of a technical session. We do drills, ball work and stuff like that. All sorts of different football drills that work the girls’ technical side.
“On a Thursday we use the HUB gym and the sports hall where we do more fitness work and lots of strength and conditioning work.
“We thank Carl Cappellano who puts on some fantastic sessions for us and we’re very grateful for that.
“Then Sunday is game day and we play in the Sheffield and Hallamshire League.
“All our games at home are at Staveley Miners Welfare and we thank them for the use of their pitch.”
She also spoke on how she’s found managing the team and how much fun it’s been, saying: “I’ve loved it – it’s been absolutely fantastic up to now.
“I’ve got such a good relationship with all my players and I’m delighted and proud to be the manager of this team.
“I’ve got some right headaches a lot of the time trying to pick my team because we now have a full squad of 25 players and I can only name 16 in a matchday squad, it’s tough.
“Some of the decisions are hard, but that’s part of it and every one of the girls understands the decisions that I make.
“I love it, for me personally it’s my first management role at a senior level so I’m still learning, that’s for sure.
“The reality is I’m going to always be able to keep learning and improving myself but I’m loving doing it at the same time.”
The football club and the Trust are determined to bring more women into the sport in and around the local area.
Andrea explained that the women’s team has now created a pathway for more girls and women in Chesterfield.
She said: “We have always wanted to ensure that the women’s first team is a target for younger girls in the club.
“We are trying to link the first team with a number of different areas within the Trust to ensure more girls get involved within the sport.
“We recently ran an all-girls tournament and some of the first team girls attended to hand out the trophy and it was great to see.
“The younger girls were really looking up to them and even asking for photos and stuff, it shows that they’re role models and it’s good to see them viewing them in that way.
“I real feel there’s becoming a pathway within the Trust for girls now, this season we’ve set up an U16s and an U18s team, which is massive.
“We’re now looking at expanding that and hopefully within the next few months and years we will have even more girls playing the sport.
“The pathway is there and we know what we want to do, it’s going to take some time but we’re always making strides towards where we want to be.”
Finally, Andrea urged supporters to come down and support the team. “We would love to see more people coming and supporting the girls,” she said.
“We do get a good number coming down to the home games but we’d love to see more. It’s a good standard and the girls really would love and appreciate your support.
“If you keep an eye on our social media channels, we post all of our fixtures on there with all the details you need.
“Drop us a follow and keep up with what we’re doing. You can even email me for more information if you need.”
Follow the women’s team on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/Chesterfield-FC-Women-102505072590512/
Follow the women’s team on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/women_cfc?s=21&t=0gpT5UmEu9F3jdjPpLBB4Q
Follow the women’s team on Instagram here: https://instagram.com/women_cfc?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Alternatively, you can email Andrea if you would like any more information on anything involving the women’s team: andreaparkinson@spireitestrust.org.uk.
