Last week Gills U17s Keeper, Katie Startup attended Larkfield Ladies to take a session with their young goalkeepers.
Katie coached at our recent Girls Only Soccer School, which saw a number of Larkfield Girls in attendance so Club Secretary, Sarah M’Grady asked about the possibility of her attending one of their training sessions, Katie jumped at the opportunity.
As well as playing for the Girls Centre of Excellence and an England International, Katie is also keen to assist and coach the younger girls at the Centre and can often be found arriving early for training so that she can help with the U9s Development Squad and U11 and U13 goalkeepers.
During the training session Katie was able to put the keepers through their paces and give them tips and advice that she has learnt from her coaches.
Katie said: “I really enjoy working with the younger players and it’s exciting to see them progressing, especially the keepers. It was a fantastic opportunity to coach at Larkfield Ladies and brilliant to see so many talented keepers at their club. It can be little daunting and lonely being a keeper at times and I’m so happy I can give something back as good support is essential.
Sarah M’Grady added: “Katie was an absolute credit to Gills tonight with my girls, they loved it and it meant so much to them, she really is a fantastic role model.”
This June Larkfield Ladies will be holding a tournament for both boys, girls and mixed teams to find out more please click here or @LarkfieldLadies.