She has happily experienced ‘jumpers for goalposts’ but in Kenya, where she’d love to return and start a football academy in the future.
1. Name: Juliette Denny
2. Age (D.O.B): 22 (01/07/91)
3. Team: Lewes Ladies FC
4. Position (and have you always played there)? Right back, played in Midfield at Uni.
5. Team Supporter/Fave player? I support Fulham, but my favourite player has got to be Steven Gerrard.
6. Occupation/or what you are studying? I’ve been an intern in Exploration Geology at Tullow Oil PLC since graduating from the University of Bristol in July.
7. Are there other footballers in your family? Nope, though my dad always claims he used to be decent!
8. Favourite game you have played in (and why)? I volunteered as a coach in Kenya a few years ago, and one afternoon we played a match against some of the locals. We used jumpers for goalposts, only a few people had shoes, communication was through various forms of gesturing and no-one kept score. It was football at its most basic, but it was fantastic because there was no pressure, and everyone was playing simply because they loved the game.
9. Your best attribute as a player? Heading
10. What are your ambitions in football? To keep playing at a high level and eventually set up an academy in Kenya.
11. Who has been the biggest influence in or on your footballing career? My dad. He got me into football in the first place, spent hours at the park and in the garden with me helping me develop, and spent the best part of 10 years ferrying me round to games and training. He always has constructive things to say about how I’ve played and was the first to encourage me to analyse my own performances.
12. What is the best thing about playing for your team? The team spirit. There’s a togetherness about the squad, everyone gets on really well and everyone’s opinions are respected, regardless of age or experience. Everyone’s willing to put in 100% for each other in every game and put their bodies on the line for the team, and if someone makes a mistake, there’s encouragement instead of having a go at them.
13. If you got to design your team’s kit, what would it look like? Pretty much as it does now, maybe shorts that are less tent-like!
14. Do you listen to music to get you motivated, or while you train – if so, what tracks? On gamedays, my alarm is Rise and Shine (Welcome to the grind), and then just before a game I’ll listen to 300 Violin Orchestra by Jorge Quintero and Good Feeling by Flo Rida.
15. Who, that plays for your team, should we know more about and why? Catherine O’Hagan (Striker) – Our resident Irish source of banter, can’t say R2D2 to save her life! Her work rate is incredible, she’s brilliant at motivating the team from the front, and scores a fair few too!
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