Helped Charlton Athletic Community Trust’s The Priory School side to victory in five cup finals and also received her third call up to England U-19 training camps.
1. Name: Nicole Pepper
2. Age (D.O.B): 17. 29/07/1995
3. Team: CACT Priory
4. Position (and have you always played there)? Centre Midfield, I started off playing striker, then I moved into left midfield and now I am in the middle of the pitch.
5. Team Supporter/Fave player? Support Liverpool, Steven Gerrard is my favourite player.
6. Occupation/or what you are studying? I am studying Btec Sport Level 3, Btec Science and Personal Trainer Level 3
7. Are there other footballers in your family? My little brother plays occasionally for a local team, he just does it for a bit of fun and to socialise with his mates.
8. Favourite game you have played in (and why)? For Kent in the U-16 Cup Final against Durham, because we played at Nottingham Forest’s stadium and it was a really good experience.
9. Your best attribute as a player? I would say passing but then I also think I have quite a good shot as well, so it would have to be half and half.
10. What are your ambitions in football? I aim to get to the top of women’s football and walk out wearing the England badge on my shirt.
11. Who has been the biggest influence in or on your footballing career? I would have to say my mum and dad, they have always been there standing in the freezing cold watching me play. Dad would always be driving me everywhere to make sure I didn’t miss an opportunity.
12. What is the best thing about playing for your team? Everyone is easy to get along with, when we are on our game we play some really good passing football and it is great to be a part of it.
13. If you got to design your team’s kit, what would it look like? This is a tricky one, we have a blue kit and I really like it but we don’t play in it that often because most teams we play against play in blue as well. If I did get to pick the kit, I would choose a baby blue colour.
14. Do you listen to music to get you motivated, or while you train – if so, what tracks? Before a game we always have the music playing in the changing rooms, full blast upbeat music most of the time. However, there are some occasions when we use someone’s iPod and they have depressing songs but we generally change it straight away. We will also have a sing along to some of the songs when they come on, this gets everyone up for the game and ready to win.
15. Who, that plays for your team, should we know more about and why? We have a lot of good players in our team but this season our goalkeeper Briony Houghton has stuck out for me, she has kept us in a couple of games with some saves you would never think she would make. I think she has improved so much over the season and if she keeps going the way she is, anything could happen!
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