Following the return of the 'In Conversation' series we got the chance to ask Bradford City Women's captain Katy Woodcock a few questions about the season ahead and the effect the pandemic has had on the team. Katy is a player who has stood out to us at Edge of the Area whilst we have been going to the Bradford games as she notably gives everything on that pitch and is a solid central defender who isn't afraid to get stuck into a tackle. You can see just by looking on her Twitter just how invested into the club she is as her feed is filled with the club. So here is how our chat with Katy went...
EOTA: Whilst we haven’t seen much on the pitch due to Covid we have seen plenty of movement off the pitch with Ian & Keith joining the club and us becoming part of community foundation how do you think that’s going to benefit us?
Katy : I think it clearly shows the club is moving in a positive direction and the overall vision of the club is very evident now. Ian and Keith bring a wealth of knowledge from the commercial front and joining the community foundation shows the intent of BCAFC - we have a clear pathway for the junior girls to the seniors, it’s a great place to be in and a very positive one for the city of the Bradford.
EOTA: We have seen Brighouse promoted out of the league and 2 new additions being added in Alnwick and FC Manchester is it nice to see new teams added to the league after no relegation or promotion during the previous cancelled season?
Katy : Yeah, it’s always great to see new competition arriving in the league. These teams clearly deserve to be in the league so it’ll be interesting to see how they get on.
EOTA: As a player how have you been staying match fit during the lockdowns as it must have been hard not knowing if the season was going to happen again?
Katy: It’s extremely difficult to remain match fit because you only have that match fitness by playing consistently, week in week out. But during lockdowns, I just tried to remain as active as possible whether that be running - I completed a challenge during the second lockdown to raise money for charity. So this meant running 5K everyday for 22 days in a row. I was running a few times every week anyway so it just made sense to set a personal challenge/goal but also raise money for charity at the same time! A few other things I did were along the lines of; work outs in my back garden, zoom fitness sessions with the clubs fitness coach… and trying my best to keep a balanced diet in tact!
EOTA: How important do you believe social media is in raising awareness of the women’s game & helping promote teams in lower leagues like yourself
Katy: It’s massive. It really is. I think it’s great that there are so many more aspiring journalist’s etc., that are taking a real interest in the women’s game, across all tiers/levels. Particularly for lower league teams, it really gives clubs the exposure that they deserve.
EOTA: We are seeing the club come closer to the men's team and after the merge with the foundation we are seeing a lot more promotion across social media, do you think that promotion is going to bring in more fans to games?
Katy: I hope it does. We have great supporters who follow the club but It would be amazing to see more fans at our games and social media is a great way to advertise and showcase the women’s club.
EOTA: What would you say to any young girls who have been inspired by the recent Euros and want to get into football but are unsure of taking the first step?
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