Heyside on a high
Reporter: by KEVIN RICHARDSON
Date published: 30 October 2008
Women’s senior team making great strides
HEYSIDE Ladies were born out of fulfilling a need — to provide open age football for girls who would have otherwise dropped out of the game for good.
Five years later and they are setting their sights on silverware success in the West Riding Girls League.
Riding high and still unbeaten in division one after five matches, they are eyeing promotion at the very least this season.
A steady stream of players have made their way through the system at the Heyside club — they run girls teams from under-10s to under-16s — and the senior side are now reaping the rewards of regular coaching from a young age.
Manager Michelle Cooper, who is a qualified FA level one coach, said: “When the girls at Heyside got to 16, they had nowhere else to go. Some of them carried on playing outside of Oldham while many others found something else to do.
“We wanted to keep them playing within the club set-up, but the only way to do that was to form an open age team.
“We joined the Manchester and Cheshire League first, but that involved a lot of travelling. That’s why we switched to the West Riding League.
“Girls come to us based on our reputation, because we are a well-established club.
“The oldest player is Sam Addison, who is 24. She was originally a junior with us. The youngest are Rachael Lawson and Laura Beswick, who are both 16. This is their first season at open age level after playing for Heyside in the Oldham Girls League.
“But not all of the girls who have come up through the juniors here stay at Heyside. Some now play at Uppermill and Oldham Athletic.”
Michelle (pictured, left), who is assisted by her husband, Steve, and Paul Ashton, is hoping to build on last season’s achievement when they reached the final of the league’s shield competition.
Heyside take their football very seriously. They train twice a week and sometimes on a Sunday if they don’t have a game.
There are 20 in the squad and the club will consider running a reserve side if they attract another dozen or so players.
The team, who play their home games at Heyside Park, boast two of the league’s hot-shots in Rachael Davies and Helen Smith.
The duo have formed a formidable partnership in attack, scoring 22 of the side’s 29 goals this term.
Davies scored twice — Hannah Wilson and captain Fay Brierley got the others — as Heyside came back from 2-0 down to beat basement club Castleford White Rose 4-2 in the latest clash.
Michelle, who also manages the club’s under-16s Angels team, says it is the excellent spirit within the camp and the admiration that they have for each other that has seen them climb to the top of the table.
She explained: “The players have got a lot of respect for the coaches and visa versa. That’s important.
“We’re one big happy family and there is a strong bond between us. Like all families, we do have tantrums now and again, but they are quickly forgotten about.
“It’s a collective thing, we’re all in this together. We’ve started well and I believe we can win division one. We’ve got an outstanding chance.”
FOR information on how to join Heyside Ladies or any of the club’s girls teams, call Michelle Cooper on 01706 840249.
