LFW is always looking for ways to expand its coverage of all things QPR and this season, for the first time, we’re going to be covering the QPR Ladies teams with regular round-ups provided by Neil Dejyothin during the 2011/12 season.
The women’s World Cup kicked off in Germany earlier this week a crowd of over 70,000 in attendance and this summer has seen the start of an English Women’s Super League screened live on ESPN. The game is growing fast, but plenty of traditionalists remain to be convinced. In an effort to change a few opinions, provide some comprehensive coverage of the thriving QPR Ladies set up for the first time, and make use of the fact that one of the coaches at Rangers also works as the LFW official photographer (not a salaried position) we’re going to be providing regular updates and articles on how the QPR Ladies are doing during the 2010/11 season.
The Ladies currently compete in the FA Tesco Women’s Southern Premier Division, the second tier of the women’s game in this country, where they have consolidated after winning promotion from the South West Combination back in 2008/09. The firsts narrowly avoided relegation last season, but still made the cup final in true Brighton/Middlesbrough/Portsmouth style. Allow Neil Dejyothin to set down his camera, pick up his keyboard and guide you through what happened last term and where things are heading in 2011/12. After all it’s got to be more productive than waiting for the men’s side to make a signing, release a kit, name a sponsor etc etc etc.
Last week the Ladies had their presentation night, after what proved to be a roller coaster of a campaign for both the first-team and the reserves.
The firsts survived the threat of relegation and endured a frustrating stop-start campaign that was littered with injuries to key members of the squad. But they turned it around in the final weeks and hit form at the right time to pick up enough points to pull away from trouble. The 3-0 win at home over promotion chasing Portsmouth was a real highlight and gave us three very crucial points at the time.
Despite the league campaign not going as planned, the team did reach the final of the FA Senior Middlesex Cup, a trophy they were looking to retain after beating Barnet Ladies 3-1 the previous season. However this time around the Bees got their revenge with a 2-0 win despite a spirited effort against a side playing in the league above – the National Premier Division.
The Reserves went one better on the cup front though, by beating Barnet Ladies Reserves 3-1 to lift the FA Junior Middlesex Cup.
Presentation evening for the QPR Ladies teams.
The presentation night was a chance for the players and respective sponsors to pick up their awards. They were as follows:
FIRST TEAM
Players’ Player of the Season: Elly Maggs
Runner Up - Melanie Bidewell
Manager’s Player of the Season: Tammy Scrivens
Young Player of the Season: Sophie Fogarty
Goal of the Season: Beth Curtis
Special Achievement Award: Simone Dwyer
RESERVES
Players’ Player of the Season: Louise Naylor
Runner Up: Vanessa Oppong
Manager’s Player of the Season: Louise Naylor
Young Player of the Season: Tara O’Brien
Goal of the Season: Natalie Skiverton
So, for the Firsts, Elly Maggs won the coveted Players’ Player of the Season award, and what a season she had. This was her second season playing for Rangers, and to be fair the early signs of promise were there when she started her first campaign in explosive fashion before suffering a serious knee injury that required microsurgery.
Despite missing most of pre-season and the early start of the campaign, her return to action was welcomed with open arms. On the pitch she usually operates in centre midfield, where her tireless running and ability to close players down and cut off their angles is what I like best about her. She’s a real team player too, and this season she’s had to play her fair share on either wing or behind the striker, but she’s versatile and knows how to put in a shift wherever she plays and her team-mates duly recognised that by voting her as their player of the season.
Player of the Year Elly Maggs takes the game to Charlton.
Melanie Bidewell won the Manager's Player of the Season, and her experience was vital in the closing weeks of the campaign, when things got really tough. She's a true R’s legend having served the club for around a decade and is a tough tackling, all-action defender who can play in the centre or on the right, and is a Restaurant Manager in her day job.
The Ladies have appointed James Finn as the new strength and conditioning coach for the forthcoming season, in a bid to help improve the squad’s pre-season fitness preparations. Finn’s appointment is exciting for the club, as he is educated to a master’s level in strength and conditioning, has a first class degree in Sports Rehabilitation and comes with a wealth of professional experience.
He previously worked under the tutelage and mentorship of the coaches at Athletes Performance in Los Angeles and while he was out there, he contributed to the NFL Combine programme, pre-season and in season preparation of the LA Galaxy and Chivas and also assisted the US National team coaches with their World Cup preparations.
Back home in England, he has experience within professional rugby, national academy fencing and consulting with high-end private school programmes and currently works at the new elite performance facility at Harrow School, providing strength and conditioning support to 800 student athletes.
The Ladies team training sessions are already based at Harrow School, giving them access to some of the best elite performance equipment and facilities available.
Finn said: “The primary focus and message endorsed by our team is one of movement, more explicitly the quality and efficiency of movement. The ability to accelerate, decelerate, jump and change direction are skills often taken for granted. These movements transcend individual sports but rather support performance in its purest. Proficiency and mastery of these skills cannot be achieved without purposeful strategies in place. Technical skill counts for little if a player’s movement prevents them from expressing these skills on the pitch. Therefore, athlete education will be fundamental to all we do from this point on.
“With the demands placed upon the female footballer increasing season to season, it is important that our training approach reflects this. Pre-season will be tough, yet highly rewarding. With the first session scheduled for next week, I simply cannot wait to get started.”
Pre-season for the Ladies is due to start on July 5 and the first pre-season friendly follows soon after on Sunday July 10 against The Prison Service. This summer the squad is also hoping to go on tour to Jersey as part of their preparations.
@loftforwords, @neildejyothin and @QPRLadies are all on Twitter. All the kids are doing it these days.