AS AN active and successful goalkeeper coach, University of Worcester lecturer Julia West always wondered how she could encourage more women and girls to don the gloves and play in goal.

Now, having put down on paper her thoughts about goalkeeping, she will be reaching a wider audience. For Julia’s chapter has won inclusion in a new book entitled Football, She Wrote, an anthology of women’s writing on the game, which was published this month.

Julia’s chapter, The Accidental Goalkeeper begins with an account of how she came to be stuck between the sticks and goes on to tell how she actually came to enjoy the position.

Having once also written an academic article about the key demands of being a football goalkeeper, Julia uses this information to explore, challenge and inspire readers and players to consider taking up goalkeeping.

Julia coaches male and female goalkeepers in and around Worcester and has always wanted to see more girls and women give it a go to help ease a shortage of keepers.

She runs a goalkeeper academy and is also the goalkeeper coach for Worcester City Women FC, bringing with her a knowledge of Sport and Exercise Science as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Worcester. Now retired from playing, she also helps to mentor and develop outfield coaches in their understanding of the goalkeeper-specific roles, leading to more effective sessions for all keepers.

“I was so excited to be selected as one of the authors for Football, She Wrote and I hope that readers get great pleasure in reading the book and seriously consider making that next step to becoming a goalkeeper,” says Julia.

“It is important to recognise all the positive things being a keeper brings, often the position is overlooked and criticised unduly especially through the media. Many goalkeepers I talk to have developed a depth of character which overcomes these somewhat negative perceptions but this takes time to develop and often needs additional support from coaches, players and loved ones in the meantime”

Football, She Wrote comprises 20 chapters by women writers, 10 of whom were commissioned, such as the doyenne of football writing Julie Welch, formerly of The Observer, who wrote the TV film Those Glory, Glory Days, and the book The Fleet Street Girls. The other 10 came from new writers who were invited to submit to a competition, Julia being one of the successful submissions.

“Football, She Wrote aims to inspire and support women to participate, discuss and support other women across the realms of the football industry,” says Julia. “It includes chapters on a multitude of topics, embracing memoirs, profiles, interviews and talking points taking in sexuality, diversity and inclusion.”

Adds the book’s curator Ian Ridley, founder of Floodlit Dreams who are publishing the book in conjunction with the organisation Women in Football: “This collection is full of remarkable material that shows the depth of talent among women wanting to write about football. They just need platforms, particularly when it comes to books.”

The foreword to the book has been written by Gabby Logan and the front cover bears an endorsement by Alex Scott, describing the book as: “A brilliantly entertaining collection showcasing a wealth of women’s voices.”

The book is available to order on Amazon and from Waterstones, or from www.floodlitdreams.com, priced £14.99, ebook £7.99.

For any queries on getting involved with goalkeeping, please contact Julia West on j.west@worc.ac.uk