Coaches Corner - Ladies

Ahead of the Ladies' Cornwall Women's League Cup quarter-final against Bodmin, we sat down with first team manager Lucie Beesley and coach Joe Betts to hear about life at Mount Wise, what's driving them, and why they think this group is just getting started.

Two Different Journeys, One Club

Lucie Beesley has been part of Newquay AFC for over 10 years. First it was through her daughter, then on her own terms when the game pulled her back in. "My daughter left to go to college and uni and I had a year of doing nothing," she says. "I just had to get back involved."

Joe Betts arrived this season from a different direction. He'd been involved with another ladies team, finished his coaching badge, and was looking for his next challenge when he spotted an advert for an assistant role. He came up to Mount Wise, watched a game, and that was that. "I was really sort of taken aback by the quality," he says. "And then I came and met Lucie and Jason, the director of football, and I was kind of sold from there."

Between them they bring two very different experiences of the club. Lucie's roots here run deep. Joe's eyes are still fresh. It works.

A Club That Actually Backs Its Women's Team

One thing both coaches mention early: the club genuinely wants the ladies to succeed. At this level, that's not something you can take for granted.

"There's certainly an encouragement from the club to push the ladies' game," says Joe. "At this level, that's really, really important. A lot of clubs don't really push it enough. They're happy to have a ladies team there for number's sake. Whereas here, you're actively encouraged to progress. That's really refreshing."

Lucie talks about what that backing has meant: "You come with your head high, chest out, you're proud. Across Cornwall, there's not many clubs that back their ladies the way this club does. And it shows, all the way through the players."

She points to what greets you when you arrive: "When you get to Mount Wise, it's already impressive. The clubhouse is impressive. The facilities are impressive. The pitch is good. And there's potential to improve it even further. The players feel that. They want to be here."

The Moment Everything Clicked

Coming off the back of an unbeaten promotion season is a strange kind of pressure. How do you follow that? But there's been a moment this year that told both coaches everything they needed to know.

"The match against Saltash." Lucie doesn't have to think about it. Joe nods. "You stand there as coaches and… yeah. I don't think we had a bigger high-five after a goal all year. It just felt like: we're doing this."

A few weeks earlier they'd drawn 2-2 with Saltash in what Joe describes as "probably the most disjointed game since I've been here." They addressed it. They came back. Then they put ten past them. Ten. Saltash, who are up around third in the league.

"They're not a bad team," Joe says. "To dismantle them in that way really showed something. A lot of people looked at this league and talked about St Agnes, talked about Sticker. They weren't mentioning Newquay. But I think they will now. The girls deserve to be recognised as that."

"They fear no one. You can see it in them. They're happy to play anyone, anytime, any place."

They'd Play on a Cow Field

That attitude runs through everything. When games have been called off recently due to poor pitch conditions, the players don't just accept it.

"They're constantly messaging us," Joe laughs. "Can we get it on? Can we find another pitch somewhere? They'd play on a cow field if they had to. And they'd still perform."

Every player in the squad has raised their game this season. It's not just new signings coming in. The girls who were there last year have stepped up. "It's very, very difficult to follow an undefeated season when you move up the pyramid," Joe says. "But the girls have really, really improved. They've adapted to the challenge of a higher tier. And it's all upward curve — the men are doing well, the vets are doing well, the ladies are doing well. For the town, that's fantastic."

What Newquay Means

What would they want people in Newquay to know about the club, if they didn't know it already?

Lucie talks about heritage and the future: "We're trying our hardest to get the ladies back on the map and build something with a long history going forward. But honestly, just come up and watch a match. Come and see what we're about."

Joe broadens it out: "If you care about your town, wherever you're from, whether you're new to Newquay or you've been here all your life, your local team is the one thing where you can actually picture yourself against everybody else. You can be proud of it. Come and see the game."

Then: "And don't say it just because we're involved with the ladies. There isn't a better time for women's football than right now. Ladies' football now is what men's football was 25 years ago — in the pure sense of it. The histrionics, no VAR, it's pure. When you watch it, it is really enjoyable. And I said this to Lucie when I first met her: my preconception of women's football was probably the same as most people's. After being involved for a while, it really opens your eyes. These girls are talented."

Three to Five Years: The Vision

Blue sky thinking. What does success look like?

Lucie's answer is immediate: training twice a week. "That would be huge. And still competing at the highest level we can be." She thinks this team can cope at Tier 6. Joe reckons they could cope at Tier 5 — now, not in three years.

The youth section is where Joe's eyes really light up. "When I look at what the club has right now, we've only got up to under-12s with the girls, but there are some seriously talented young players there. In three or four years those girls could be stepping up to us. That's the dream. A proper pathway from early years right through to senior football, all within Newquay AFC. Let's offer Cornwall a club that has that vision."

Lucie nods. "If you've got a daughter with an interest in football, bring her down. We're here. Come and see us."