Inside the Net: The Inspiring Journey of Goalkeeper Lillie Boothroyd

Every team in grassroots football knows that a keeper is hard to come by; we even know the occasional team that rotates the keeper depending on which straw you pick out of your coach's hand. Despite the crucial role, goalkeepers typically have limited ball contact, touching the ball for only around 2% of a match, and the critical aspect of the goalkeeper's role is that they face judgment for 100% of the goals scored against their team. Tough odds...

Lillie started playing football when she was around 6 years old and continues to play today. However, her position as a goalkeeper didn’t come until much later. Growing up, Lillie played at her local club in a mixed gender team. She stated, "It wasn’t easy when I was younger being a girl in sport, as everyone had opinions and women’s football wasn’t as followed". At around the age of 12/13, the club started an all-girls team. The massive trajectory in the women's game over the past 5/10 years has encouraged not only Lillie to continue, but she also helps to take pride in playing.

Lillie's note to her Younger self: "Follow your heart, play for the love of the sport and don’t get wound up in perfection! Nobody’s perfect, and in football, you’ll make mistakes; it’s just how you adapt to them. But ultimately enjoy it!"

With the limitations of women's football during the years that Lillie developed her football career, only a small percentage of female players actually "made it to the big leagues". Even then, getting paid way under what any male player would receive. Lillie voiced that not only herself but also other players around her had to start playing for fun, over the possibility of going up the ranks to a higher level. Career value was a barrier in women's football. Another benefit of the growth is knowing the grassroots initiatives are increasing with more women getting into different roles such as coaching, refereeing, etc, which is great to see!

The Highlights

Lillie's highlights so far in football, playing the FA cup. It gives grassroots teams a massive confidence boost that they can play in tournaments like this, even if it’s preliminary or the first round. Lillie took the FA cup game with pride, rather than feeling the pressure of that game. She went out and just enjoyed my football! As well as adding the FA Cup to the CV, the club had over 200 spectators for that game, which made me proud to be playing. Once again, growing the club's name in women's football.

Lillie's passion, kindness and technical ability are among the many reasons why this blog has started up. Her story is inspiring, from Reading Academy to Newquay. She has played far and wide. Thank you for sharing your story, Lillie! From the ball on the pitch to carrying your post-game beer to the table, you always know that you are in safe hands with Lillie Boothroyd.