Club News | Julia West Appointed Head of Goalkeeping
We are delighted to announce that club ambassador, Julia West, has been appointed Head of Goalkeeping at WCWFC ahead of the 2026/2027 season.
Photo by Flotography
Julia has been Goalkeeping Coach at Worcester City Women for the past five years and was Nicole Allison’s first appointment when she took over the club in the summer of 2021. We sat down with Julia to see where it all started for her, what made her join the club and how excited she is for her new role.
When did your football journey begin, and what were the opportunities like for women and girls in football compared to now?
A long time ago, I used to sing for a church choir (the only girl there), and they had a football team. We were all about the same age and still at primary school. Although I wasn’t allowed to play in the primary school team. I played as a defender. I am not sure I was any good, but the boys were great at teaching me some of their skills. When the choir had a match against my primary school, the headmaster said that if he had known, I could have played for them! I always thought I wasn’t allowed to play in the primary school team!
There weren’t really any girls’ teams around, but there were quite a few starting up, playing on muddy public pitches, no lights, limited kit, which you had to turn up in as there was nowhere to change. I went and played for a new local team after I had left school. I started as a striker and then went in goal when our goalkeeper injured herself. Once between the sticks, I was hooked.
I went to university in London and played for the university; at the same time, I signed for Brentford Ladies to play on a Sunday. I was lucky enough to get selected for England Universities during my time at university.
The opportunities were growing with me, it seemed. When I left university, there were more teams around that I could join. I played at Oxford United too. I took my first coaching badge as that seemed like the thing to do. I discovered I was not a very good coach… then! I hope I have got better with age!
How did you get into goalkeeping coaching, and what are the challenges that came with that?
In my time playing, I only got access to coaches, no specific goalkeeper coaches. There was so much to learn about playing in goal - positioning, foot movements, how to save a ball and of course diving. I hurt myself trying to dive the first few times and wanted to know how to do it well. So I watched a lot of football and read a lot of books to work it out. I found the wall of a sports hall which backed straight onto the grass and was lit with the street lights, so I would practice there every night. I decided that I wanted to share this information with upcoming goalkeepers (mostly boys), and I volunteered to help with the Oxford United academy. One of my coaches worked there. I took my first coaching badge, which was all about outfield players. So I still didn’t have any goalkeeping help!
As an outfield coach, I was often the only girl in the room. As an outfield coach who specialised in goalkeeping, I was always the only girl in the room. This can be awkward as people judge you based on your gender. She’s a coach, a goalkeeper coach; she probably only works with the U8S, you don’t need to know much. It was difficult, I could see the information I wanted was in the room, but I couldn't seem to access it at the level I wanted to! Now, when I work on the England Women’s Talent Pathway, I have come across more women goalkeeper coaches than I ever saw before… and there are still only a few of us!
Photo by Flotography
You were Nicole’s first appointment five summers ago. What made you decide to take on the challenge and join the club?
I was only doing some goalkeeper academy work on a Friday for all comers, of all ages (U10 right up to U18, males and females). I worked with Worcester United Ladies a few seasons back and had contact with our club captain, Fass. She said, “ Oh, you really need to come and meet Nicole, she has some great ideas”. I remember being a little cagey, putting it off a bit, but then thinking, I will just go and meet her, what is the worst that can happen!
Nicole and I had a coffee meeting (it was a long one then!), she set out her dreams, and she had a plan; she also had lots of contacts to help make the plan happen. I might have taken some persuading to come along and meet Nicole for the first time to get back into football coaching, but after meeting Nicole, I was quite fired up. I came along to training, I met the people and players and realised I like them, so I stayed. It turned out to be a great decision for me; I am very happy.
How much do you feel the club has grown in that time?
There’s no comparison. I think there were a few years we were sounding out people and players, sounding out coaches who fit into Nicole’s and the club’s expectations. We have always been a people-first club, and it is fantastic to look back and realise that our values have not changed from day one. We might not have come up with RISE until slightly later, but the values that underpinned this were there from the start. It is what gives us that shared purpose.
Now, when I see the fans, so many of them, the behind-the-scenes staff, so many of them as well, I realise this is a big club. I remind myself of the community work as well; we won the community club award from the FAWNL for all the work in that branch of WCWFC. That is really something, we have made a big difference to a lot of people, and I am sure this will continue and grow.
Photo by Flotography
You were awarded Club Ambassador of the Year at the end-of-season awards. How much did that mean to you?
Oh, well… when Nicole was saying all those nice words, I was thinking, gosh, I wonder who that is that has done all that! Then she mentioned goalkeeping. Like so many times in my life, I am the only goalkeeper coach (it’s not a brag, just the fact) here. I was quite overwhelmed. I was just helping out, doing the things I love, and my role now is more solely focused on goalkeeping, rather than a bit of everything like when I first started. I guess I felt as though I was doing less just recently. I do try and help out where I can still, but as there are so many more volunteers, I don’t need to so much.
Since joining last summer, Jodie Whiteman has been an integral part of the success we had as a group last season and played every minute across four competitions. How much do you feel she has kicked on since she arrived at the club?
I have big plans for Jodie. I think she did well fitting into our club last year, that is the kind of person she is. I might have held her back a little bit as I was adjusting. I had coached her when she was young, and she first started goalkeeping. I thought she was a good keeper then. She had been through a lot and was a different keeper when she came back to me last year. However, her overall personality has not really changed, and her ability in goal is still there. If you thought she was good last year, just watch this space… we are already doing some pre-pre-season training. I am determined to help her make a difference. Her confidence spreads throughout the team and has really helped our outfield players feel more secure. There are a few things I have been working on to help her get even better this season.
How do you get the best out of the goalkeepers that you coach?
It’s important to have fun. It’s a tough job being a keeper; either everyone is happy with you, or everyone thinks it was your fault, there is very little in between. I try and be the in-between! Even with my youngsters that I am coaching before our senior sessions, I prod them into making saves and having fun. Nothing is wrong, but some things are better. It seems to work. Remember all that reading and watching goalkeeping when I was learning? Well, I use some of those facts; human movement hasn’t really changed over the years.
Starting positions have but diving and catching balls are still pretty much the same. So all that learning about goalkeeping is still in there. Plus, I still read about it, I still watch keepers (it’s easier now on YouTube highlight reels), and I write about goalkeeping. Because I write this stuff, it would be wrong if I didn’t use it and try out these methods for coaching. That’s what I do now.
What advice would you give to goalkeepers who lack self-belief or struggle with their confidence between the sticks?
The reality is goalkeeping is a tough job, the forgotten position. I still joke that most coaches only know they have a keeper when the opposition breaks through the last line of defence! For so long, people have seen goals as the goalkeeper’s fault. All the goalkeepers I know never intentionally LET the ball into the net. There is often a focus on error reduction, which can create stress for the keeper to be perfect. But we are only human and not perfect at all. I am reading at the moment about acceptance. Those goals which happen, not because we let them in, but because the opposition played us well, pulled us out of position and then had to finish that off with a worldie. By us, I mean the whole team. As a keeper, you can’t beat yourself up about that. Now, if it went through your hands or legs or you were not in the best place to move for the ball, didn’t come out well enough to claim the ball, then yes, you can make sure that you get yourself into a better place next time. But you can’t think about it during the game.
I would suggest you put it away (imagine you pop it into your kit bag and zip it up). Perhaps after the game, you can go back over the not great moments, but I would recommend talking this over with a coach, teammate, friend or family member rather than doing it on your own. Someone else’s perspective is a great way of stopping the keeper from beating themselves up all the time, mostly. We have to be brave; we are the last line of defence, and with that comes risk. Do something one day, it is great… do the same thing in a similar situation the next day, and it all goes wrong… Be comfortable with what you did in the moment and be motivated that you can change either the decision and or the action for the next time. I start to see it as a challenge, not ‘can I be quick enough to change my response if…’ but more along the lines of, ‘if you want to beat me, you HAVE to produce a worldie every time!.
Photo by Flotography
This season, you commence your new role as Head of Goalkeeping at WCWFC. How excited are you for what that entails?
I love a challenge. This is so true of me that one of my colleagues gave me that as a car key ring, which I had for years. I only changed it to a WCWFC team picture key ring when we won promotion into Tier 4! I still love a challenge, and I have a lot of ideas around what goalkeeping might look like, how we can coach goalkeepers to help them be even more effective than they currently are. Shaping future dreams that I have about goalkeeping and goalkeeper coaching. I will know I have succeeded when we talk about goalkeepers in our general team formation (1-4-3-3). I am also looking forward to working with a goalkeeper coach and sharing ideas and thinking around training and play for keepers.
How excited are you for the next twelve months as the new season rapidly edges closer?
I have been happy that we were 5th in Tier 4 at the end of the season. However, I am now ready to start the next part of our journey. Can we, and how far up the table can we move? In fact, I am not shy to ask, can we win promotion? What will it take, and let’s get started. Questions like this drive me forward. What will it take to get promotion… I really want to find out and show everyone the answer.
Lastly, what does WCWFC mean to you?
We are a club, more than that, we are a family. We are together. When we have had our challenges, we pull together even more and share the load. When we succeed, we are together and share the celebration. I am so grateful that Nicole asked me to join all that time ago. This has reignited my vision and passion to help goalkeepers. I love the team and try to help out all players as much as I can.
I am humbled by how many fans, volunteers, players, coaches and all other staff we have who are committed to football and want to share our journey. There are a lot of negative stories in the news, but here at WCWFC, I seem only to hear all the good stories. People striving to do a good job in everything they do. Success is all about moments. Celebrate the moments! Thank you
Photo by Flotography
Our ever-present goalkeeper, Jodie Whiteman, gave her thoughts on Julia and how she has helped City’s number one grow her confidence over the past twelve months.
“Julia has played a big part in my career as she was my first ever goalkeeper coach when I started playing football, she has so much passion for the game and has got an exceptional amount of knowledge on not only football but goalkeepers specifically, over the past 12 months she has really helped me to gain my confidence back and has taught me knew ways to be able to deal with different situations in the game as they happen and to become tactically flexible. Really looking forward to working with her again this season.”
