Sophie Clarke – A True Female Football Champion
The historic North Harbour Tournament introduced Sophie Clarke to Manly United all the way back in 2010 and since then Clarke has become one of Manly’s female football champions.
Clarke currently plays in the senior women’s squad and has been coaching for the past five years, making her a role model for the inspiring younger female players at the club.
This season Clarke is not only the assistant coach to the girl’s youth league U14’s but she has also taken on the role of coach in the girls Skills Acquisition Program (SAP).
Clarke has gone full circle, starting in the SAP at the age of 10 and now coaching she is proud to see how far female football has come and that she can be part of this development.
“When I was 10, the ‘SAP’ program was training once a week for 10 weeks, and now Sharon Egger has cultivated an incredible full time SAP program which has developed A-league standard players, as well as developed a fantastic majority-female coaching staff” Clarke said.
Clarke also credits the culture of Manly United for their commitment and dedication to female football.
“The culture and loyalty at Manly United is second to none – not many clubs have a Technical Director and First Grade coach that know and have coached almost every player in the club.”
Clarke hopes to continue to play a part in the growth and development of the female game and is excited to see where the next 10 years will take the female game.
“It’s pretty cool to see how far female football has grown in the past 10 years and I hope to play a small part in its continued development and expansion.
“When I was young, not many of my friends or family knew who the Matildas were, whereas now Sam Kerr is a household name.
“I can’t wait to see where women’s football can go with further investment in years to come.”
Manly United cannot wait to see how far Sophie Clarke will go and we are grateful to have a female football champion like Clarke in our club who continues to inspire female footballers every day!
