Golcar United Ladies FC have a new, young, ambitious manager in charge. Nathan Martin has been building up his coaching badges since he was 16 and now, at the age of 28, is taking on his biggest challenge yet.
Martin has taken over from previous management duo Chloe and Robyn Peel and wants to build on their good work and continue to grow the club.
He said: “I’m very excited to take on the role. I helped out at the end of last season with Chloe and Robyn showing me the ropes. This is a great chance for me to grow a club and put my own stamp on a team.
“I think it’s only right that I thank Chloe and Robyn for all they have done for the Golcar United Ladies. They helped build the team to where we are now.
“There are some talented players in this squad who I think can go on to play at a higher level. The quality of the side is high and it’s crazy that a lot of these players only started playing six to 12 months ago.”
READ MORE: Golcar United’s cut-price season ticket deals ends soon
Martin had to deal with three devastating ACL injuries which meant his playing days were cut short. After that he began to take a real interest in the coaching side of the game. Having worked through junior and men’s football Martin feels ready to take on this next challenge.
He said: “After doing my ACL three times I knew my playing days were over sadly. It was difficult to deal with but getting into coaching was great.
“I helped out at a few clubs but the reason I got involved with Golcar is due to my daughter Leah. She kept going on about wanting to get involved with the sport.
“A few hours later I saw a post from Chloe asking for girls of similar age to Leah to see if they wanted to play. We got in touch and my daughter went along to the sessions and loved it.
Originally from Berry Brow, Martin grew up being a Liverpool supporter taking after his dad. “My dad would take me to Anfield to watch Liverpool when I was just a small boy,” he said. “Football has always been my life from a young age.”
Now in charge of the women’s team at the Skye Direct Stadium, Martin has a clear plan for what he wants to achieve.
“The quality of the squad is very high but I do think our fitness has to be better. Sometimes in games last season we seemed to tire a little bit in the last 15 minutes and that’s when we let a lot of our goals in. So that will be something we will be working on throughout the pre-season.
“The other thing I’d say is that I don’t do things by halves. I want to get the team promoted. I’d like us to win the league but promotion is the aim. I really think we can win promotion in this league. We play in the second division of the West Riding County Women’s Football League.”
For Martin’s side pre-season starts this week and he already has a few friendlies lined up. And he not only wants to build on the field but off it too.
He said: “When I went to visit the club committee for the first time they were all really nice and have given me great confidence, so thanks to them for that.
“As well as doing well on the pitch and producing a style of football people will enjoy playing and watching, hopefully we can entice more people to come down and watch us on a Sunday at the Skye Direct Stadium.”
Martin would also like to thank shirt sponsor Incandescent Shine.
