Ascot United’s Tia Johnson has been nominated for a Berkshire Football Award in the Since71 Blog Young Player of the Season (Female) category.
The nomination received for Tia said: “Tia is an extremely ambitious and yet shy individual, after dragging herself along to a few ladies training sessions early in the preseason, she immediately made an impact, holding her own with the ladies first team and not backing down to the challenge. Having impressed, we asked her to keep training, to come to game days where she could and start to integrate fully into the ladies team, only 15 she couldn’t yet play but we were counting down the days to her 16th birthday. As time went on Tia didn’t just float amongst the team but she was a standout player in training, she upped the levels, challenged the team, and her impact really pushed the ladies to grow because of the energy and desire Tia showed to score goals. When her birthday came during the Christmas break, Tia was thrown straight into the deep end for the First Ladies fixture of 2022 with a debut start against a formidable Abingdon United, not only did she hold her own against a very strong Abingdon backline in a very physical game but she also managed to create chances for the ladies, hold the ball up comfortably, and was rewarded with a goal in her first-ever senior performance. Tia went on to convincingly win player of the month in January and managed to score an impressive 6 goals despite juggling her playing commitments for her age group side, the ladies, and the stress of secondary exams and tests.
“Tia is one of the most committed, hard-working, dedicated individuals that I have had the pleasure of coaching, the first to arrive at the ground, the last to leave, and never stops wanting more. Tia even spent most weeks doing extra sessions with myself or her mum, going back over the VEO footage for games, and asking questions to enhance her knowledge and understanding. Tia is a true role model for young players at the club and a great ambassador for the women’s game. She’s got an extremely bright future and is certainly one to watch!”
Do you think Tia is a worthy winner, or have you got other players to tell us about? Scroll down to fill out the nomination form for the Since71 Young Player of the Season (Female) award.
The main image was supplied by Ascot but was taken by Richard Bullock.
