Carlin loving her football
Debra Carlin has the experience you can’t buy, playing in the PS4 NPL NSW Women’s 1 competition for the Central Coast FC at the ‘tender’ age of 47.
Carlin has been kicking a football for 35 years, an amazing statistic for any footballer in this state.
“I have been playing football now for 35 years and I still enjoy playing as much now as when I first started all those years ago.”
Primary school is where it all kicked off for Carlin and she hasn’t stopped playing or coaching since then, only missing one season when she was pregnant with her eldest son.
“My love affair with football began when I was at primary school.
“My friends and I would watch the boys play football in the playground.
“It looked such great fun and we thought that we could join in and play just as well as them, if not better!
“My friends and I joined the local football club and I haven’t looked back since. Other than when I was pregnant with my eldest son, I have not missed a single season of playing or coaching teams.”
Love is not a big enough word to describe Carlin’s passion for football.
Her body is still coping with the heavy demands of playing football in the state’s top tier competition and it doesn’t look as though retirement is an option.
“I keep returning season after season because I love my football so much and the many friendships I have made through it.
“My body still holds up reasonably well after I play and I am so committed with what I do in football, I just want to keep playing.”
Carlin’s husband also has football in his veins, being a referee for many years, while her sons only had brief spells playing the game.
“The youngest of my sons played football before moving onto other team sports, my eldest son is not really into sport at all.”
The family supports her footballing passion and are delighted with what she has done playing the world game.
“Their passion for sport may vary a little but my husband and sons are all very supportive of me and proud of my achievements in football.”
With Female Football Week upon us, Carlin says it’s a fantastic initiative for the women’s game in New South Wales.
“Female Football Week is a great example of how women’s football is now on the map.
“It’s a terrific celebration of the women’s code and all the female players, coaches, team and match officials.
“The week allows us to think about where we want to take women’s football so that we can continue to grow the sport in both the number and quality of the people connected with it.”
The Central Coast player has seen continuous positives changes throughout her long footballing career.
“It is wonderful to see the much greater focus now on women’s football, the growth in the number of females playing and the fantastic results achieved by the Westfield Matildas in recent years.
“I can see just how far women’s football has come during my long career and the exciting thing is that it is only going to get even stronger from here onwards.”
-By Nikola Pozder
