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Holly Turner's Journey
Jill Rowbotham24 Feb - 10:58
Written by Jo Turner
Holly’s first ever visit to Bolton Rugby Club was at the age of 4 weeks old, at this time her brother Ben Turner, who now plays for the first team at Fylde, had been at Bolton in the minis and juniors section from a really young age, Mark her dad was coaching him at the time so for the following 6 years Holly would watch Ben in games and was often seen running around the pitch with a rugby ball.
When Holly was 6 years old she asked her dad if she could play at the club and could he be her coach, timing was perfect as Ben was heading off to Myerscough and of course mark could never say no to Holly so found himself coaching at the club for a third time. Holly was to be the only girl in the club for her next four seasons.
The mixed teams were difficult for Holly initially as boys would pass the ball over her head to pass to another boy, Holly soon realised if she wanted the ball she would have to go and get it, and that is what she did so with grit and determination she was soon an integral part of the team and soon joined by a couple of more girls in the U11s team.
At the end of the U11s season Holly had to leave the mixed teams, I recall it being emotional as she had some really good friends by that point and had formed a close bond with a few of the boys. Although her dad was going to move teams with her it was clear she was going to miss Alex Youngman and his funny ways, Alex in Holly's eyes, along with her dad, had really helped her to fit into the mixed teams by ensuring the team was fully inclusive, regardless of gender or ability everyone had a role to play, something that she feels strongly about now herself.
The challenge then came, just 4 girls in the U12s, so we really had to build on this. Holly had started high school that year and set about recruiting more girls, she managed to secure a further 5 girls in her first year and our girls teams have flourished ever since.
Holly is now in the U14s and she is very much looking forward to going into U16s in September. I think Holly feels her biggest challenge is yet to come, being asked to be the youngest Chair of the Women & Girls Section she was understandably anxious yet extremely proud, a club she loved, a club 4 of her brothers had played at one time or another and of course her dad having played at the club, she was more than up for the challenge.
Holly has been interviewed by Bolton FM, she does weekly post match interviews on our Bolton Amazon's Instagram to try and further our exposure on social media along with her friends, she has attended meetings having been totally outside of her comfort zone all of which she has taken in her stride.
Myself and Mark are so proud of Holly and we genuinely believe she will give everything she can to support Bolton Rugby Club, not just within the Women & Girls, but for the club as a whole.
Holly's hopes for the future are that the amazing group of girls that we have at our club at the moment will become a strong female senior section and she hopes to see a Red Rose or two amongst them in the future.
Club Chair, Mark Brocklehurst, added, "To see and hear about Holly’s journey is a truly inspiring story and one that is far from complete, it takes many people to bring about real change but needs one person to make the spark. The club will flourish with people like Holly onboard."
When Holly was 6 years old she asked her dad if she could play at the club and could he be her coach, timing was perfect as Ben was heading off to Myerscough and of course mark could never say no to Holly so found himself coaching at the club for a third time. Holly was to be the only girl in the club for her next four seasons.
The mixed teams were difficult for Holly initially as boys would pass the ball over her head to pass to another boy, Holly soon realised if she wanted the ball she would have to go and get it, and that is what she did so with grit and determination she was soon an integral part of the team and soon joined by a couple of more girls in the U11s team.
At the end of the U11s season Holly had to leave the mixed teams, I recall it being emotional as she had some really good friends by that point and had formed a close bond with a few of the boys. Although her dad was going to move teams with her it was clear she was going to miss Alex Youngman and his funny ways, Alex in Holly's eyes, along with her dad, had really helped her to fit into the mixed teams by ensuring the team was fully inclusive, regardless of gender or ability everyone had a role to play, something that she feels strongly about now herself.
The challenge then came, just 4 girls in the U12s, so we really had to build on this. Holly had started high school that year and set about recruiting more girls, she managed to secure a further 5 girls in her first year and our girls teams have flourished ever since.
Holly is now in the U14s and she is very much looking forward to going into U16s in September. I think Holly feels her biggest challenge is yet to come, being asked to be the youngest Chair of the Women & Girls Section she was understandably anxious yet extremely proud, a club she loved, a club 4 of her brothers had played at one time or another and of course her dad having played at the club, she was more than up for the challenge.
Holly has been interviewed by Bolton FM, she does weekly post match interviews on our Bolton Amazon's Instagram to try and further our exposure on social media along with her friends, she has attended meetings having been totally outside of her comfort zone all of which she has taken in her stride.
Myself and Mark are so proud of Holly and we genuinely believe she will give everything she can to support Bolton Rugby Club, not just within the Women & Girls, but for the club as a whole.
Holly's hopes for the future are that the amazing group of girls that we have at our club at the moment will become a strong female senior section and she hopes to see a Red Rose or two amongst them in the future.
Club Chair, Mark Brocklehurst, added, "To see and hear about Holly’s journey is a truly inspiring story and one that is far from complete, it takes many people to bring about real change but needs one person to make the spark. The club will flourish with people like Holly onboard."
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