The Future of the Women's Game is in Safe Hands

The future of the womens game is in safe hands and womens hands at that as Sam Howell tells Clarky

Givemefootball reckons that the all the top staff in the country are based at Lilleshall Hall. The Rehab Room is usually crammed full with knowledge but don't just take our word for it. Sam Howell, Senior Sports Physiologist at Lilleshall Hall has just spent a month in Thailand for the Women's' Under 19 World Championship. However, she wasn't there on a jolly-up as FIFA wanted the best staff available to ensure their referees were in tip-top condition for the month long tournament. Not only did Howell have to work the female officials very hard, but she also kept groundbreaking records, as she explained to givemefootball's Ian Clarkson.

HOW DID YOU GET THE JOB?

Sepp Blatter wanted to get more women involved in football as he believes that it is male dominated.  With this being a female tournament he wanted to involve women in all departments and thankfully the FA recommended me.

WAS IT A STRICT TRAINING REGIME?

When they arrived in Thailand they all had to achieve a certain level on the fitness test otherwise they would have gone home!  There were 36 female officials and we had to coax them through training, which took place every morning. I was there to look after their well-being.

WHAT DID THE TRAINING SCHEDULE ENTAIL?

We generally did one hour of fitness work followed by an hour and a half of technical training.  There certainly wasn't any time for sunbathing as the officials had to a 'cooper' test on the first day they arrived.  This is basically a continuous 12-minute run on a 400m track. We also took them through plenty of 200m and then 50m sprints. Bearing in mind that it was 32 degrees at 8am and you can see how difficult it was.  As the tournament progressed we did a lot of recovery work.

HOW DID YOU MONITOR THEIR LEVELS OF FITNESS?

They basically wore a heart-rate monitor 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  It was interesting to see how women's soccer is different to men's.  I am still working on the data that I accrued during the tournament and it is going to have a big input on future women's tournament.  In the past, we have always relied on the men's data.

WHAT ELSE DID YOU DO APART FROM TRAINING THE OFFICIALS?

We also made sure that there were two masseurs on call and that we could use the local hospital whenever was required.  There was also a chef, who was absolutely fantastic.  Most of the dietary requirements weren't too difficult to cater for.

DID YOU ENJOY THE TOURNAMENT?

Unfortunately none of the home countries qualified, but it was great to watch.  Germany were the overall winners.  It was certainly an interesting experience and working with the referees was brilliant.

IS THIS AN ON-GOING INVOLVEMENT?

The European Championships are in Manchester this year so I am hoping to be involved.  There is a meeting in Gran Canaria in March where I should find out so I have got my fingers crossed.