We Own The Night

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On Saturday Sarah, Katee and Jess donned  luminous orange shirts and joined 3,386 other women in the Nike ‘We Own The Night’ 10k race in Victoria Park. The three of us made the most of the event village before the race with plenty to eat, see and do and enjoyed the company of all the other women united by running.

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As the race got going, Seeing that many people in the same neon orange shirt was a great sight, particularly as twilight had set in by the second lap and Victoria Park was ablaze with flashing wrist bands, runners and lights.

The best sight of all though was seeing nine members of Hackney Laces cheering us on around the course. It really helped push us to the finish.  This was a great event that we all thoroughly enjoyed, and hope to compete again next year, hopefully joined by some players and their mums!

by admin Posted on May 22, 2013
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Off the Pitch: A Visit from an Osteopath

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At Hackney Laces we strive to give the players the opportunity to be exposed to a number of different professions and learn how to take care of themselves as footballers. We were very lucky to welcome osteopath Hazel Mansfield this week.

Hazel gave us a great talk from everything to do with her job; from following her dream to work combine her interest in sport and the muscoskeletal system, to what it was like treating the athletes at the Olympic Games. Her engaging presentation got the girls talking, moving the conversation on from common injuries and how they are sustained, to why you should not eat a polar bear’s liver! Hazel answered all the questions expertly, and all of us came away knowing a lot more than we did before.

Her advice was especially useful for football players, discussing the benefits of dynamic vs static stretching, and common injuries that can build up over time if we do not treat our bodies properly. The advice about nutrition and diet was also very valuable information to take away. Most of all, Hazel reiterated the importance of a healthy active lifestyle for combating many illnesses and injuries.

Thank you very much Hazel for your inspiring and informative talk, we all know where to come if we get an injury!

Ps – Hazel has just opened her clinic, as we mentioned. Check it out! 

by admin Posted on May 17, 2013
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Barclay’s Community Sports Award End of Year Celebration

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On Friday 3rd May we were treated to an unforgettable day, the type we could all get used to- if not for the early start!  At 6:30 am 25 players, bleary eyed but sharply dressed in new club tracksuits, were met by a fleet of cars at Dalston Kingland, whisking us off to one of the Barclays Spaces for Sport pitches in West London, as part of the Barclay’s Community Sports Award. 

Despite the early start, the sunny morning kept the girls energy and excitement high – they even challenging each other to a hurdles race on the track before we got going with the football. This was no normal training session however, as we were soon joined by our old friend Gareth Southgate, and our new friend Chelsea and England legend Graeme Le Saux. The girls were able to fire some questions at the two players, as well as being treated to a great book of photos from the past decade of the Premier League, which they were able to get signed.

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After being put though their paces and impressing the onlooking players and host of media during a match, the girls then posed for plenty of photos, something  we are all becoming quite used to now!

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Later that afternoon, Katee and Sarah attended the end of season awards lunch to see who had won the overall Barclays Community Sports Award for the 2012-2013 season. Manneh Elliott won the award for his 40+ years with Toxteth Tigers Basketball Programme, who play at Fernhill Sports Centre in Bootle. It was fantastic to be in the company of the other monthly winners, and hearing of their own experiences that earned them the accolades. Having the opportunity to talk to Graeme and Gareth was also great, definitely top of the list of nicest footballers we’ve ever met!

Overall, it was a brilliant day, and a fantastic experience to be recognised by Barclays for this award. Best of all, winning the award in November introduced us to Lottie, who has proven an invaluable member of the coaching staff ever since; in our eyes this makes us the luckiest winners of all!

by admin Posted on May 7, 2013
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Helping Out at Hackney City Farm

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For the past few weeks, the girls have been asking us if there was any volunteering we could do as a team. So we rang around to different places to see if anyone would be up for taking on a group of teenage girls. After a little bit of searching we came across Hackney City Farm who said they had a project we could get stuck in to. They’re in the process of building their new shop and needed some extra help stripping wood, painting and moving some concrete around. So that’s how we spent our Saturday.

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We had a total of 29 volunteers come out and join us, including girls from the team, coaches, members and friends. Everyone gave great feedback saying it’s something they’d like to do more of.

Highlights included Timi getting paint in Shequelle’s weave by accident and Jamie screaming every time she saw a millepede.

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Gustavo, who manages volunteer groups, amongst other things, gave us a tour of the farm before we started working and  we got to see their vegetable patch, frog pond and the animals – including very little lambs.

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Despite several of our players growing up within miles of the farm, very few had been there before. We were also given a mini-session on sustainability at the farm including why certain materials were being used in the new shop, like reclaimed wood and recycled paints.

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We had a great time and look forward to helping out more. Thank you Gustavo and Hackney City Farm for having us, and thanks to everyone who came out on Saturday!

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by admin Posted on April 29, 2013
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Sarah Runs the London Marathon

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After months of dedicated training, Sarah ran in the London Marathon – and she ran it very well.

Players, coaches and members of Hackney Laces headed down to mile 19 in Canary Wharf  to cheer Sarah on. We were very surprised that when she passed us, she barely looked like she had broken a sweat! We are all so proud of her. She is an inspiration to us all.

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We were also quite proud of Timi, one of our youngest laces who gave a soundbite to BBC London radio about Hackney Laces and the atmosphere of the crowd.

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We asked Sarah to tell us how she feels after completing the run. She said,

“I loved every minute of the marathon, all the hundreds of training miles all became completely worth it on the day. The support all the way through was incredible, I felt very lucky to have so much family and friends at many different points of the route; seeing the Hackney Laces girls at 19 miles defiantly gave me the boost I needed to go on and finish. Thank you to everyone who has supported me and donated, it is all greatly appreciated.”

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Thank you Sarah for all of your hard work – and thank you to everyone who supported her and Hackney Laces. Big love x

 

by admin Posted on April 22, 2013
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A Football A-Z

Last summer a very lovely woman, Ayela from MilkIt GB came along to a training session to film us for a football A-Z, a series of videos showcasing skills. Since then, MilkIt managed to get Richie Byrne, ex-Aberdeen pro and coach for Roehampton on board to help. And this is the finished product (well, P-T of the series, the part that we’re in!):

We’ve at 1:19 showing passing and also running, shortly there after. Check out the whole A-Z on MilkIt’s Youtube Channel.

by admin Posted on April 10, 2013
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Hackney Laces Take on the Hastings Half

Hackney Laces Hastings

On a freezing cold Sunday, some of the Hackney Laces members, coaches and players headed to the South coast to run the Hastings Half Marathon. The weather and the hilly race course were no obstacles to the Hackney Laces lot who ran their legs off, all finishing within the two and a half hour mark. Particularly impressive was the performance of our youngest runner, Justine, who at just 17 years old completed the race in a time of 2:16:14. It was the furthest distance she has ever run and she did us proud.

Well done to Justine, Katee, Luke and Sarah for their effort over the weekend.

Hastings was really just a teaser of what’s to come. In just under four weeks time, our very own Sarah will be running the London Marathon. You can sponsor her here. 

by admin Posted on March 25, 2013
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Thank you!

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We are so very pleased to announce that we’ve be selected as one of ten teams by readers of the Stylist for their Fair Game Awards, for which we will receive free kit from Adidas. Thank you so much to everyone who voted and shared the link – we’re super grateful. Big love from all of us at Hackney Laces x

 

 

by admin Posted on March 1, 2013
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Golden Girls of Hackney

Hackney Laces at Tournament

The winning feeling in the air at the moment was kick-started on Saturday, as Hackney Laces recorded back to back victories in the Golden Girls of Hackney tournament, hosted by Hackney Community FC. We entered two sides, Under 14 and Under 17 into the tournament, each facing tough opposition from Stoke Newington, ReachOut FC, Hackney Community FC and Kensington.

The Under 17 team finished runners up, a great achievement and well deserved.  The team improved remarkably throughout the tournament, culminating in successive victories and some fantastic flowing football and a wonder goal scored!

We were also very proud to sport the winners of two individual awards, Marigona was commended for her fair play, and a string of brilliant performances by Eunice and a great goal earned her the coveted Player of the Tournament accolade.

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The tournament left us with a lot to learn, but some great performances to be proud of, and a winning run to continue.

by admin Posted on February 25, 2013
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