Hey! I’m Joyce & I study Philosophy, Politics & Economics (PPE) at Univ. I play football for the Oxford University Women’s Blues, the 1st team.
Having played for West Ham United during and after my GCSEs, and then spending my final A-Level year playing for Leyton Orient Women, I was quite used to playing high level football alongside a rigorous academic schedule. Despite this, I was quite anxious at the prospect of balancing an Oxford degree alongside elite sport, and I considered playing at college level, a less-competitive, more recreational version of football instead. But, having spoken to the team captain and club president before coming, I was assured that there would be sufficient support and leniency in terms of managing football with my academic commitments, and so I opted to play 1st team football in the end!
I play football 4 times a week, training takes place on Tuesday mornings, Friday evenings and Sunday mornings, with matches taking place on Wednesday afternoons/evenings. The sessions are delivered by high-level coaches with impressive footballing backgrounds and coaching experience, similar to what I have experienced at the clubs I’ve played at. The girls on the team come from a broad range of backgrounds; you have the older, postgraduate players from the USA, ones who’ve played at an international level and girls who’ve picked up football again at university after a long spell out. This prospect can be seem intimidating, but it’s a welcoming & friendly environment, and both the more and less experienced players all learn from one another in one way, shape or form!
In terms of how to manage time, planning is essential! Oxford terms are very hectic, and it’s important you know what’s required of you and when. I bought myself a massive calendar with a to-do list on the side from Amazon to hang on my notice board, and wrote down my deadlines, contact hours (tutorials, classes & seminars), training & match fixtures as well as any pre-planned social activities at the start of each week. I used this as a rough guide for when I would be able to work and also when to aim to have my work completed by. This obviously doesn’t always go to plan as things do come up unexpectedly; so long as you prioritise your degree it’s fine to miss a few training sessions and games, but I found that visually planning my weeks out in this way made this seldom the case!
Though playing elite sport at Oxford is demanding, it’s definitely worthwhile, having the opportunity to meet new people, keeping fit and beating Cambridge in the annual varsity are just a few reasons why! If you play high-level sport before coming, or you perhaps look to push yourself, it’s definitely worth trying your hand at elite sport at Oxford! The beauty about sport at Oxford is that it’s accommodating to everyone, so even if you still want to represent the university but are less experienced, then you can always trial for the 2nd, 3rd or 4th teams in your sport, and if you’re looking just to have some fun, then college sport is a really popular choice.