England’s Mary Earps had her eye on being a top goalkeeper at the age of 10, her old coach reveals.
Come rain or shine, she was out practising each Saturday morning.
It paid off handsomely and she is now the bedrock of the Lionesses’ defence as they chase a place in the final of the Women’s Euro 2022.
Chris Clark-Rossington, who coached Manchester United ’s Mary for two years, says he was 100% convinced she would make it as a pro because of her “constant commitment to every session”.
Chris, 39, says: “You don’t get that in a lot of female goalkeepers. She always wanted to be better.
“She was always striving to be better, she wanted to be number one, there was no doubt about it.”
Chris, who runs coaching company Pro Sports Education, says Mary caught the bus to their Nottingham training sessions every week.
Her mum came along too and watched from the car park, even in pouring rain, to support her daughter.
Mary, now 29, kept goal for Nottinghamshire side West Bridgford Colts for three years from the age of 10.
Chris adds: “To see her now in the semis of the Women’s Euros is fantastic.
“Mary has got it all. She left it all on the pitch as we say, and always gave it 100%. If it was raining she would never complain, she wasn’t bothered, she’d just be straight out on the pitch doing drills. She was very determined from a very young age.
“She wanted to make it as a footballer. She’s one of the nicest footballers I’ve met and she deserves everything she’s getting right now.
“Mary has a very contagious personality, she’s very likeable. She could adapt to any situation, will talk to anyone and will always give you her time.
“She will sit and talk to you and her fans appreciate that. She’ll talk to young girls who aspire to be her.
“She’s a very, very good goalkeeper. And if you look at her social media she’s full of life – there’s a fun side as well as the professional.” Chris also coached England defenders Millie Bright, 28, and Rachel Daly, 30, as well as 33-year-old star striker Ellen White.
Millie, a rock-steady centre half, was pushed up front in the closing stages as England fought back from a goal behind to beat Spain 2-1 in the Euros quarter-final on Wednesday.
Chris worked with Millie at Doncaster Rovers and explains: “Spain weren’t aware she could play that position so it would have come as a surprise.
“At Doncaster she was a true professional. She’d have a laugh but when she was training she didn’t let anything get in her way.
“She wanted to be the best player she could be.”
Chris says Rachel “used to be very shy”. He adds: “She wasn’t as bubbly as she is now.
“I worked with her when she was a Leeds United Ladies right back. Ellen White was centre forward at Leeds. She was really professional.”
The Euros 2022 has marked a turning point for women’s football, with the BBC recording a peak television audience of 6.6million and 1.5million streams across BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.
The semi-final – at Bramall Lane, home of Sheffield United – will test England once more.
They take on Sweden, the world’s second-ranked side – six places above ever-improving England.
An extra 2,000 tickets for the game were put on sale after England’s dramatic win over Spain – and they sold within 10 minutes.
If they win, the Lionesses will be in their first Euros final since 2009.
England v Sweden is being shown on BBC1 on Tuesday from 7.25pm
