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Thu, Mar

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Women Soca Warriors midfielder Dernelle Mascall exchanged her boots for the coach's clip board, when she accepted the job to be the Head Coach for Club Sando Moruga back in May. She has led the club to a third-place finish with 42 points in the Premiership Division of the National Super League. She is the only female to coach in the National Super League.

Asked about the reaction to having a female coach, captain and the team's leading goalscorer, Nigel John said that it was “a positive feeling to have Dernelle as our coach. She was very hard on us... and despite the ups and downs, she did good.”

Mascall, who always tries to deflect attention and the spotlight away from herself, reflected: “the season has been a journey; went in somewhat naive, expected to add structure, implement tactics; only to be confronted by 'our football culture'. This took me completely out of my comfort zone, a challenge I accepted willingly.”

Asked about how this experience as a coach impacted her as a player, Mascall said: “Being a player is the easiest aspect of the game. After calling all my coaches and apologising...heading back to the pitch to thoroughly enjoy every game I play; to always play with the joy and passion of an eight-year-old.”

This is the second time Moruga has played in the Super League, but the first time they ended the season in the top three. John is looking forward to next season “with their woman coach” and hopes that they can have all their players, train hard and win games to ensure that in 2017 Club Sando Moruga will be lifting the trophy as Champions of the Super League.