That Lionesses Podcast connected by EE Episode 8 features Champions of Europe: Captain Leah Williamson and 2022 Golden Boot winner, Beth Mead.
They discuss the importance of soaking in the big moments, competing in a tournament away from home and how their roles have evolved in the team.
Talking about soaking in the big wins
Harriet: Leah, you and Beth have had quite the year winning the Champions League with Arsenal, congratulations
Leah: Thank you
Harriet: What can you bring from that achievement to England camp this summer? Is it just like a good vibe to start it off on?
Leah: I think so. And I think when you win, like if. I mean I presume everybody feels like this, but like as an athlete you get hungry for more. Like as soon as you’ve won one, you’re like right I want the next one. So maybe we have a bit of a kick about us
Beth: Yeah I’d agree, we’re pumped
Harriet: A pep to your step. Pumped, pump up the jam. Actually on that, you touching on that Leah, is it difficult to, and this can go out to both of you, to actually take those moments and be like do you know what, I know I want the next thing, but I do actually just have to stock of the fact that, because you two have achieved a lot in your careers already. Do you have to sort of slap yourself a little bit and be like hold on this is big and I need to sit in it
Leah: I think that’s why it’s really good to, like they let us have an extra day off, like before we came into camp and I actually really appreciated that because I think you should give yourself time to enjoy it and let it sink in
Beth: Yeah, you need to sit on it and take it in
Leah: Cuz people keep, even today, like people say oh, well done for Champions League and I’m like, I almost forgot that that was like two weeks ago
Beth: You switch into England mode so quickly
Leah: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it’s hard
Harriet: Yeah, and it’s like that’s the athlete’s brain isn’t it? You’re just constantly striving for more and more and more
Leah: There’s always something round the corner, you can’t sit still for too long
Beth: Yeah what’s next, straight away
Harriet: And what is next is something very exciting
Beth: True
Leah: Yeah, it’s not small is it
Harriet: But I don’t think anything you guys do is really small
Leah: No
Beth: No, true
Harriet: Does that make you take stock of more like the small wins in your personal life? The little wins, do they kind of shine a bit brighter, because in the big old world you work in it’s like a lot of that is so intense?
Leah: Yeah I think you appreciate the mundane
Beth: I think it’s basic things, yeah
Harriet: Like taking the bins out?
Beth: Maybe not that no. Sometimes just sitting at home with a coffee in hand and appreciating the moment for a second, and it sounds really simple, but it’s so nice sometimes
Talking about competing in a tournament away from home
Harriet: And they’re going to get more from this. Leah, how does it feel going into this tournament knowing the impact the last EUROs had on the growth of the game?
Leah: Yeah it’s exciting, I’m very very excited knowing what we know now and having lived through that, slightly different, and I’d say selfishly for us in a way a home tournament is the best thing in the world but going away for a tournament and travelling somewhere even from like family perspective and everybody travelling like I’m, I’m very excited
Harriet: Oh so you get more excited to be away from home and just have that fresh new environment to like soak into
Leah: Yeah for us selfishly you go and basically live somewhere else for however many weeks, you hope like six weeks
Harriet: Yeah
Leah: And it’s really, and I loved my first one, I loved France. The World Cup
Beth: Yeah 2019, seeing new places and stuff
Leah: But the home EUROs nothing will ever come close yeah, let me be very clear
Harriet: No of course, but that’s great for us to hear
Leah: But yeah no I’m very excited to go away and be somewhere else
Beth: And Switzerland’s not a bad country to go and have a look around
Leah: No no no
Beth: It’s beautiful isn’t it
Talking about how their roles have evolved
Harriet: Leah, can you kind of get into how your role as captain has evolved since you were given the armband permanently in 2022?
Leah: Yeah, I think just like back then I just really saw it as like, somebody has to do that role and, I dunno, there was no pressure on me. Everyone kept trying to put pressure, I was like we don’t know. I’d never even played at a tournament let alone been like a captain
Harriet: Great attitude to have by the way, like the best attitude to have
Beth: It didn’t change anything really
Leah: I didn’t, people kept asking me how I was going to do, I was like I don’t know, like, we’ll see, hopefully good
Harriet: TBC
Leah: Yeah, like hopefully it’ll be ok
Beth: Leah was the exact same from the moment she got captaincy to before or after
Harriet: Nothing changed
Leah: If anything I’m just more well behaved now
Beth: Yeah, true
Leah: Slightly, you know just slightly
Beth: Yeah people are watching a little bit more
Leah: A tiny bit more, but I’m just older now
Beth: She’s growing up
Leah: We’re all older, yeah
Beth: Stop talking about it
Leah: Sorry, but I do, I do notice that like my position in the team has changed. I went from being one of the least. Well probably the most inexperienced or one of them
Beth: Yeah, to one of the most very quickly
Leah: To then now being relatively, well that’s changed a little bit, so yeah
Harriet: But I think, you both have that energy of two extremely experienced, but also with many accolades players who can bring that energy of calm, but also that energy of knowing what this is like and being able to help the other girls whilst also bringing your skill to the game which is just so cool for the other players right, for the young ones?
Leah: Yeah and our challenge is making sure we focus on ourself enough to get the best out of ourself, whilst also just
Beth: Helping others
Leah: Well yeah, people helped me at my first tournaments and I would wanna do the same for the younger ones
Beth: Yeah, I think you learn from what you get. Like we had Jill Scott’s and Ellen White’s and stuff and now we’re them guys
Leah: Yeah, bit more disappointing
Beth: Maybe not as, yeah, we’re a bit more disappointing than them but that’s ok
Harriet: No
Leah: They’re going to have to take what they’ve got
Harriet: Well Lucy Bronze was saying it’s one of her favourite things, just seeing the energy of the young players and that kind of energises her
Leah: Oh 100%, they’re so fresh
Beth: It’s fresh energy
Leah: And they don’t have, it’s a bit deep this, but like, emotional fatigue, good or bad. Like they weren’t there in 2022 they also weren’t there in time in the bad times and they’re just coming in fresh faced and I just think that must be so lovely.
