Captain’s Chat

The Locker Room’s Captain’s Chat features Crystal Palace defender Freya Holdaway, a former Arsenal youngster who won her first Northern Ireland caps at 28 and has been central to the club’s rise into the FA Women’s Championship. She has also captained Marshall University in the USA and Welsh county and Under-17 netball teams. Holdaway describes leading by example and giving everything, talking to players to understand what makes them tick so they are easier to organise, drawing on a psychology degree and her father’s advice to understand people rather than bark orders. She names her international call-up as her proudest moment, her grandfather being from Northern Ireland and her biggest fan. She sees the captain as a bridge between players and management, and calls Palace her home team after four years in South London.