Name: Annie Clapperton
Age: 19
Height: 5ft 11ins
Weight: 83kg
Home base: Stretford, Manchester
Day job: Student, Sheffield Hallam University
Club: City of Manchester
Also played for: Stretford
My start in water polo: As a child, I was a member of Stretford Swimming Club – and hated swimming! My swim coach at the time said that, because I wasn’t enjoying myself and was quite big for my age, I ought to give water polo a try – and that was it. I suppose I was about seven at the time and by the age of 10 progressed to City of Manchester; then, at 16, to the GB programme, coached in those days by Jim Caulfield.
I still represented the Stretford club – as a centre-back. That changed one day while playing for the North-West in the inter-regional competition. Coach Fiona McCann needed a centre-forward and said “you’re big – that’s your job” . . . and I’ve played there ever since.
Coaching: Manchester’s Theo Nousios has been my most influential coach, helping me into the GB programme. He isn’t a big man for compliments – I like how blunt he is at times! But he really gets women’s water polo! If you do receive a compliment, you know you have worked hard and achieved something.
Representative honours: At 16, I played for the GB 1997 team in the Europeans. In total, I’ve been to three European age groups and several EU Nations events. Last September, I made by senior GB debut in the four nations tournament in Porto, which we won.
My most memorable game? This has to be at the European Junior Championships in Serbia where we beat the host country in front of a big crowd in a penalty shoot-out after drawing 9-9. I missed my penalty and was crying on the poolside! Then Katy Cutler scored with an absolute screamer to give us victory.
Family matters: My twin sister Maisy used to play for Manchester and is now with Sheffield while studying for a psychology degree at Chester University. She’s not the only other player in the family. As Maisy and I were so involved in water polo, my Dad Richard started playing and he turns out for the Manchester Sharks team along with my brother Theo. My Mum Jacqy is a great supporter!
The future: My main focus at the moment is my degree course at Sheffield Hallam. I’m studying criminology, with a career in the police – and ideally a dog-handling unit – as an ambition for the future. After university, I might take a year out to play abroad, perhaps in Spain, but that’s a long way ahead.
Age: 19
Height: 5ft 11ins
Weight: 83kg
Home base: Stretford, Manchester
Day job: Student, Sheffield Hallam University
Club: City of Manchester
Also played for: Stretford
My start in water polo: As a child, I was a member of Stretford Swimming Club – and hated swimming! My swim coach at the time said that, because I wasn’t enjoying myself and was quite big for my age, I ought to give water polo a try – and that was it. I suppose I was about seven at the time and by the age of 10 progressed to City of Manchester; then, at 16, to the GB programme, coached in those days by Jim Caulfield.
I still represented the Stretford club – as a centre-back. That changed one day while playing for the North-West in the inter-regional competition. Coach Fiona McCann needed a centre-forward and said “you’re big – that’s your job” . . . and I’ve played there ever since.
Coaching: Manchester’s Theo Nousios has been my most influential coach, helping me into the GB programme. He isn’t a big man for compliments – I like how blunt he is at times! But he really gets women’s water polo! If you do receive a compliment, you know you have worked hard and achieved something.
Representative honours: At 16, I played for the GB 1997 team in the Europeans. In total, I’ve been to three European age groups and several EU Nations events. Last September, I made by senior GB debut in the four nations tournament in Porto, which we won.
My most memorable game? This has to be at the European Junior Championships in Serbia where we beat the host country in front of a big crowd in a penalty shoot-out after drawing 9-9. I missed my penalty and was crying on the poolside! Then Katy Cutler scored with an absolute screamer to give us victory.
Family matters: My twin sister Maisy used to play for Manchester and is now with Sheffield while studying for a psychology degree at Chester University. She’s not the only other player in the family. As Maisy and I were so involved in water polo, my Dad Richard started playing and he turns out for the Manchester Sharks team along with my brother Theo. My Mum Jacqy is a great supporter!
The future: My main focus at the moment is my degree course at Sheffield Hallam. I’m studying criminology, with a career in the police – and ideally a dog-handling unit – as an ambition for the future. After university, I might take a year out to play abroad, perhaps in Spain, but that’s a long way ahead.
RSS Feed
