As Kim McCormick pauses to reflect on her 300th game for Penrith AFC Ladies, she admits to not being able to remember her debut for the club.
But Kim, now 32, certainly does recall her first introduction to the squad as a fresh-faced teenager, when the warm welcome from new team-mates was in stark contrast to the chilly weather, writes Craig McGlasson.
“We rocked up to Penrith Leisure Centre, on the AstroTurf, I was just turning 16 at the time,” she tells the Herald. “It was one of the coldest nights I think I remember. I got introduced to people who were 10 to 12 years older than me.
“Initially I felt very out of my depth, very uncomfortable. I didn’t know anybody other than my best friends who had also just joined. But from day one the girls, the club, the manager and the coaches have been fantastic, always welcoming new people. I just got stuck in.”
Some 16 years and three knee operations later, Kim has become the first player to reach 300 games for Penrith Ladies — true trailblazers of the women’s game in Cumbria. Her landmark was logged as the Blues scored seven goals away to Chorley — hours after she had completed a 10k morning run!
“It’s only latterly I’ve really thought about it,” she said of game number 300. “I’m a person who’s more about the result, the win and getting three points on the table than anything else.
“After the game, the manager praised me, players praised me and gave me round of applause, said I should be very proud. To fair I am quite proud. I’d argue I’m probably modest. I don’t think about my performance as such.
“I’m proud of the achievement but I’m more proud of where the team’s come over my 300 appearances.”
Kim began playing football at the age of 12, joining Carlisle City after starting her education at Trinity School. She has her parents, Brian and Carol McCormick, to thank for making initial contact with then manager and club stalwart Simon Savage.
“There weren’t many ladies’ options around Cumbria a the time,” she said. “There was no Carlisle United, Workington or Kendal ladies; the only one about was Penrith so my parents contacted Simon and they just asked whether it was OK to come for a couple of weeks to see what it’s like. Basically I’ve never looked back.”
Women’s football, she says, has since become “massive”, locally, nationally and around the globe. “I think everybody knows that now, especially with our women winning the Euros last year. The Women’s Super League is now being aired on television. The game is getting more funding. Obviously I still think there’s a big push that they could still do but I think there’s a massive change in the last five or 10 years and I’m sure it will just keep growing and growing.”
Kim started her Penrith career at right wing and switched briefly to right full back before slotting into a central defensive berth. Her highlights include winning the North West Women’s Premier Division title in 2017-18 and, more recently, lifting the Cumber-land FA Women’s Cup in 2022 at Penrith, where she proudly walked out on to the pitch with her two nephews before the showpiece.
Kim, whose working week is spent as a PE teacher at Wigton’s Nelson Thomlinson School, took over team captaincy from Ronu Duguid in 2010 and has not ruled out a move into coaching in due course.
“I’m still enjoying it as much as ever. I actually love seeing the young players coming through from 16, stepping up into ladies’ football. I don’t know if that’s in my nature because I’m a teacher as well.
“I’d like to see the club grow and grow for ever more but obviously be a part of it in some way and let the legacy live on,” she said.
“My little motto is: I’m not just a captain, I’m a friend and I’m an organiser. I’ll be there for people on and off the pitch. I would hope I’m very welcoming, making them feel at home, make them feel it’s normal.
“At the end of the day it’s enjoyment — I want people to enjoy what they love doing.
“I’ve done 300 appearances and it could have been a lot more as that was after three knee operations. I’ll keeping going on until my body tells me it can’t do it!”
Her former team manager Simon said: “Kim leads by example and sets the standards for the rest of the team to aspire to. Beyond that, she is the perfect role model for all the young girls playing at the club. Kim herself started as a 15-year-old and has gone on to achieve so much.
“She trains regularly and works hard. She keeps herself in good shape and eats healthily. She approaches her football with a professional attitude, That’s why she is still going strong after 300 games.”
