Schoolgirl Seagull enjoys football success with Sussex

The Midhurst Rother College pupil is in her second season with the Brighton & Hove Albion’s Centre of Excellence, where she is impressing her coaches.

Her footballing achievements, coupled with her athletics abilities, won her the Year 7 sports personality of the year award at her school.

Price, formerly with Chichester-based team Whyke, is a left-back who switched to Brighton’s centre of excellence after a spell at Chelsea and she appears to have a bright future ahead of her in women’s football.

She has already been involved this season in league games for Brighton against Arsenal, Norwich and Colchester.

That’s led to the county under-14s call-up, which saw her line up among girls a little older than her but still give a good account of her talents.

Mum Stacy said: “She has been keeping to a strict health and fitness programme and has been playing and training really well.

“The selection to represent Sussex was massive for her as she is the youngest and smallest squad member, only making the age group by two days.

“It just goes to show big things come in small packages!

“She has worked very hard in training for Sussex and this paid off when she was chosen to play in their first game, against Surrey, a league and cup double header.

“She was in a squad of 14 chosen from 22 and was in the starting XI and played 55 minutes.”

Price, who won’t be 13 until August, has also featured for Sussex against Kent, and hopes to be involved when they play Buckinghamshire next month.

Meanwhile her Brighton coach is putting her to the test in midfield to challenge her development - and she has risen to that very well too.

Football is not the Lavant girl’s only speciality.

Her mum continued: “She was part of the Midhurst Rother College Year 7 squad who went to a regional athletics event at the Mountbatten Centre in Portsmouth.

“They did well there, so progressed to the county finals at the K2 in Crawley.

“Being a member of many sports teams at school, she received an award for being the best sports personality of the year for Year 7 in the school’s sports awards.”

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