Calleigh Hedley's Balancing Act: Football and Motherhood

Calleigh Hedley pauses for a moment when she talks about the season ahead. It is not the usual concern about fitness, form, or fixtures that weighs on her mind.

"I'm not looking forward to spending whole days away from him," she admits.

The Guernsey FC striker is talking about her son, Luca. Football has always demanded sacrifices. This time, the trade-off is sharper than ever.

Goals, flights and night feeds

Hedley has just returned to action after giving birth, having missed half of last season following her pregnancy. She is the club’s top scorer, a natural finisher now trying to balance night feeds with finishing drills, family life with the relentless rhythm of a football calendar.

Her support network is already working overtime.

"My family are amazing, they're always helping me with Luca," she told BBC Radio Guernsey. "If I need to go to the gym or anything, they're always offering 'we'll have him for a bit so you can go do what you need to do'.

"For the away games, for the home games, they say 'we'll have him, don't worry', so it's been a massive help."

Without that, this comeback would be almost impossible. Because this is not just about turning up for 90 minutes. It is about early alarms, hurried goodbyes and the constant pull back home.

Those demands will hit hard in the next few weeks. The Green Lionesses open their league campaign at home to Bognor Regis Town on Sunday, then face three straight away trips. Each one means an early flight to England and a late return to the island.

"I don't know if I'll be able to commit to every single away game," she said. "But I will definitely be trying to do some, but it'll be difficult having a day away from him."

A ruthless return in front of goal

On the pitch, though, Hedley has slipped back into her old habits quickly enough: scoring.

Despite playing only eight times last season, she hit 16 goals, finishing as the sixth-highest scorer in the Southern Region Women's Football League Division One South. That kind of return turns heads in any division. For Guernsey FC, it underlines exactly how vital she is as they prepare for only their second season in the English league pyramid.

The early evidence this term suggests that instinct has not dulled.

In last month’s Women’s FA Cup tie – Guernsey’s first-ever match in the competition – Hedley struck twice in a 3-2 home defeat to Chessington & Hook United. She needed just two minutes to find the net in that historic fixture.

"I was shocked," she said. "I wasn't sure I was even going to get a goal, let alone score in two minutes.

"It definitely helped me feel a bit better coming back into it, and I obviously had my family there watching and Luca was there, so it was really nice."

The result stung, but the performance from their main forward offered something more important: proof that Guernsey still have a cutting edge. When the ball drops in the box, Hedley remains their sharpest weapon.

Between two worlds

For Guernsey, the equation is simple. If Hedley plays, they are more dangerous. If she scores at anything like last season’s rate, they have a genuine chance to push on in Division One South.

For Hedley, nothing is simple.

Every away fixture is now a negotiation – with schedules, with childcare, with her own emotions. Every training session is a small act of trust in the people who step in to look after Luca while she chases another goal, another win, another step forward in a growing women’s project on the island.

The Green Lionesses are building something in the English pyramid. Their striker is trying to build two futures at once.

One on the pitch. One at home.