Shan was perhaps one of the lucky ones, because a love of the game nurtured by her Dad and a natural talent and work ethic propelled her to a place within Birmingham City’s Centre of Excellence, and later their Academy.
At grass roots level however, in those days women’s football wasn’t really ‘a thing’. Not necessarily encouraged. A sport regularly having to overcome hurdles relating to funding and discrimination. And certainly not as popularly received and emboldened as the sport is today. Only the strongest young players, and personalities, would prevail.
Fast forward to 2022, however, and the picture is, mercifully, very different.
As well as being Wolves Women’s highly rated goalkeeper, boasting some huge numbers in terms of clean sheets so far this season, 24-year-old Turner is also employed as a Schools Educator for Wolves Foundation.
When she goes into schools now, the wide-eyed young female faces looking back who have an enthusiasm for football know they have a chance to feed their passion, far more so than before.
On International Women’s Day, that is a hugely positive message to portray.
“When I was at school I had to play for a boys’ team, and for girls who didn’t have the confidence to do that they probably wouldn’t play at all,” said Turner.
“Now it is very different, and it’s great to be able to go into schools and get the reaction from girls about how keen they are to play football.
“It certainly seems a lot more welcoming now than it was when I was growing up, and there are more opportunities right from the top down.
“There is the Women’s Super League, a lot of clubs in the division below in the Championship are now turning professional, and there are just so many more chances available for young girls who want to play.”
Brought up in Solihull, Turner started playing football around at the age of six, and it was a couple of years later, then playing as a striker, that she first attracted the attention of the Blues’ scouts and came through a successful trial to join the Centre of Excellence.
Within six months she had been converted – by coach Maz Gauntlett who is now a team-mate at Wolves – to a goalkeeper.
“It was one of those where we used to take it turns to go in goal, and I went in against Villa in the one game and it just stuck,” said Turner.
“I enjoyed it, and they kept me there, and it was actually Maz who first put me in goal so it was her influence that turned me into a goalkeeper.
“I haven’t looked back since!”
Turner spent a decade within the youth set-up at Blues, benefitting from the coaching and facilities of a top-flight team, before, in the final two years, completing the full-time academy programme including education.
At 18, she moved onto Coventry United, on the fringes of the first team set-up, before then joining Birmingham & West Midlands Ladies which then became Boldmere St Michael’s.
It was last summer, in the wake of Wolves Women’s impressive run to the Fourth Round of the FA Cup which she had been following from afar, that Turner was delighted to make the move to Molineux.
And in doing so, making the most of the close relationship between the men’s and women’s set-ups at the club which now ensures the ladies team have plenty of opportunities to progress.
“I had become a regular with Boldmere and really enjoyed it there but had an ambition to test myself higher up,” Turner explained.
“I had been watching the great FA Cup run and it was a really good opportunity to come to Wolves, and I have settled in really well.
“The girls were lovely and really welcoming from the first day I joined, and it felt like I had always been here.
“Wolves now offer the players an awful lot for women within football, from use of the facilities at the training ground, the academy pitches, the gym and access to the physios.
“Just being in that situation in that environment, how professional the women’s section is and how it filters into the academy, there are great opportunities for girls of all ages to progress.
“I love playing for Wolves and there is great backing which really makes us feel a part of the club.”
The support and sense of togetherness is certainly bringing results, with Wolves Women having finally achieved a long-awaited and much-deserved promotion last season alongside the spectacular run through several rounds of the FA Cup which captured the public imagination.
Sunday’s defeat at Burnley was their first in the league this season, bringing an end to a phenomenal run, mixing solid foundations - Turner has kept 13 clean sheets in 20 games– with plenty of threat going forward, and Wolves are still very well placed to try and push on and clinch the FA WNL Northern Premier League title.
That wouldn’t automatically secure promotion as a play-off would follow against the winners of the Southern League, but Wolves, under the guidance of boss Dan McNamara, are clearly a team heading in the right direction.
“We’re smashing it aren’t we,” Turner said with a chuckle.
“Seriously though, we need to keep doing what we are doing and not really look at the league table.
“We just have to keep working hard, do what we do, keep getting results and face whatever comes at us.
“As a team I think we have maybe over-achieved a little bit, coming into the new league after being promoted I am not sure many people expected us to be where we are.
“I think a lot of the success is how well we work as a collective, as a group, from every member of staff through to the players.
“As a team and a squad, we just click, there is a really good spirit, and we work hard for each other which is the most important thing.
“We are flying this year and have exceeded expectations, but no one wants to just stop where we are.
“As a team, I just hope we can achieve promotion at some point and then we can see where we go from there.”
It is not just on the pitch that the Wolves Women squad are making an impact.
Off it too, interest is growing, with crowds increasing, and players are being held up as positive examples for others to follow.
And that is a feature which is also filtering across into Turner’s labour of love, working for the Foundation.
“It does feel like we are becoming role models at Wolves, for the younger players and girls in general, and that is something that is really exciting,” she explains.
“When I go into schools as part of my role, I wouldn’t say I go in shouting about playing for Wolves Women, but the pupils often find out.
“When they know you are a player they are instantly engaged and they want to know all about it, which is really nice and also seems to increase their interest in the lesson.
“Now, when I ask girl pupils who they have as role models and idols, a couple of them have even said a couple of my team-mates at Wolves.
“That’s fantastic, that they are looking at local players from the city and not just England and shows just how much Wolves have raised their profile.
“Wolves is obviously a big name, and with the fans getting involved attendances have been good, including getting 800 at home against West Brom.”
Turner’s place within the Wolves team dovetails perfectly with the work she carries out for the Foundation, aiming to create opportunities and change lives of people in the local community.
Marcus Webber, a fellow Schools Educator, had mentioned the vacancy as he had previously coached Turner at Coventry and Boldmere and is also now a first team coach with Wolves Women.
Turner’s role involves going into schools to deliver a range of activities from PE lessons, interventions, PSHE (Personal, Social, Health & Economic information) and supporting teachers with their delivery to pupils of many different ages.
“I have been working in schools both for myself or other companies since I was about 17 and it is something I have always been interested in and really enjoyed,” says Turner.
“Being able to try and make a difference for young people is really important, and I absolutely love working at the Foundation.
“The staff are really supportive, the opportunities are good and it is a really nice environment to be in.
“For me it fits in really nicely, being able to play for Wolves but also work for the Foundation which can include talking about what it is like to be a footballer.”
Turner’s footballing ambitions are not just focused around Wolves.
Due to family links, she has represented Northern Ireland at junior level as well as attending senior camps, and her excellent form this season is again attracting the attention of the international selectors.
The future looks bright, and so too for women’s football as a whole, although there is still some work to be done.
Turner admits that there can still be a negative reaction on social media to footage or stories around women’s football but is pleased that huge progress has been made over recent years to build the profile and levels of respect within the game.
“I have never really suffered any major issues as a women’s player, but I was in the system quite early on and I have probably been lucky,” she says.
“You do still see things on social media with bits of discrimination from time to time, and that is why I think highlighting events like International Women’s Day and showcasing women’s football is still important.
“It’s about putting it out there that while massive steps have been made, we just need to keep on going with the support that we have to eventually get to where we want to be.”
