Former Culcheth High School student Lucy Mills is doing precisely what aspiring athletes dream of, representing Great Britain on the international water polo stage. Her summer has involved training camps in Hungary and Romania before competing at the Women’s European Junior Championships in Volos, Greece.
Earlier this year, the 17-year-old was England under 17s’ top scorer as the team secured bronze for the second consecutive year at the EU Nations Junior Women’s Tournament in the Czech Republic. She continued to contribute in Greece, helping her country reach the 11th-12th place final in a competition featuring national teams packed with full-time professional athletes.
Lucy has already represented Great Britain under 15s at the European Championships in Malta two years ago, and is now an A-level student at Winstanley College in Wigan. For a teenager balancing serious study with international sport, the schedule sounds less like a school timetable and more like an airline’s route map.
“She is definitely living her dream,” said her father, Chris. “All the hard work, the long hours training, the late nights, the early mornings, the sacrifices, the missing out on other things, the time, the expense; it is all forgotten when your daughter is selected to play sport for Great Britain.
“Everybody involved - Lucy, mum and dad, nana and grandad, cousins, Aunty and Uncle, her sister Molly - would do it all again, twice over.”
Lucy has barely been home since the end of July. She spent 10 days at a training camp in Hungary, returned for five days, then travelled to Romania and Hungary for another 10-day preparation camp before heading to Volos after just two days at home.
That demanding run also included fellow Warringtonian Katie Bowater, with the Great Britain team winning a tournament in Eger, Hungary, and beating the Romanian national team twice. Lucy scored four goals for her country in the second victory, which is a rather efficient way to make an international impression.
The centre-forward was top scorer for Tyldesley Water Polo Club’s National League Division Two team last season, but has changed clubs for the new campaign. She has been offered a place with Liverpool Lizards in the first division of the Ladies National League, while retaining her links with Tyldesley Swimming Club.
“Lucy has been offered a place to play for Liverpool in the first division of the Ladies National League, so while she wishes to retain her ties with Tyldesley Swimming Club she will play for Liverpool Lizards going forward,” said Chris.
Lucy has completed her first year at Winstanley College, studying PE, Business Studies and English Language. When time allows, she continues to volunteer as a lifeguard for Tyldesley Swimming Club and works part time at the Pelican Centre Swimming Pool, where the club is based.
Named Tyldesley Water Polo Club player of the year in 2018, Lucy typically trains six days a week. She has also represented the North West at the National Inter Regional Championships and completed two seasons with England Schools, including two European Championships campaigns.
Her water polo journey began eight years ago, following a family connection with Tyldesley Swimming Club.
“The whole family has a long history with Tyldesley Swimming Club. I was a member, my parents were on the committee,” said Chris. “She joined the club about age seven as a swimmer and then the swimming led to polo.
“She tried other things before finding what she liked. In the same way that my parents took me to the swimming club so that I could just swim, that’s what we did with Lucy and it just really went from there.”
There is plenty to admire here, from Lucy’s commitment and talent to the family support behind her. There is also a less glamorous truth: elite junior sport demands extraordinary hours, travel, expense and sacrifice. For Lucy, though, the Great Britain kit appears to make every early morning worthwhile.