'I'm used to playing against Lionesses - in my spare time I'm fighting fires'
Football is not a matter of life or death - as the famous Bill Shankly said - but for Exeter City Women co-captain Bow Jackson, life away from the field can be the exact opposite.
Alongside representing the Grecians in the Women's National League, the ex-Yeovil Town defender holds a role with the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service. Initially a fitness advisor for the service, she has gone on to become an active firefighter - something that brings huge variety to her everyday life.
Speaking exclusively to Mirror Football, Jackson said: “It’s very exciting and plainly, I don’t get much time to rest! But it’s great, it’s nice to have a variety in my day to day life.
“I can go to work thinking I’m doing one thing and that can change the moment I walk through the door and likewise then when I’m at football. It brings that different level of energy to the pitch where we can put things into perspective and work for the right reasons and for the better reasons and that overall picture rather than just focusing on just football.”
Ever since becoming operational, Jackson has had the support of Exeter’s joint-managers Abbie Britton and Aaron Wakely. She regularly attempts to balance both her footballing and firefighting commitments.
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Any energy-sapping assignments get priority and she is allowed to miss training as a result. Jackson suggests that approach at the club means a lot and allows her to enjoy both her time with the club and the service.
She said: “It’s such a nice feeling knowing I’ve got the support of my players and managers and all the staff. It would definitely be a higher pressure if someone didn’t understand that.”
Exeter support Jackson in her firefighting duties including sometimes allowing her to miss training (FalseLights and Zandie Thornton Films)“It’s fantastic being in a club where they understand that and then we can put it into perspective,” Jackson added. “They know they’ve got 100 percent commitment from me.
“They know by respecting me and respecting my role, I’ll give them back more when I can but they also need the times when I need a rest, I can thankfully sleep it off.”
In one day, Jackson can be tasked with both keeping the ball out of the net in the Women's National League and then putting out a fire. And some will argue that there are very little parallels between the two roles, however she believes that each have lent important aspects to each other.
Jackson in her role with the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service (FalseLights and Zandie Thornton Films)“With the fire service especially, that determination. No matter how tired or how hard it is, you cannot give up. It can potentially be someone’s life at risk if you give up. That has definitely been taken over into the football side of things,” the defender says.
“From the football team, that collectiveness of working hard together when we train and pre-season especially. You do it as a squad. That kind of energy is brought into the fire service of trying to make it as fun, interesting and exciting and playful as we can.”
While she has made it her task to make her role as engaging and entertaining as possible, Jackson and her colleagues are still under no illusions as to how serious it can be at times. “I’ve got my fire crew and family,” she says.
Jackson is currently co-captain at Exeter (FalseLights and Zandie Thornton Films)
The defender enjoyed a spell in the WSL before joining Exeter (FalseLights and Zandie Thornton Films)“Unfortunately we see things which the average person shouldn’t see. So therefore you become a very close-knit family very quickly. They see the worst of you, when you wear breathing apparatus and you come out, it’s not a pretty picture. You very quickly become friends because you have to.”
While there are differences between taking to the pitch for Exeter and tackling an emergency, Jackson claims that both the club and the service both have the same approach when it comes to their close communities.
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“With the fire service and Exeter City, that community feel is huge. We’ve got to build things on a different level. We can’t just say we’re the biggest club and that’s what we’re going to bring into.
“The biggest thing that I can say about Exeter City and the fire service is that they go ‘how do we impact the people around us?’ They don’t just go ‘we are here and we’re going to do that’. We’re looking at what strength we can bring. You’re always stronger in numbers.
“As a fire fighter, you’ll never go in there alone, we’re too scared. We want our support. Take that into the world of football as well, we don’t just go in as a squad, we want our support there. They’re what makes you proud to wear a badge. If we don’t build a community around that, what does the future look like?”
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