When Jordan Parry stepped into the role as Connah’s Quay Nomads Women manager, few could predict the transformation that would follow.
As he prepares for his 100th game in charge of the team against Felinheli on Sunday, we can safely say his impact stretches far beyond the results.
Parry was appointed manager in the summer of 2021, beginning his project with just two players, who signed up over a zoom call.
Fast forward five years, Parry has led the team to silverware in every season with the club and has brought joy to a whole community.
New structures, higher expectations and a professional standard have filtered across the whole squad. Yet for all those strides the team has made, the biggest shift has been Parry’s own perspective, with the job quickly becoming more significant than he ever anticipated.
“I think I get taken back sometimes with how far we have come,” said Parry. “I have been in this project for five years and we have achieved a lot. Being a Connah’s Quay lad myself and to create something, with no real prior intention of wanting to progress in women’s football, if truth be told. However, I have grabbed it with two hands and have made it so, so important in my life.
“If you want to do well in football, you have to be obsessed, and I certainly changed my thought process on women’s football very quickly. I always want to do things to the best of my ability and being in this job has given me my best years at the football club.
“I have coached various levels but this is without a doubt the most rewarding coaching thing I have ever done and it is up there with my biggest achievements in football.”
Memories
Reaching 100 games as a manager is a milestone that rarely comes around often in the Genero Adran Leagues.
Memories come easily for Parry, including both the highs and lows.
Although he led the Nomads to a first ever Genero Adran North title by winning all 14 games last season, it is still the setbacks that linger in his mind.
Those defeats have arrived in different forms throughout his tenure. Some were tight, some were heavy, but each one formed part of the team’s evolving story.
“For me, it is the ones you lose that are remembered the most,” said Parry. “I am quite fortunate that I have not really lost many over five years, but at the same time, I always remember every single little detail of the ones you lose, all the hindsight of what you could have done and what you should have done, and what personnel you need.
“I remember losing to Llandudno in our first season when they were the champions and a well-established women’s team, and with what I had in the short term, I thought I could definitely do something and be successful in this league, knowing the level they were at.”
The losses will of course be frustrating memories, but they sit with a catalogue of joyous occasions and experiences that will sit with Parry and his side forever.
Perhaps the most impressive result for the Nomads under Parry came in the 2022/23 Genero Adran Trophy last 16, where they triumphed 3-2 away to top-flight Barry Town United – a long journey that is rare, with the club being in their regional Adran North league.
The Nomads have also played in front of over 9,000 fans against Wrexham at the Racecourse, which still stands as the attendance record for a women’s domestic game in Wales…which may have been helped by a few Hollywood stars who were present that day!
“That game against Wrexham was probably the pinnacle of our journey,” Parry added. “We have also played against a Champions League outfit in Cardiff City in the Adran Trophy and we definitely pushed them. I always feel we have competed with the best teams.”
Influence on Women’s football in North Wales
When the Welsh women’s domestic football system transitioned to the Genero Adran Leagues in 2021, the overall standards were still developing compared to the stronger levels we see today.
The Nomads won three consecutive NEWFA Cups and the Genero Adran North title under Parry, allowing him to create a stable female pathway, featuring talented players in age groups ranging from U8-U19 level.
Achievements from the academy pathway include winning an U19 development league title and gaining a FA Wales National Academy Status, which allows the U13 and U16 teams entry into competitive national leagues.
On how he feels the Nomads have changed the women’s game in North Wales, Parry said: “We have pushed certain people to respect the women’s game in our local area. I think we have certainly put our name on the map and that is through the success every year, the way we compete and the way we work hard.”
Many of those in the academy see the senior squad as role models and they would do so more than ever if the Nomads reach the Adran Premier – something Parry is eager to achieve.
“I feel like I have worked harder than any other manager in this league,” he added. “I do not like losing, I do not like finishing second. My job is still not done, I still do not feel satisfied as I want to reach the Adran Premier and I want to sustain it. That is my ultimate goal and dream.”
‘The Quay Vision’ – Where do Nomads Women fit in?
The term ‘One Club’ rings throughout Connah’s Quay Nomads on a daily basis.
There are new plans for all sectors of the club throughout the next five years, which were announced during ‘The Quay Vision’ strategy earlier this week.
A new 4,000 seater stadium at Ty Calon was the main talking point, but before the excitement of that, Parry has one vision – Promotion.
The Nomads were left heartbroken after squandering a two-goal lead in the final 10 minutes of their promotion play-off final against Pontypridd United last season, but the commitment and high standards of the team makes it seem destiny awaits.
“Starting from the top, I want to get this team in the Adran Premier. We have to get there eventually,” said Parry. “Until we do, I think we are always going to sit with a silver medal in the shadow of Wrexham and TNS, with those two being a different entity of that league now.
“I have more purpose and more drive to ensure the younger ages in the north go and do really well in our academy system across the next three to five years, which is led by myself.”
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