Why pre-match habits matter to Wolves Women
For supporters, the build-up to kick-off can be a blur of traffic, turnstiles and team news. For players, it is a carefully managed rhythm. Wolves Women midfielder Katie Johnson has offered a candid glimpse into that routine — a mix of practical health steps, nutrition, and a dose of music-fuelled levity — that helps her arrive ready to compete for Wolverhampton.
The non-negotiables: coffee and allergies
The day begins with a caffeine cue. Johnson’s first move on a Sunday is a coffee from her at-home machine — a small comfort that sets the tone. Alongside it sits a medical must: a daily hay fever tablet. She explains that severe allergies are a year-round reality and that taking medication is essential for getting through training and matchdays.
“I have to take a tablet every morning, and especially on a matchday,”
she says, adding with wry humour that a blunted sense of smell has been an unintended upside in changing rooms.
Fuel for home and away
Matchday meals are kept deliberately consistent to avoid surprises. Johnson previously relied on Weetabix, but as her career has progressed she has leaned towards a simple plate of poached eggs on toast with ketchup for home fixtures. Early departures for long away trips change the calculation. When the coach roll call comes too soon for eggs, she reverts to cereal and pushes to four biscuits of Weetabix to bank early energy.
- Breakfast plan A: poached eggs on toast with ketchup
- Breakfast plan B (early away days): four Weetabix
- On the coach: team pasta pots are available, but she often brings her own snacks
While pasta pots are standard-issue on the team bus, Johnson admits she is not a fan. Instead, she packs familiar options — including Squares bars and other carbohydrates — to control her intake and avoid trial-and-error on travel days.
| Matchday element | Johnson’s choice | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| First drink | Coffee | Consistency and focus |
| Health | Hay fever tablet | Manage allergies year-round |
| Breakfast (home) | Poached eggs on toast, ketchup | Protein and familiarity |
| Breakfast (early away) | Four Weetabix | Early, simple carbohydrates |
| Coach snacks | Squares bars; alternative carbs | Energy without pasta |
| Pre-match soundtrack | ‘Cuff It’ by Beyoncé | Lift mood; team bonding |
Music, mates and the motorway to Telford
Not every routine lives in a nutrition plan. Johnson often carpools to home fixtures in Telford with team-mate “Quigs”, turning the drive into a rolling warm-up for the mind. Their playlist has a clear centrepiece: Beyoncé’s ‘Cuff It’. The ritual is light-hearted but intentional — a shared dance, a moment to relax, and a switch that flips the squad from the week’s grind to match focus.
“We always have to have a little dance to that in the car,”
she says, noting that any passengers are obliged to join in. It is a reminder that team culture is built in small, repeatable acts as much as on the training pitch.
Routines as a competitive edge
Johnson’s account underscores how women’s footballers in Wolverhampton balance the ordinary with the elite. Caffeine and cereal are hardly exotic, yet the order, timing and reliability of these habits matter. Allergy management is not an afterthought; for Johnson it is a prerequisite to perform. Food choices are kept predictable to reduce risk on long journeys — the kind that can see Wolves Women leaving the West Midlands before sunrise for fixtures as far as Hull.
There is also a psychological groove at work. The car-ride conversation with a trusted team-mate, the repeatable playlist, and the ability to laugh on the way to the ground all serve a purpose. They nudge the headspace from everyday life into match concentration. Those marginal gains — restful minds, known meals, settled stomachs — can accumulate across a season.
What supporters can take from it
For fans who follow Wolves Women to Telford and around the country, Johnson’s routine offers a window into the unseen hours before the first whistle. It explains why squads value punctuality on travel days, why certain snacks appear in kit bags, and why a singalong in the car might be as important as a final tactical note. It is the craft of preparation, seen through a Wolverhampton lens.
The detail is not glamour; it is reliability. A coffee, a tablet, a simple breakfast, a song. Strung together, these choices help a midfielder arrive composed and ready to play for her club and city. In a sport where margins can be thin, that quiet consistency could be the difference between chasing the game and setting its tempo.
