VYD is proud to support young female athletes through its sponsorship of Carla Dennien’s wellbeing work with the Junior Premier League girls’ football teams at Montpelier Villa Galaxy (MVG)
In the first of two blogs, Carla shares her professional background in physiotherapy, nutrition and women’s health, and explains how this journey has led her to support young female athletes at a crucial stage of their development.
Carla Dennien
Hi, I’m, Carla, a nutrition and lifestyle coach, and founder of The Good Health Ally. I support people to improve their wellbeing through sustainable diet and lifestyle habits, with a particular focus on digestive and women’s health. While this has been my professional focus since 2019, the foundations of this work were laid much earlier during my career in the NHS.
I spent many years working as a physiotherapist, eventually specialising in neurological and stroke rehabilitation. It was a role I found incredibly rewarding, but it also came with limitations that were sometimes frustrating. I could help people regain movement and function, but I increasingly felt that long-term health and recovery depended on more than clinical treatment alone. Over time, both professional experience and personal observation showed me that health is shaped just as much by sleep, nutrition, hormones, stress levels, activity, rest and daily habits as it is by medical care.
This broader understanding is what led me into health coaching. I wanted to work more proactively, helping people build the foundations that support their health before problems escalate, and giving them practical tools they can use in everyday life. Education and empowerment became central to my approach, because meaningful change tends to happen when people understand their bodies and feel confident acting on that knowledge.
Montpelier Villa Galaxy u13s warming up pre-match
As my coaching work developed, women’s health became an increasingly important part of what I do. To properly support female clients, it is essential to understand hormones and the menstrual cycle. Although research in this area has historically been limited, we now have a much clearer picture of how the natural hormonal fluctuations across the menstrual cycle’s four phases can influence energy levels, mood, focus, joint stability and motivation. These are not small details, they affect how women feel, function and perform day to day.
“As the father of a teenage daughter who plays football, I’ve seen first-hand how much the girls’ game has grown, but also how little many of us as parents really understand about what they’re going through physically. Supporting Carla’s work felt like an important step for us at VYD, not just to help my own daughter better understand her health, but to make sure more girls have the knowledge and confidence to stay in sport during those pivotal years.”
Gary Pleece, Founder VYD
My interest in this area is also informed by experience. As a young athlete, I began menstruating early, and by my mid-teens heavy periods, pain and low mood were affecting both sport and school. At the time, there was little open discussion or understanding around menstrual health, and like many girls, I gradually withdrew from sport. It’s a pattern that still exists today.
Now, as a parent of two daughters who both play football, I see how different the experience can be when conversations are open and knowledge is shared. Cycle tracking, awareness of hormonal shifts and a focus on good nutrition and recovery are helping them build confidence and self-awareness, even while navigating the usual challenges of adolescence. It reinforces for me how powerful body literacy can be.
This combination of physiotherapy, nutrition, women’s health and coaching naturally led me into supporting young female athletes, where puberty, hormones, growth, performance and wellbeing all intersect. Following increased media attention on menstrual health in sport, I was approached by Montpelier Villa Galaxy (MVG) about delivering wellbeing sessions for their players. The work, supported by VYD, focuses on helping young athletes better understand the connections between menstrual health, nutrition, recovery and overall wellbeing.
Carla delivering her workshops with Montpelier Villa Galaxy Girls’ Teams
This matters far beyond performance. Many girls disengage from sport during puberty, often due to embarrassment, body changes, periods and a lack of support or understanding. Yet staying active is strongly linked to both physical and mental health. Creating environments where young female athletes feel informed, supported and able to talk openly about their bodies is therefore a wellbeing issue as much as a sporting one.
My approach in these sessions mirrors my wider coaching philosophy. Knowledge is important, but real benefit comes when young people feel empowered to apply it. Building self-awareness, encouraging reflection and developing practical tools help athletes care for their health, build resilience and feel more confident in both sport and daily life.
This work with MVG, supported by VYD, represents a positive step towards more informed and supportive environments for female athletes. In my next post, I’ll explore more deeply why menstrual health, nutrition and wellbeing education are becoming essential in sport, and how they can influence participation, performance and long-term health.
Read more about my work here contact me at carla@thegoodhealthally.co.uk
