Before Katie Lockwood joined her Glasgow City teammates in jetting off on well-earned holidays after a long season, the midfielder reflected on a career that has already taken her around the globe.
When Lockwood arrived at City last summer from Hearts, she brought with her a wealth of experience gained abroad. From playing at three colleges in the United States, to winning silverware in Cyprus and coming up against some of the world’s best in Sweden, the 27-year-old no doubt has an impressive CV.
None of it would have been possible if it was not for a determined 13-year-old Katie who knew the path she wanted to take at such a young age.
Playing football at her school in Huddersfield, the sport was the one thing she knew she wanted to give her all to. But, even in the mid-2000s, it was not always an ambition that felt attainable for girls.
She knew someone local who had gone to play college football in America. Testament to how much she wanted it, she got in touch with him and after that conversation, she was sold.
“From that day I knew that was what I wanted to go and do,” Lockwood tells us as we sit in the stands at Petershill Park on a sunny afternoon. “It was just a matter of how I was going to do it.”
Fast forward to when she was 18 years old, and it was time for that dream to become a reality. A lot of hard work later, she was about to board a plane to Florida to start a new adventure at Eastern Florida State College.
A junior college, this would be home for the next two years. Here, she would learn how to balance the demands of academic studies and a football schedule that was not far removed from that of a professional player.
“I remember my first pre-season was really tough because I went from playing a few times a week to training up to three times a day,” Lockwood explains. “The fitness levels over there were so much higher than what I was used to.
“But once I settled in and got used to it, it was great. It was going to class in the morning and training in the afternoons. Other than the studying, you felt like a full-time footballer.”
What Lockwood achieved during her two years in Florida suggests she embraced the experience with open arms. It had been something she had wanted for so long and she made sure to reap her rewards.
That came in the form of being named the junior college National Player of the Year and receiving All-American honours.
“Before going over there, I didn’t have a clue what any of those awards meant, but then I realised that it was a really, really big honour and one I'm really proud of,” the midfielder beams.
She then moved on to the University of Alabama, a D1 college, where she would play at the highest level possible in college football. Yet, it was not just the level of the game that proved to be a stark difference to what she’d experienced before.
“It was the polar opposite of what I was used to,” she says. “I had been at a school where a couple of hundred people went to watch our games to now being somewhere where thousands of people came.
“In terms of American football, they had 100,000 people go watch their games every week. I’d only ever seen like 80,000 go to Wembley. So, the scale was just insane for me.”
Her last destination in the States was at Campbell University in North Carolina. Still playing D1 football, but at a smaller school, it was the perfect place to round off her time across the Atlantic.
“The coach had tried to recruit me the year before, I’d said no but she kept coming back for me,” Lockwood says. “I had a friend there from my junior college, so it was an easier transition because I knew someone and could settle in.
“I found that it being a smaller school helped me with my studies and when it came to playing my football because I feel like when I’m comfortable I play my best football.”
It was not only developing to play your best football that Lockwood took away from her time in America. It was also about gaining the tools needed to make the next step in her career: professional club football.
“The biggest thing America taught me was they weren’t necessarily recruiting the best players,” she explains. “It was your attitude and the type of person you were. That went a lot further with a lot of the coaches than how well you could play.
“I don’t think I was the best player on my team, but I probably got recruited to one of the best colleges because of me as a person. I was willing to work the hardest and make the sacrifices I needed to make to make sure I got where I wanted to be.
“It taught me a lot about how to be a professional and what you needed to do and to be in order to make it as a professional. It really set me up.”
With her U.S. chapter behind her and professional football now within reach, Lockwood was ready to test herself on a different kind of stage, but the world had other plans.
Lockwood graduated in uncertain times as Covid-19 was forcing countries around the world into lockdowns.
But one thing was for certain, unlike the young Katie who was unsure of what opportunities even existed for ambitious players like her, she knew there were several possibilities out there that could help her achieve her goals.
After getting the go ahead to fly back to England from America in June 2020 and undertaking a period of isolation, a move to Apollon in Cyprus soon beckoned.
Playing abroad in Europe was another important experience in Lockwood’s career, but doing so in the backdrop of a global pandemic meant her resolve was tested more than it had been before. 
But even during those more difficult times, she never questioned whether it was the right decision. That was certainly vindicated when she won the league trophy and the Cypriot Super Cup.
“I’m a home bird and a big family person, so that was probably the hardest part for me,” she says. “Not being able to pop home at a weekend or nip round for a Sunday dinner.
“It was tough. Especially during Covid when I wasn’t even sure when I would get to see them again. I think I went a whole year away from home which is the longest I’ve ever done.
“But, finishing the season with silverware and a trophy, with my best pals in the sun, it was great. We were so well looked after by the club. From the president to the club staff, they knew how hard it was for us to be away from our families that they became our second family.”
A successful one-and-a-half-year spell in Cyprus was succeeded by a season spent in Sweden with KIF Örebro DFF. It was here, Lockwood says, where she made her biggest strides.
“Sweden has probably been the most important part of my career,” she explains. “After playing well in Cyprus, I’d had a bit of interest but as soon as I spoke to the coach in Sweden, I knew I wanted to be a part of it. 
“He was a very good coach and put so much time into developing all of us as players. I felt like I learned a lot more about the game over there.
“Playing against some of the best players in the world... I was having to man-mark Caroline Sager. She ran me ragged!
“I did my most developing as a player in Sweden because the level was so much higher than what I’d played before.
“It was a great experience, especially because in the league anyone can beat anyone on their day. We were a mid-to-bottom table team, but we could still compete with those at the top.”
Having now talked about each of the countries she played in prior to her move to Scotland, our conversation is now approaching the 30-minute mark, but it feels like it has gone by in a flash. It is refreshing to hear Lockwood speak so passionately about the places she used to call home and the people she met along the way.
With so many experiences gained, we ask if she believes her versatility, which is so evident in her game today, is rooted in having to adapt to different playing styles in different countries both in the teams she played in and played against.
“It’s a really good question and a good point to make,” Lockwood replies. “I can play so many positions now probably because I've had to change my game to every country I’ve played in or for every coach I’ve played for.
“For example, when I was in Sweden, I was used as a ten or as a striker. In Cyprus, I was a holding mid, or an eight, or a 10, or a winger, it just depended on the style or system we used.
“I remember sitting in analysis sessions, and it’s similar now, and I'm watching multiple positions because you never know where you might be called upon.
“I’ve never really thought about it until you mentioned it, but it probably is why I can be so versatile and play in multiple positions because I've had to adapt. I’ve had to learn new roles because every coach has had a different style and a different philosophy.”
Yet it wasn’t skills rooted in football which were the biggest lessons learnt by Lockwood during her near seven years spent abroad. It made her become the person she is today, both on and off the pitch.
“Just living away, I’ve had to learn how to fit in and fit in with different cultures,” Lockwood explains. “What is the norm in one culture, isn’t necessarily the norm in another.
“I learned a little bit of the language in Cyprus and Sweden. Not because I had to but because I wanted to show that I cared and show I wanted to learn.
“It’s made me a more well-rounded person. I feel like I find it much easier now to put myself in someone else’s shoes because I’ve been that new person going into a new environment.
“When the girls from abroad come over here to City, I get it. I understand how hard it can be being away from home, so I always try to help them the best that I can.”
Before we finish, we ask her to think back to the determined Katie who wanted nothing more than the career she has managed to go on and live.
“Sometimes it is nice to be reminded what I’ve done and how far I’ve come," the midfielder replies. "I’ve worked so hard for this since I was so young.
“My dad always reminds me that when they sent me off at the airport to go to America, they were in tears, I was in tears and now look at me. Look how far I've come.
“I’ve been able to win silverware, play in cup finals, play in the Champions League... It is something I’m very proud of.”