Opening doors for female coaches with new Academy

An exciting new coaching program was launched at AFL House in Melbourne on Monday night to improve learning and development opportunities for female and gender diverse football coaches in North Western Victoria.

The North West Female Coach Academy has been created to provide specialised training to increase the number of female and gender diverse coaches transitioning from community football into AFL Talent pathways. The Academy is a joint initiative developed by Coates Talent League (CTL) coaches from the Calder Cannons, Northern Knights and Western Jets.

The Academy will provide an accelerated learning environment for coaches within the North West Victorian region consisting of five sessions that will be facilitated by CTL Regional Development Coaches.

The idea for a Female Coach Academy was born when Ross Smith from the Calder Cannons identified a lack of opportunity for female/gender diverse coaches in the region. A 2019 Community Coach Academy organised by Ross had 50 applicants, of which only three were female. This Academy saw 30 coaches selected for the program, including the three women, however only one of the women showed up for the first session and did not return after that. This indicated to Ross that the coaching environment at that time was male dominated to the extent that women did not feel welcome to contribute.

In 2023, the Calder Cannons had two female assistant coaches that were elevated into AFLW coaching roles, leaving their assistant coaching positions open at the CTL level, which were eventually filled by two male coaches.

These two experiences highlighted to Ross the need for a program to help develop female coaches to be in a position to confidently take on such vacancies in talent pathways when other female coaches are elevated through the coaching ranks. He came together with fellow CTL coaches Allana Dickie from the Northern Knights and Hayley Gossow from the Western Jets to develop the North West Female Coach Academy to provide a development opportunity for coaches in their region.

The coaches submitted an expression of interest, with Academy organisers initially hoping to select 15 female coaches, however there was such great interest in the program that they ended up selecting 22 coaches. These 22 women come from a range of coaching backgrounds and experiences, and will come together over five sessions, from April 29 through to the end of August to participate in the Academy.

The Academy sessions will cover a variety of coaching topics including building confidence as a coach, developing a game plan, training session planning and game day execution, as well as strategies for managing difficult conversations or scenarios within a football team.

Each session will be conducted at a different location, from AFL House to several AFL clubs, including Essendon and Carlton, making use of the existing relationships and alignment between the Coates Talent League and AFL/W clubs. Hosting sessions at AFL club venues (including a tour of facilities and potential guest appearances) is intended to help the Academy coaches envision themselves coaching in a professional environment in the future.

Allana Dickie, Regional Development Coach at the Northern Knights said that the introduction session was a great success.

"The coaches in the room on Monday expressed that they have previously felt intimidated when they are in a male dominated environment…having the women comment on how comfortable they felt and how grateful they were for the opportunity highlighted the importance of rolling out initiatives like the North West Female Coach Academy," she said.

The session was well received by the coaches, including Aimee McDougall from Whittlesea FNC, who is proud to see the improvement in available opportunities over the course of her coaching career.

“10 years ago, when I started coaching it was so difficult to find football coaching mentors especially female ones. Being able to walk into a room of incredible female coaches was so exhilarating. The little 16-year-old girl from 10 years ago felt so proud of how far female coaching has come,” Aimee said.

Danyel Waters from Gisborne Rookies also feels proud to be part of initiatives that are fostering positive change for females involved in football.

“Monday night reminded me that the opportunities for females in coaching are on an upward trajectory and to have the support and resources backing the development of female coaches from AFL and Talent Leagues, not only makes me feel proud but that we're changing the game here,” she said.

The North West Female Coach Academy will next meet on June 24 at Essendon Football Club.

2024 North West Female Coach Academy Participants

Emmerson Hitch – Darley Football Netball Club (Senior Women’s Coach)

Danyel Waters – Gisborne Rookies Junior Football Club (U16 Girls Coach)

Ellen Buckley – Old Yarra Cobras (Women’s Prem A Coach), Northern Knights (U16/18)

Sarah Gooden – Calder Cannons (Development Coach)

Aimee McDougall – Senior Women’s Head Coach

Nicole Stillman – Greenvale Football Club (U16 Gils Coach), Calder Cannons (U16 Girls Coach)

Tracey Newton – Northern Football League U14 Girls Representative Team Coach

Tracy Gerdtz – West Coburg Football Club (U16 Girls Coach)

Ashleigh Davey – Yarraville Seddon Eagles (Senior Women’s Coach)

Clare Walker – Community football junior coach

Siobhan Odwyer – Melbourne Sports Institute (U18 Boys and Girls Coach)

Sian Eddington – Aberfeldie Football Club (U8 Girls Coach)

Emma Gaul – Kew Rovers Junior Football Club (Girls Program Head Coach), Yarra Junior Football League U15 Girls Representative Team

Tamara Collins – Macedon Junior Football Netball Club (U15 Coach)

Aurelia D’Rozario – Williamstown Junior Football Club (U12 Girls Coach)

Leah Spargo – Western Jets Development Coach (Futures/U16 Girls)

Lilly Bromley - Woodend Junior Football Netball Club (U18 Girls Coach), Calder Cannons Assistant Coach (Futures/U16 Girls)

Louise Ainscough – Mount Alexander Falcons (Head Coach)

Jade De La Rue – Werribee Centrals Football Netball Club (Senior Women’s Coach), Western Jets Head Coach (Futures/U16 Girls)

Shae Murphy – Bendigo Thunder Women’s Football Club (Assistant Coach)

Leanna Meyer – Wyndham Suns Football Netball Club, Western Football Netball League U15 Representative Tema (Coach)

Maddy Guerin – Current Carlton AFLW player, 2023 Carlton AFLW Midfield Stoppage Coach