Thirteen (13) female coaches from across the region came together on the weekend at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility (LMRFF) to begin their C-Licence Coaching Scholarship – an initiative of Northern NSW Football (NNSWF), which has been established to provide funding assistance to female coaches.
Thaya Evenden, Helen Moseley, Tara Johnson, Chloe Kapalos, Rachael Oberleuter, Lauren Fairfull, Emma Tamblyn, Rachel Bax, Emily Haigh, Shania Hedley, Michelle Forbes and Jessica Evans were all awarded the coaching scholarships early in the year and were supported by fellow great coaches Leo Bertos and Cas Wright.
NNSWF Female Participation Officer Holly-Lace Ayton said it was a great moment for the continued growth of women’s football in the region.
“Seeing a total of 13 females on this C-Licence is reassuring and is going to greatly benefit our football community across Northern NSW,” Ayton said.
“It is important as a Federation that we are investing in coach education and this weekend proved that there are women who want to be a part of this. By providing a supportive and welcoming environment, these women walked away confident to continue their coaching journey.”
Club Coaching Coordinator at Sawtell FC, and one of the recipients of the Coaching Scholarship Rachael Oberleuter, echoed Ayton’s thoughts that the day is another great step in the right direction for football.
“It is definitely worthwhile and definitely worth giving it a go,” Oberleuter said.
“The collaboration is really important. You learn a lot, not just in the course content, but from the other people here and that sharing of knowledge and experiences enables us to do our job better.
“Having been involved with football for a long time, to register for acourse and turn up was still a daunting thing for me to face. I was a bit worried about how hard it was going to be but that collaboration with everyone who is here and talking to other coaches has actually made it much clearer and not as daunting as I first thought it originally was going to be.”
Part 2 of the C-Licence Coaching Course continues in the coming weeks, before then each participants is provided a coach mentors in support to complete the course.
