The Sydney Swans are proud to celebrate Women’s Coaching Month in June, as the level of female talent grows with in the four walls of Sydney Swans HQ.
Boasting home grown talent from NSW and interstate, the Swans AFLW program is going from strength-to-strength thanks largely to the female coaches steering the ship.
Established in 2020 and proudly supported by BHP, Women’s Coaching Month also shines a light on the pathway programs and initiatives aimed at encouraging more women and girls to take up coaching from grassroots through to the elite.
Former AFLW star Tanya Hetherington is currently coaching the forward line at the Swans, while Bronwyn Gulden is looking after the backs.
Both women already have extensive football experience, but with the growing professionalism of the AFLW competition, they have been given a platform at the Swans to hone their craft.
Hetherington was recently selected as head coach of the Under 18 Allies squad while Gulden has been involved in the coaching ranks of the QBE Sydney Swans Academy for years.
Having begun her journey as an intern in the Sydney Swans men’s program, Phoebe Carter is now the AFLW teams’ performance analyst, while current player Brooke Lochland is coaching in the Swans Girls Academy program, and Kristie Whittard is developing as a coach in her own right with the AFLW’s forward line.
Kate Mahony, Executive General Manager, AFLW, says she’s proud to have so many talented female coaches at the club.
“All of our coaches earn the right to coach at this level and have proven time and time again they have both depth of footy IQ and an ability to engage and drive a team to new standards, Mahony said.
“ We are lucky to have them at our club and paving the way for future generations of women to come through the coaching pathway.”
AFL National Women and Girls Football Lead, Debbie Lee, said Women’s Coaching Month plays a vital role in shining a light on women in coaching.
“Since the inception of the AFLW competition in 2017 it has been incredible to see the amount of growth that has occurred in our game within the women and girls space, and this includes the number of women taking up coaching positions across all levels,” Lee said.
“While we have seen a boost in numbers year on year, we still have a lot of work to do to achieve our targets set out in the Women and Girls Action Plan and we need to keep creating pathways and promoting opportunities for women to connect with coaching.
The partnership between BHP and the AFL focuses on developing women and girls who want to play, coach, umpire and administer our game, and encourages men and the broader community to be advocates and allies in this space. Holistic in its approach, the partnership aims to promote leadership, inclusion, equality and wellbeing – recognising that supporting women will benefit communities.
