Blog

During the 2022 season I coached the SHFC W13B’s team, our W12B team struggled that season as that could not get a coach, they trained with our W11 side and their Manager did the best she could during games. Come the 2023 season the W12B’s lost players returning as still no one was prepared to coach, unfortunately my team (now W14B’s) also lost players to reps and other teams within the Club, so I took on the all the players and created a team of 16 – with the majority playing up a year, we went OK as a new team and the girls enjoyed their season.

Leading into the start of the 2024 season I was privy to registration numbers, I must has done alright as a coach as a lot of players had friends come and join the Club!!

On our 2024 Grading Day we had 22 players registered for the W15 team, a great number but also a terrible number. At first I was not sure what to do, turn players away? No, I jumped in and recruited – which is not as easy as it sounds, eventually getting the number of players to 26. My plan was to split the girls into 2 teams, mainly keeping friend groups but also trying to have 2 evenly matched teams so we would play in the same age group and division. And here came my biggest problem, I couldn’t coach 2 teams at once. I though a bit about what to do and decided to step outside the box, and I asked my eldest daughter Maddy Davis and her team mate Zoe Bliss (both these girls are in our W18 team) if they would be interested in coaching a team, both were a YES!!

My original plan was to mentor the girls (ps I’m no professional coach, just a Dad helping out and I love it), well that lasted all of about 5 minutes! I’d set up training so the 2 teams were together and during the first training session I talked with Maddy and Zoe and explained my approach and plans, well they had already had plans, drills and training sessions worked out, so from there on in the girls took full care of coaching their team.

The season didn’t start the best for the team, they were graded as the W15B-1’s, there was a lot of things going on, new team, new coaches, new players to the game and the majority of these girls are still playing up year in age group, we successfully had the girls regraded to W15C’s. By this time the team and coaches had began to gel and play as a team, winning games and enjoying the game.

Come to the end of the season, the SHFC W15C’s finished Minor Premiers!!! They went on to win their semi final and are now in the Grand Final.

So here’s the good part, we have 2 x 16 year old girls coaching a team (for the first time) of 13/14 year old girls and they made it through to the Grand Final!

Both Maddy and Zoe have been with our Club for over 10 years each, and still managed to play in the W18 Competition as well this season.

In the 2022 Competition SHFC W15C’s played the Grand Final against Miranda Magpies, both Maddy and Zoe were players in this team, fast forward to 2024 Season the same 2 girls coached the SHFC W15C’s team thru to win the Grand Final against Miranda Magpies!

Written by Troy Davis