NSWTA is thrilled to announce an exciting project “Touch Footy Her Way”. 2022 will see both a coaching and refereeing program launched to support, develop and grow the number and capability of women coaching and refereeing in our sport.
The Touch Football, Her Way Referee Program will consist of a 2-day conference bringing together some of the NSW’s leading female referees and referee coaches along with junior female referees deemed to be potential future leaders of the sport. The conference will cover important topics such as Leadership, Mental toughness, Trends of the game, and the Physiology of women’s health. Following the 2-day conference, the participants will attend a Vawdon Cup Double Header where they can start to implement their newfound skills and understandings.
Caren Friend, member of the New South Wales Touch Referees Panel and Female Leadership Group is very excited to see this new initiative, “It is a great opportunity for our current leaders to enhance their skills while supporting our future leaders within our sport. Such initiatives ensure our female referee community continues to grow while supporting our leaders at all levels of the sport.”
The Touch Football, Her Way Coaching Program will consist of several conferences working on Game Development, Game Analysis, and Touch IQ. The program will also have a focus on Leadership, team dynamics as well as player and coach profiling.
This new initiative will be spearheaded by NSW High-Performance Coach Tony Trad as well as the game’s undisputed Leading Female Coach Karley Banks.
Tony Trad, Head of Coaching for NSWTA said “I am excited about this program. We have many fantastic Female Coaches who are just waiting for an opportunity to progress to the Elite level and to be able to deliver this program and to do so alongside such a highly successful Elite Touch Coach such as Karley Banks is an opportunity not to be missed. “
Of the program, State Participation Manager Rob Pidgeon said “it’s fantastic to be able to put the spotlight on growing women’s leadership through both coaching and refereeing because while participation on the field is close to 50% gender equity across most age demographics in our state, there is a disproportionate number of females progressing through coaching or refereeing pathways”.
Both programs comprise a successful grant that NSWTA made to the Office of Sport’s Her Sport, Her Way. More details including dates, locations, and application processes will be released in due course.
