Last week’s Female Football Friday was kicked off with a free skills clinic that saw over 50 girls step onto the field at NTRA.
Leading the clinic was Hannah McNulty, 2017 NSFA Coaching Scholarship winner.
Hannah was one of four recipients of the 2017 NSFA Coaching Scholarship, which saw her gain her FFA Youth C Licence at the end of last year under the instruction of NSFA Technical Director Jason Eagar.
“It was a great experience, but such a step up from any previous coaching course I had done, with the amount of hours and the extra work outside of the course days,” Hannah explained.
“However it was really great to discuss and learn the best way to communicate with young players as opposed to adults.”
“It’s one thing to know the drills and skills you want your players to learn, but you need to be able to explain it to them in a way they understand.”
After coaching within the NSFA community last season, this year Hannah has made the step up to representative level, taking charge of the Northern Tigers Under 10 Girls SAP team.
“I’d been interested in coaching for a while, and I’d helped out with a few holiday clinics and coaching workshops with Ed (Ferguson, NSFA Community Football Manager) and really enjoyed it,” she said.
“I did my first team coaching last year at Hornsby Heights, where I was doing sessions with the Under 12 Boys, Under 12 Girls and Under 14 Girls. It was a lot of work but each week I got more and more comfortable with the role.”
“This season with Tigers has been another step up with the amount of training the team does, but I’ve also had to change the way I coach, the difference between Under 10 and Under 12 doesn’t seem like a lot on paper but you can see it on the field!”
In addition to her coaching at Tigers, Hannah has been involved with the NSFA’s XLR8 development program, including the Female Football Friday skills clinic, school programs and Small Group Coaching.
The 18-year-old currently plays for the Northern Tigers Women’s First Grade team, and her move into coaching took inspiration from a fellow teammate.
“I’ve looked at Eilidh (Mackay) as a role model, we’re both Scottish and we’ve played together for a while now.”
“She’s been coaching teams at Tigers and running holiday clinics and other programs for years and she’s someone I look up to and want to emulate.”
With her coaching career just beginning to take off and female participation in the sport continuing to grow, Hannah’s focus is set on developing the next generation of footballers.
“In the future I would love to keep coaching young girls. It’s so inspiring to see them grow and develop as players and enjoy the sport in the same way that I did at their age.”
Hannah and our other XLR8 coaches will be hosting a Girls Holiday Clinic during the first week of the April school holidays!