Female Football Week Wrap-Up!

2019 Female Football Week was the biggest ever in NSFA, with a wide range of events across multiple age groups and locations through NSFA, Northern Tigers FC and XLR8 Player Development!

Sunday May 26 & June 2: Northern Tigers Women’s NPL home fixtures

It was fantastic to see the next generation of female footballers out supporting our Northern Tigers FC women’s teams at NTRA over both Sundays of FFW.

Players from Asquith Soccer Club, Chatswood Rangers Football Club, Gordon Soccer Club, Kissing Point Football Club, North Turramurra, Turramurra United and the Northern Tigers SAP program got involved in a number of activities throughout both afternoons, including walking out with the players, engaging with First Grade players,racing our mascot Roary and enjoying the shooting target and FFW giveaways from Football NSW.

Sunday May 27: Pararoos Development Centre

Sunday opened the door for our future ‘Paratildas’ to take to the field. The NSFA Pararoos Development Centre was supported by former Matilda Di Alagich who gave the aspiring young female players a taste of elite coaching and player development. Di, supported by Ed Ferguson combined the PDC and new players for some friendly matches at the end of the morning to round out a great start to FFW.

Monday May 27: Coach Education Workshop

Last Monday as the temperature cooled, Eilidh Mackay (Girls SAP Technical Director and Boys Under 14’s Coach at Northern Tigers FC and a Program Leader for XLR8 Player Development) was met by 25 keen coaches at Blackman Park in Lane Cove. Eilidh delivered our Female Football Week coach education workshop with the support of Lane Cove Girls Under 14 & Northern Tigers GSAP players. Three themes ran throughout the workshop; organised chaos, enjoyment and engagement, and player-led learning. It was great to have so many female coaches in attendance and we hope this opens the door to many more female coaches taking on roles in their club!

Wednesday May 29: Girls SAP in the Community

On Wednesday evening at NTRA we welcomed four NSFA teams who joined in with Northern Tigers Girls SAP training. It was a great opportunity for all players to meet and train with new people which seemed to be the highlight when you asked the players what they enjoyed most. Thank you to Gordon, Hornsby Heights, West Pymble and Turramurra United players for making the trip to NTRA.

Wednesday May 29: XLR8 Women’s Skill Training

An incredible 46 players attended our Women’s Skill Training session last Wednesday!!

We started the session with ball mastery which allowed the players to get lots of touches on the ball and learn to manipulate the ball with both feet and different parts of the foot. We then progressed into 1v1s, going over key attacking and defending principles before finishing the session with a nail biting mini world cup that ended on penalties!!

Our coaches Eilidh, Aimee and Saoirse were overwhelmed with the enthusiasm of the participants to learn and develop their skills. It was fantastic to see a range of experience levels, from players trying football for the first time all the way to long-time NSFA club footballers sharpening their touch.

Friday May 31: Female Football Friday at NTRA

NTRA was painted pink and purple on Friday night as the annual Female Football Friday event kicked off.

XLR8 got the ball rolling with over 140 players engaged in a free skills session (click here for photo gallery), putting players new and experienced through some fun ball mastery games before 1 vs 1 challenges and a match. NTRA was bordered by pink and purple balloons, with the girls receiving their free FFW merchandise in the form of tattoos, head bands, phone cases and wristbands.

With the BBQ firing and the Player shooting challenge running non-stop, it was time for NSFA and Northern Tigers FC to meet. Matches were played out between NSFA clubs and the Northern Tigers FC Girls SAP teams. Thank you to all volunteers, coaches and NSFA teams (North Sydney United FC, Chatswood Rangers FC, Lindfield FC, Hornsby Heights FC) that were involved. Overall, the night ended with over 200 girls playing football and readying themselves for the World Cup which kicks off in a matter of days!

Female Football Week Profiles

SARAH JENKINS

NSFA Board Member Sarah Jenkins has been involved in multiple roles within football and in particular the female side of the game. We talked to Sarah about her experiences and hopes for the future of female football!

Photos thanks to Lindfield FC and Dan Ullman. Audio thanks to www.bensound.com.

AMANDA AND KIM SKELLERN

Did you know the NSFA runs an annual primary school age girls football tournament?

The NSFA Skellern Cup is played in September and is named after Amanda and Kim Skellern, local juniors (West Pymble FC) who have each played a decade of representative football with Northern Tigers FC!

Follow the link for more info about the Skellern twins and the tournament.

EILIDH MACKAY

Eilidh is currently the Girls SAP Technical Director and Boys Under 14’s Coach at Northern Tigers FC and a Program Leader for XLR8 Player Development!

Click here to read the profile.

MACKENZIE WILLIAMS

Local junior Mackenzie Williams has progressed through the NSFA system, becoming one of many players to earn selection with Northern Tigers FC after excelling in the NSFA Diamond League!

Mackenzie currently plays in the Women’s NPL Under 17’s team at Northern Tigers.

SARAH UFF

In addition to her coaching role at Lane Cove FC, Sarah is also the club’s Women’s Coordinator, a Board Member and player!

Click here for the full story!

SAOIRSE COBBE

Saoirse is the current Northern Tigers Girls SAP Under 12’s Coach and also coaches with XLR8. She previously played with Northern Tigers for nine years after progressing from her junior club, Lane Cove FC.

Click here for the full story!