The Yarra Junior Football League will run a selection of female football opportunities throughout 2022 lead by coaching experts Penny Cula-Reid and Tom Hunter.
Penny Cula-Reid will also be leading the coaching efforts of the YJFL’s Yarra Magpies Academy Under 15 Girls program while Tom Hunter takes on the Under 14 program after a successful stretch with the girls in U15 team in 2021.
Penny and Tom will be engaging in sessions to help develop the skills of the female coaches within our League while taking upon a selection of other female footy initiatives.
Penny, the YJFL’s Female Football Ambassador, is currently the head coach at VFLW side Williamstown after taking the role in 2020. An influential player and coach, Penny played her football with the St Kilda Sharks in the VWFL before joining the Collingwood Magpies in 2017 for the inaugural season of AFLW. At the beginning of 2018 she took the reigns as coach of the first Magpies VFL Women’s team – being awarded the VFLW Coach of the Year in 2018 and leading the club to a premiership in 2019. A pioneer of the growth in women’s footy, Penny has become the YJFL’s female football ambassador in the past two seasons as well as contributed to our representative football programs. She is a role model for the players that are involved in our rep programs.
Penny’s association with the YJFL began in 2019 when she coached the Yarra Magpies Under 15 Girls Division 1 team.
Tom Hunter, former AFLW coach for Richmond in their inaugural season now leads the men’s program at Brunswick Football Club. Tom was engaged in coaching roles with Richmond’s VFL and VFLW sides before his announcement as AFLW head coach. He was Head Coach of the YJFL Under 15 Girls program in 2021 where he was able to upskill the Assistant Coaches from YJFL clubs who took part in the program, as well provide the 60+ players in the program with the high-level skills and game sense training, as well as giving our female players great insight into the talent pathway ahead of them in the next few years.
More information will be supplied to clubs in the near future.
We look forward to Penny Cula-Reid and Tom Hunter’s involvement with the YJFL during 2022.
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