The Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) Women’s Football Club is proud to the launch their ‘Leadership Through Sport Program’, commencing on International Women’s Day this year – March 8.
Targeted for young women and girls aged between 16 and 21, the program aims to develop leadership skills through all aspects of sport – from playing, coaching, umpiring, volunteering and in administration.Some of the best voices in the women’s sport industry, including Play Like A Girl’s Holly Bailey, Australian Football Hall of Fame inductee Debbie Lee and Williamstown Football Club’s Head Coach Penny Cula-Reid, headline an all-star cast of guest speakers.
The program is free to participate and will run every Tuesday from March 8, through to March 29, from 4.30pm to 6.30pm.
MCC Women’s Football Chair, Nicole Hall said the program’s intent is to enhance the confidence and leadership abilities in young women.
“One of the great things that sport has done is that women and girls are really starting to find their voice in an environment where they probably never thought they would have one,” Hall said.
“At the Club, we see girls participating in a sport they had never known about, much less played, just a few short years ago.
“The strides that competitions like the AFL Women’s are taking, but not only just football, but all the elite-level sporting competitions where women are actively involved, are so important for what they inspire.
“There are some really powerful women at the forefront of this, and in the form of Holly, Debbie and Penny, we’ve secured some of the best in the business for the Leadership Through Sport Program.
“We’re proud to be one of the few female-only football clubs in the VAFA and metropolitan Melbourne, so we feel it’s important to be at the forefront of launching a program such as this.”
The MCC Women’s Football Club enjoyed their best-ever season to date in 2021, participating in the VAFA Women’s Division 4 competition and securing a Preliminary Final berth, before COVID-19 ended the football season prematurely.
The Club has also enjoyed a success in the player development space, with Holly Bailey and Anna Harris progressing from the Club to the Casey Demons’ VFLW team. And in December, key position player Lucy Burke, became the Club’s first AFL Women’s recruit, after being elevated to St Kilda’s AFLW Primary List.
Heading into their sixth year, Hall paid testament to the environment the Club has created.
“We’ve been really proud of how much the players have embraced inclusivity and it shows in their play,” Hall said.
“We are evolving too. We want to have two teams and to do that we need to attract players.
“We feel we’ve taken giant strides from starting out as just a club to play for, to a club with elite-standard facilities at Beaumaris Secondary College, with the reigning Community Club Coach of the Year in Rebecca Ticli, and industry-level mentoring from the likes of Russell Robertson.
“For young women and girls aged 16 years and over, come and call the MCC Women’s Football Club ‘home’.”
The MCC Women’s Football Club’s ‘Leadership Through Sport Program’ is open for registrations at www.mccwomensfc.com.au.
If you’d like to know more about the Club or join in to train or play, contact Nicole Hall on 0419 141 216.