'Towards 60' Female Coaching Project Launched

Following on from the successful Young & Female Coaching Development Pilot Program that was run in early 2021, Hockey NSW is excited to announce the launch our “Towards 60” project - a long-term strategic approach to attracting, developing and retaining more female coaches, officials and leaders in hockey.

The project has the ambitious goal of lifting the female off-field participation rate in the coaching and officiating space to 60%, so that it mirrors the current rate female on-field participation in NSW. 

Globally, the presence of female coaches throughout women’s sport is widely underrepresented, and this is a trend that has unfortunately been seen through hockey across NSW.

Using the research from the recently released Sport Ireland Women in Sport Coaching Research project, Hockey NSW will be implementing their own research project ‘Towards 60’ to develop good practice programs, resources and strategies that we can use to recruit, retain, develop and progress female coaches and officials.

Hockey NSW is keen to also understand the barriers specifically within hockey and use the ‘Towards 60’ program to drive change and explore and test new ideas and ways of doing things.

The aim for the Towards 60 coaching program is to provide females with the necessary skills and confidence that will allow them to progress their coaching journey.

As part of the coaching program, participants will get the opportunity to learn with and from like-minded females in a safe, supportive and inclusive environment.

With the combination of online and face-to-face learning modules, the participants will be able to develop their confidence and refine their coaching skills whilst receiving mentorship from experienced coaches.

The project will be headed up by Australian hockey royalty, with former Hockeyroo Casey Sablowski and current Hockeyroo and NSW Pride representative Kate Jenner overseeing the group of developing coaches.

Jenner, who is also a Regional Participation Coordinator for Hockey NSW, is excited to officially launch ‘Towards 60’ and work with promising female coaches from across the State.  

“I believe this program provides an educational and uplifting environment that gives our female coaches the confidence to step onto the pitch and showcase their coaching potential,” said Jenner.

“This program will create a pool of female coaches that will form a network of not only coaches but future mentors within our sport. We will also be using this program as a fact-finding mission to uncover the barriers that female coaches face and what we can do to help overcome these barriers to allow the coaches to thrive.”

Having spent the past three years with Hockey NSW as a coaching consultant, Sablowski is keen to build on the great foundation set by the Young & Female Coach Development pilot program.

“This is an exciting time for females in sport and I look forward to playing my part in the development of highly skilled and respected coaches, leading the way in the female coaching space,” said Casey.

“I believe it is a huge benefit for sporting organisations to have strong female role models to lead the next generation of aspiring athletes and I would love to see Australia, and more specifically us at Hockey NSW, lead the way in this space.”

Initial feedback from the Young & Female Coaches Development pilot program run earlier this year was overwhelmingly positive, with many of the original participants keen to participate in the new ‘Towards 60’ project.

Below is some of the feedback from a few of the participants that took part in the pilot.

“Just wanted to say thankyou so much for giving me the opportunity to be a part of the program! I love coaching so much and all of this has been so great, I really enjoyed it. Thankyou!” - Kennedy

“I think that this program was a great idea and a highly valuable experience. More networking and interacting with fellow coaches will lead to greater outcomes as coaches and coaches feeling more connected and supported.” - Naomi

“I think this program is amazing new path for the women coach out there, with the coaching a male dominated sport it a way for us to be given the same opportunity of the boys. This is something that Hockey NSW should be proud of! Well done to all the RPC that have worked to get this off the ground.” - Katie

“I have greatly appreciated the opportunity to have been part of this program. I am grateful for the work everyone who has been part of it have put in. I am disappointed that the program is finished.” - Carissa

Applications have now closed for the 2022 program. Please keep an eye out for future announcements about the program in 2023.