Tell us a little bit about Spring Hills FC and your role at the club?

I formed Spring Hills FC back in 2006 as there was a need for a soccer club in the new area of the west – I’ve been on the committee ever since. I wanted the club to be non-ethnic, have no religion and be open to everybody.

My roles at the club have included being Vice President, President, Technical Director, junior boys coach, senior men’s coach, over 35s and senior men’s player. I also coach the junior girls, am the women’s technical director and women’s VPL senior coach and president – these are the roles I’m currently in, and what I’ve been doing the last 3 years!

How does Spring Hills support women and girls, on and off the field?

I moved into setting up the girls' and women’s teams after one of the teams had the coach quit about 6 years ago and moved on from there to coach junior and senior girls.

The women have the same support as the men’s teams, if not better!

I pushed for the club to be known more as a girls' club – they train on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the boys do Mondays and Wednesdays.

The women’s teams play on Friday night and have a decent following.

How important is the fair access of resources and physical environments to the success of women and girls in football?

I believe that the access to the girls have to training facilities, resources and physical environments has greatly contributed to the success of our girls' and women’s teams. Looking at the stats, our women have being winning the leagues in both juniors and seniors for the last 6 years – and a big part of that is feeling welcomed and having fair access to resources.

What advice would you give to other coaches/clubs when it comes to implementing positive changes to the girls' and women's programs?

It is my opinion as a coach, the most important thing is that you show the women and girls how much you care about them – it's not about how much you know. We’ve noticed a positive response from the playing group since we’ve moved our women’s and girls’ teams to the forefront – we've had more success at the junior level, and the senior women’s players don’t feel like they need to move elsewhere to play.

Does your club have a story you’d like featured on the Change Our Game website and socials? Or maybe an individual who’s going above and beyond as a change maker in your local community? Let us know by emailing ChangeOurGame@sport.vic.gov.au

Thursday 20 April, 2023