Our Commitment to Girl's and Women’s Football 

The Waverley Blue have a sustainable girls and women’s football program, with clear pathways from Auskick, through Juniors girls to Seniors Women's for our players. This program is essential for us to be a true community club aligning with the club’s values of equality, fairness and opportunities for all. We recognise that clubs grow through diversity and choice and our goals and commitments to women’s football reflect this:

• We treat all teams equally and there are no differences between female and male teams

• We seek equality of numbers across out coaches, committee, officials and players.

• Equability translates to every aspect of the club: venues, game times, unforms, food and social events

• All players are welcomed and have a football club for life

Our Women’s Football Program

Our Women’s Football Program has the following elements

1. CREATE GIRL’S AND WOMEN’S PLAYER PATHWAYS

It is important to build strong player pathways for girls to grow in the game, from Auskick, through the Junior’s and to the Senior Women’s team. 

• The Waverley Blues have incorporated the Auskick program as part of the club as this allows us to mange this pathway in an integrated manner.  We conduct AFL Clinics at the local primary schools to attract girls to the game.
• When girls start high school, they have an opportunity to make choices for themselves about the sports they want to play.  So for many girls, this is the first exposure they get to playing AFL football.  We have developed collaborations with the sport coordinators of the local secondary schools, Avila College, Mount Waverley Secondary College and Huntingtower with the aim of promoting football and our club to the students. 
• The club has built a strong playing base with over 110 girls and women playing across U10s, U12s, U14, U16s and the senior women’s teams in 2023
• We welcome new players with all levels of experience at any time.  

 2. DEVELOP SKILLS AND AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE GAME

• Auskick is about learning the basics and having fun. We find more girls are starting football in this way each year.
• As we engage with the local schools and attract new players, we run footy clinics to help girls develop their skills
• When girls join the club, they will join a team based on their age. Each team has a dedicated coach that conducts weekly training sessions of 90 minutes with matches of 60 minutes played on Sundays. At these sessions the girls:
  • Improve their fitness and develop their skills
  • Increase their knowledge of the game
  • Get to know their team team mates
  • Develop life skills such as communication, leadership, resilience and working as part of a team.
• The more senior teams (U16s and up) starts their pre-seasons before Christmas to allow for maximum development and learning.

 3. HEALTH AND WELLBEING IN WOMEN’S FOOTBALL

“PREPARE TO PLAY”

• The Prepare to play program aims to increase durability, improve recovery, reduce injuries and improve the athletic performance of females playing football
• The program achieves this through effective warm-up and cool down at training and also warm up pre-game.

SALT - SPORT AND LIFE TRAINING

The Waverley Blues have joined the SALT program that seeks to transform club culture and provide a range of age and gender oriented education sessions young people.  Some of the sessions for girls are:

• Empowered (for Girls)
• Team First Leadership
• Becoming a Woman of Influence (Female)
• Wellbeing and Mental Health
• Core Values and Leadership

 4. GIRL’S AND WOMEN’S COACHING PATHWAYS

Just as we are developing a pathway for women players, the Waverley Blues are creating a pathway for that allows girls and women to develop as coaches.  This will stand them in good stead for a future as football coaches, but also as future leaders at work and in the community:

• We have a number of our U16 girls and Senior Women’s players that are involved in coaching younger players and running clinics.

 

Women’s Football History at the Waverley Blues

The Waverley Blues fielded an under 16 Youth Girls side for the first time in season 2016, where we had two players finish 1st (Riley Hall) and 3rd (Amelia van Oosterwijk) in the League Best & Fairest awards. 

In 2017 we launched our first ever Senior Women's team with players playing from ages 16 to 35+. Led by inaugural coach Chris Goldstraw the team made it to the Grand Final in their first ever season - an amazing effort for a team that have never played football before.  

In 2018 our Women’s team made the Finals again, whilst our u14s girls side also had a successful for season together, with Abbey Cerovac 3rd place in the League best & fairest awards.

In 2019 AFLW Draft we had three ex players drafted.  Gemma Lagioia (pick 8 Western Bulldogs), Amelia van Oosterwijk (pick 62 Western Bulldogs) and Emily Harley (pick 93 Richmond).

2021 our Abbey Cerovac won the u16 League Best & Fairest with Hannah Konstanty in 4th place.  A wonderful achievement in a shortened season.

2023: Senior Women's football returned under coach Clint Martin, with the team finishing 3rd in Division 2.  Abbey Cerovac was the club Best & Fairest.

 

If you are interested in playing or helping out in anyway please contact: waverleyblues@efl.org.au

Training for all sides will begin in November, so keep an eye out for this information on this page and our Instagram Page or Facebook page for more info.

Games & Training are currently played at both Mt Waverley and  Pinewood Reserves.