The St Kilda Football Club has broken new ground in Australian football by becoming the first club in AFL history to hire a female assistant coach. Peta Searle will step into the role of Development Coach for the Saints immediately, following her appointment over the weekend.
Searle comes into the role with an already impressive playing and coaching resumé behind her. With five premiership medals under her belt as a player, Searle first stepped into a coaching role with the Darebin Falcons in the VWFL – the premier women’s football competition in the country. In that role she led the Falcons to five successive flags between 2006 and 2010. She was appointed the first ever head-coach at the AFL Victoria VWFL Academy in 2010, and was named All-Australian coach of the 2011 Women’s National Championships. And from there, she began to break all new ground across in the men’s competitions.
In 2011, Searle was appointed to the role of development coach for the Western Jets in the TAC Cup under 18 competition – the primary development and feeder league for up-and-coming footballers aiming to be drafted into the AFL system. Taking yet another step up, Searle moved on to an assistant coaching role in the VFL with the Port Melbourne Borough, coaching under the tutelage of former Hawthorn great Gary Ayres. Port Melbourne, one of a handful of clubs in the VFL who has no alignment to an AFL club, is renowned not only for its recent run of success, but also for developing slightly older players towards being AFL-ready.
Searle’s appointment to the St Kilda Football Club is not only an enormous step forward in terms of equality and balance in an otherwise male-dominated industry, but is a sage and astute appointment in a time of change and rebuilding for the club. With many young players on the list, Searle’s wealth of expertise in the area is invaluable, making her appointment to the job both ground-breaking, and the absolute right decision.
Onya, Peta! Smash it!
via Herald Sun.
