Bec Goddard mentored numerous young female coaches through the SANFL Women’s Coaching Academy and established a succession plan beyond her tenure.
It’s a familiar story. Girls at the age of 13 no longer able to play the game they loved so forced to look elsewhere.
It’s Bec Goddard’s story, it’s Erin Phillips’ story and the story for many other females. But it is the story no longer.
After more than a decade of involvement in footy as a young player, then goal umpire, assistant coach and coach, a phone call from the Adelaide Football Club changed the trajectory of her evolution in the game.
The invitation was to head up the women’s AFL program to be ready for the 2017 season. It was to be a complex two-State (SA and NT) preparation, but Goddard is blessed with an innate ability to strengthen confidence and enhance team relationships.
Under her coaching the Adelaide Crows achieved the second highest home-game attendance averaging 8,876 spectators. TV ratings showed half a million people across Australia watched the Crows win the inaugural flag with a six-point win over Brisbane.
Importantly, Bec Goddard also mentored numerous young female coaches through the SANFL Women’s Coaching Academy, establishing a succession plan beyond her tenure.
She was presented with the AFL Woman in Football Award in 2017. In presenting the award, Essendon Women’s Network Chair Jane Grover said: “Bec is a woman that leads from the front, displays moral courage, and continues to influence the entire football community around equity, fairness and inclusion.
“For so many young women, Bec represents choice, inclusion and respect which is the cornerstone of giving everyone a fair go and mirrors our multi-cultural Australian community.”
