The women and girls coaching movement continues to build momentum in the AFL Queensland community, with more than 300 women already signed up to lead in 2025.
Rebecca Bermingham, a coach at the Redcliffe Tigers, is amongst this cohort and only in her second year of coaching.
A mother of three and player for the Tigers’ senior women’s side, Rebecca started her coaching career in 2024, leading the Under 8 mixed team.
In 2025 she will coach the Tigers’ Under 8 all girls team, in the first year of this new competition, which starts on Friday night.
“Our family are mad about footy and we were already at the club five days a week when my daughter’s team needed a coach,” Rebecca said.
“So I completed my coaching registration online with AFL Queensland and watched as many clips as I could on play.afl on how to coach a team and the drills we can do at training.
“There are endless amounts of resources available including RookieMe, which provides skill drill and training session plans.”
After a positive experience in her first year of coaching, Rebecca is hooked and wants to advance her knowledge in this space.
“No matter how stressful or time consuming it is, it’s loads of fun,” she said.
“It is a serious juggle between training and playing for the club and coaching, along with working full time and the demands of everyday life.
“But I’ve learned that I can do it. It’s the best feeling in the world once you get in there and do it and I’ve grown to love it.”
The great news is, for aspiring female coaches, AFL Queensland are running free Kick & Coffee sessions from this Sunday April 27 at the Southport Sharks.
Emily Otto, Southport Sharks QAFLW Seniors Backline Coach, will be facilitating the sessions.
Emily has been a trailblazer in women’s coaching in Queensland over the past few years.
She started her coaching career in 2022, after hanging up the boots for the Bond University QAFLW side, she wanted to stay involved in the game. In her first coaching role she led the Burleigh Bombers Under 17 Division 1 side to a premiership.
“I quickly found out I absolutely love coaching and feel like I got a lot more from coaching than playing,” Emily said.
In 2023 she became the Senior Assistant Coach/Backline Coach of the Bond University QAFLW Seniors side and shared the Reserves Head Coach Role.
She participated in the AFL’s national She Can Coach program where she travelled to the Hangar in Essendon, Melbourne to meet other female coaches across the country and participated in communication workshops.
Later that year she had the opportunity to coach Gold Coast SUNS AFLW reserves players.
“That was an amazing experience, it was my first time in the elite, high performance program. It solidified what I would like to do professionally,” she said.
In 2024 she became the sole Head Coach of the Bond University QAFLW Reserves team and just weeks after accepting the role, she learned she was pregnant with her first child.
“For me, growing up, I didn’t have any role models in my life of women who were able to have a family, whilst also chasing their career aspirations,” she said.
Emily gave birth to her son Percy in the week of the Grand Final and was discharged on Grand Final day and headed straight to the stadium.
Whilst the team were unable to win the premiership, Emily was proud of what they had achieved together that year.
“It was important for me that the girls in the team could see me do this role while pregnant,” she said.
“I want to set an example for other women. Growing up I’ve never seen a woman who has coached while pregnant or breastfeeding.”
Now she is in the middle of completing her Level 3 coaching accreditation and Percy has been a special guest at the sessions.
“I was invited to attend the course and was nervous about how it would go but Jack and Brad, AFLQ’s course facilitators, were so welcoming to me as a first time and breastfeeding mother,” she said.
Emily will facilitate her first Kick & Coffee session this Sunday at the Southport Sharks, with the next monthly session to take place in Brisbane.
“We are creating a safe space for women interested in coaching,” she said.
“Everyone is invited to attend and you do not have to have any level or experience in coaching.
“It’s an opportunity to talk footy, understand footy language, learn practical coaching skills, collaborate and discuss everything there is to know about coaching AFL with female coaches.”
Women’s Coaching Programs:
Coach Your Way, Women’s Introduction to Coaching Program
AFL’s Coach Your Way program aims to encourage women and girls considering or starting to coach, with the knowledge, tools and support needed to confidently step in to coaching. It’s all about coaching your way, not about fitting the mould of the ‘traditional coach’.
AFLQ visit clubs to run this program. For more information about the program or to organise or be involved in a session, please contact either Brad Moore brad.moore@afl.com.au or Jack Barry jack.barry@afl.com.au
AFL Queensland’s Kick & Coffee sessions
AFLQ invites all new, beginner and developing female coaches to join our monthly Kick & Coffee sessions, led by experienced female coaches who are currently coaching in Queensland.
These sessions are an opportunity to talk footy, understand footy language, learn practical coaching skills, collaborate and discuss everything there is to know about coaching AFL with female coaches who have experienced the coaching journey.
Sessions will take place on the last Sunday of each month at either a Brisbane or Gold Coast Location between 9:30am-12:00pm.
Exact locations will be released to registered participants monthly.
Gold Coast session dates:
27th April
29th June
31st August
26th October
Brisbane session dates:
25th May
27th July
28th September
30th November
For more information, please contact Brad Moore at brad.moore@afl.com.au