The AFL Coaches Association and Lucky Chicken Eggs Women’s Coaching Crusade and AFLW Coaching Pathway Scholarship were hatched in 2019 out of the need to support ambitions of the AFLW players to help them realise their potential and fast-track their development to coach at the highest level.
The inaugural AFL Coaches Association and Lucky Chicken Eggs AFLW Coaching Pathway recipient was GWS Giants Captain, Alicia Eva. Through the scholarship Alicia received a year long mentorship from Bombers Senior Coach, John Worsfold, attended the 2019 AFL Coaches US Study tour and completed the Next Coach Program.
The 2020 winner was announced in April with recently retired Collingwood AFLW foundation player and vice-captain, Emma Grant, being awarded the 2020 AFL Coaches Association & Lucky Chicken Eggs Coaching Pathway Scholarship.
Grant who played a key part in the Pies' AFLW journey, leading on and off the field since arriving in 2017, retired at the end of the 2020 AFLW Season due to injury. A physical education teacher by trade, Grant is a true student of the game who has a coaching philosophy centred around player development; providing a positive learning environment to allow each individual to grow as a person and as a player.
To date Grant’s coaching experiences have included Head Coach, Assistant and Specialist Coach roles, in a range of settings including regional interleague, representative underage and Academy coaching. Through these roles she has shown great ambition and a huge thirst for knowledge.
Through the 2020 scholarship Grant will be upskilling through professional development opportunities including the AFL Coaches Association’s Next Coach Program, and a mentorship from current Collingwood Football Club senior coach, Nathan Buckley.
