“I just think it was perfect timing,” says Longwill, who says she is most excited by “the group of girls, the calibre of girls, their skillset, their knowledge but also the want to improve to get to the next level and one day play AFL football”.
 
“Mentoring these players into those roles and getting them out of their comfort zones and playing different positions is going to be a real plus for them but it’s also providing them with as much information as possible on-field but most importantly off-field.”

While Longwill’s football coaching career began a few years ago her resume is nonetheless very impressive: she was the Team Manager, Forward Coach and Selector for the School Sports Victoria side in the 2015 16 years and Under School Sports Australia Football Championships held in Geelong in July and then again in 2016 in Queensland. Alongside her were bona fide women’s football legends Leeann Gill and Lauren Arnell, the Darebin premiership champion recruited to Carlton as a priority pick in August. She has also been an Eastern Devils' assistant coach under the guidance of Devils' senior coach and Collingwood assistant coach Brendan Major.

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Longwill applied for the position of Stingrays’ coach as soon as it was made available and was interviewed by Dandenong’s Talent Manager Mark Wheeler. Longwill has been a Maths and IT teacher at Berwick College for seven years (coincidentally, her Stingrays predecessor Gowans once coached the local football team).  It’s therefore unsurprising that it was her eagerness for “educating and learning” in the role as coach that gave her an edge over her competition.

“I know I’m going to face challenges but that’s what it’s all about, it’s about learning and evaluating your own ability. I want to be mentored to become a better coach, working alongside my assistant coaches but I want to educate the group of girls who are coming through.”

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Lists for the Youth Girls’ Academy teams will be finalised in the coming weeks and Longwill reveals that she has previously coached “five or six” of the players expected to feature in the Stingrays’ squad. “I’ve already had messages from them,” says Longwill, showing that her belief in building a rapport between coach and player has already been well received. “I know of the other girls in the squad and I can’t wait to get to know them more.”

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After 82 games across five seasons for the Eastern Devils, Longwill’s career was cut short in 2007 when she broke her right ankle. Subsequent surgeries only worsened the injury, fusing the joint and forcing her into retirement.

And so she hung up the boots… but she didn’t leave. Such was Longwill’s deep love and loyalty for her club that she has sat on the executive committee for ten years as Secretary as well as being Team Manager for the two Devils’ senior sides. During that time, she has watched women’s football go from a hand-to-mouth existence to a self-sustaining, many-layered game. Being placed in the position of being able to turn talented players into potential AFL stars is a prospect both thrilling and humbling.

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“A player starts off at an early age at AusKick then they can move through the pathways at their clubs. A number of opportunities arise for these young athletes, like SSV, Vic Country vs Vic Metro…. I think everybody has a contribution to that person getting to the highest level possible. There’s no way that I would take full credit for anything because there are so many other coaches and mentors that would have brought this person to an AFL level. But it is so good to see the up and coming stars who are coming through.”

 

Longwill will be supported by assistant coaches Danny Walker (father of Stingrays’ 2016 premiership captain and current Seaford VFL player Georgia) and Michael Prentice with Jenny Todd supervising the Stingrays’ development squad of 14-15-year-old players. Even as she begins a new footballing journey of her own, Longwill keeps the focus on developing the new generation of women’s players towards their dreams.

“It gives them something they can actually strive for, set goals and know where they want to go. So it’s listening to each individual and trying to get them to where they want to be.

 

“What you put to the players is what you want them to show. As Dr. Seuss says: And will you succeed? Yes! You will indeed! 98 and ¾ per cent guaranteed! Kid you’ll move mountains.”