Privitelli to lead Knights' new dawn
- Oct 30, 2016
- 3 min read
For ten years, Rebecca Privitelli has been a part of the rise of women’s football. Now, the 21-year old is set to drive that rise herself as the coach of the inaugural Northern Knights’ Girls squad.
“There’s an opportunity for these girls in the future. We’re setting up the foundation to give these girls a better opportunity for when they hit eighteen, nineteen,” says Privitelli, whose own AFL dream became a reality when she was selected by Carlton in the inaugural AFL Women’s draft on October 12. “I love being a part of that but I also love mentoring these girls, coaching them and playing a big part in their career when they come through.”
Privitelli’s football story begins like that of so many of her fellow draftees.
Whereas players of previous years were unable to play past the age of 13 due to a deficit of girls’ competitions, Privitelli’s generation are the beneficiaries of trailblazers who have forged pathways, attracted players and developed competitions to give junior female footballers the same chances as the boys.
Her career flowed from playing with the boys at St Marys into St Damians and the Kew Rovers before playing seniors at the Darebin Falcons, the juggernaut of women’s football. That was 2013, the year in which she made the All-Australian squad and was chosen by the Western Bulldogs at pick 14 for the inaugural Women’s AFL draft. In 2016, she played at the Eastern Devils after winning three straight Falcon premierships.
Privitelli will take over the Knights as they become the ninth team in the TAC Cup Youth Girls Academy, a higher development representative competition for girls aged 16 to 18 established by AFL Victoria in 2008.
Privitelli’s coaching career has featured three years as the Calder Cannons’ girls’ squad Assistant Coach, 2015 Development Coach of the Under 16s Victorian Girls squad, Youth Girls Academy Summer Development Program Coach and coach at Loyola College – her acute sense of where women’s football has come from is what has driven her.
“When I started there were probably six leagues in the whole of Victoria. And six teams in each league,” recalls Privitelli. “Now you’ve got age divisions and every single league has their own competition.
“When I was 13, if you were a good player you were a standout player, whereas if you’re a good player now you’ve actually got to work to improve and to be part of the Academy squads.”
After three years working with AFL Victoria, Privitelli will be drawing up the pre-season training program for both the Knights’ TAC Cup side and the Development Squad for 14 to 15 year olds. Offering mentoring support are Carlton Women’s coach Damien Keeping, who coached Calder whilst Privitelli was Assistant Coach, and Chyloe Kurdas, a pioneer for developing the representative pathway for junior female footballers.
“It’s really cool to have Damo there for me, because I’ve done a fair bit of coaching and six-week programs but to do this is different,” says Privitelli. “And Chyloe has played a really big part in where I am now both on and off the field, both away from coaching and with my work life as well. She’s the reason why I got involved in the first place.”
With the AFL Women’s pre-season training kicking off on November 21, Privitelli will be balancing her playing career with running the Knights’ program in the lead-up to the Youth Girls’ Academy carnival in February. With her feet firmly on the path of her AFL dream, she will lay down a path for the girls following in her footsteps.
“The quote I will always stand by is that it’s more important to me to create good people than good footballers.
“The Knights want to create something for girls, they want to be a part of that pathway. If you want to succeed as a club, you need to get behind girls’ footy. The culture they’re going to create for these girls is really positive.”
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