The AFL Canada board of directors is pleased to announce that Tricia Rolfe has been appointed as the Head Coach of the Northern Lights, Canada’s National Women's Australian Football team.
AFL Canada put in place an exhaustive two-month process to find the ideal candidate, who would not only maintain the levels of success the program has seen in the past, but exceed those, all while acting as a leader and role model for Women’s Footy in Canada.
A selection committee was put in place prior to the close of call for applications, comprising an AFL Canada Board member representative, AFL Canada staff member and AFL Canada Coaching Director. The role of the committee being to provide their recommendations for Head Coach to the AFL Canada Board, based on the information provided by applicants. Four candidates of an extremely high caliber were interviewed, making the recommendation a difficult one.
Following the interviews, the Board of Directors were supplied with all information from each candidate around their plans for the program moving forward, their experiences with Footy in Canada, and ultimately, the Committee’s recommendation.
The AFL Canada Board of Directors unanimously agreed that based on Tricia’s experience, passion and plan for the Northern Lights program moving forward, that she was the best candidate for the Head Coach of the Northern Lights.
Tricia has extensive experience with footy in Canada, including as a player, coach and director at both a local and representative level.
Tricia’s Footy experiences began with the Calgary Kookaburras in 2011, falling in love with the game instantly. During this time Tricia has seen stints as a coach and director for the club. Tricia has proved a wonderful role model for the Kookaburras for other Mothers looking to get involved or, re-involved in Footy.
Tricia has also represented Canada throughout her playing career, being selected in the Northern Lights squad at International Cups in 2014 and 2017. Tricia’s involvement in National Footy didn’t stop there, serving as the Women’s player representative on the AFL Canada board of directors since 2017, all the way up until applying for this role.
Director Lara Hilmi will fulfill the Women’s Rep role until a replacement can be elected at the AFL Canada AGM in December.
Tricia’s passion for Women’s Footy in Canada is unparalleled. Not only at a national level but right down to helping clubs grow their registrations and building junior footy across Canada. This is demonstrated by initiatives she has spearheaded at a local level, such as organizing free baby-sitting for Calgary Kookaburra Mom’s while they come out to practice/games.
Tricia on taking up this role, ‘I’m excited and honored to be selected for this role. I look forward to bringing a Canada wide and grass roots focussed approach to building out another successful Northern Lights team”
AFL Canada would like to thank all applicants for their efforts and time in applying for this role and we look forward to assisting Tricia in getting to work and growing women’s Footy in Canada.
Last Modified on 21/11/2020 08:31