Stawell Warriors female football coaches Steve Barnett and Melissa Bibby are ready for season ahead

The club has pushed for an open women's team for a number of years with a vision to create long-lasting pathways for junior players to strive for within the sport.

With the COVID-19 pandemic putting a dampener on previous efforts, coach Steve Barnett said he was hoping 2022 would be a successful year.

The club approached Barnett to get an understanding of his interest in coaching and Barnett said he jumped at the chance.

"It's going to be a lot of fun, teaching young adults and adults new skills and something totally different," Barnett said.

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"It's exciting to be able to get a senior team going so we've got an avenue for the young players to move into.

"It's a lot easier for the young players to transition through the ranks and even play at a top level of the sport so we need to keep encouraging players to try the sport and see if it's something for them.

"To do that, we've identified the need to create more pathways for our juniors."

Barnett has never coached football before and said the role would be a new challenge for him but looked forward to working with junior returning coach Melissa Bibby and was excited by being guided by someone with so much knowledge of the sport.

"A big goal for me is to make the sport fun, and enjoyable," he said.

"This is an avenue for young women to keep fit, try something new and have a bit of fun.

"We're not out here to jump hurdles, break records. I'm looking to get a team together, have some fun and don't mind if it turns into a social group that we can build a team around."

Barnett said he worked alongside Bibby during the 2021 season for the youth team.

"I took the reigns when she couldn't be here and we worked really well together ," he said.

"She has a wealth of knowledge in the sport and the players really get a lot from her mentoring."

Barnett said he hoped the past two years of restrictions forcing social occasions to be cancelled would encourage more people to want to come out and play.

"Why not try footy?" He said.

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"People might be feeling the need to get involved in something after the past two years and this is a fantastic way of meeting new people and joining a club."

Barnett said players would be surprised at what they could achieve with a small amount of work.

"I even contemplated myself getting back into footy because I missed being involved at a playing level," he said.

"The pandemic stopped that but it shows you are never too old to get out onto the oval and have a run-around.

"Women that don't want to play netball or don't have the interest and want to try something else now have that opportunity to still be involved in clubs in regional Victoria."

With wellbeing programs at the forefront of minds for many coaches in 2022, Barnett said he was no different.

"Football can be a great outlet, especially for women who have high-pressure jobs and just want to come and focus on something else," he said.

"That also goes for any mothers who might be at home looking after their kids. Once you are out on the field - you are just focusing on your game and your teammates.

"I have had a couple of new people from out of town who are really keen to play and get involved in the club and community.

"It's all looking positive. We've had some really good numbers showing up at training so far."

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