Thurgoona premiership player Tiara Willis' passion for football has led her down a new path this season.
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After recently relocating back to the Border from Melbourne, the 21-year-old has rejoined the Bulldogs to coach the under-14 girls.
Having played in the club's 2019 open AFLNEB Female Football League flag under coach Tim Madden, and landing another two flags prior to this with Lavington, the former Kew Bear is now drawing on her own experiences to guide the next generation of young Bulldogs.
After being told she was unable to continue participating in contact sport, Willis admits she's found the silver lining.
"I thought a good way to stay involved in the game, because I've been playing since I was 10, is to start coaching," Willis said.
"When I was living in Melbourne, at the last club I was at, they asked me to help with their thirds in kind of a mentor role.
"That's when I thought I'd really like to start in the under-14s so that I can help them progress and to want to keep playing football, because it's the most important age to keep them wanting to come back.
"It's pretty cool to come back to the club where I've won a premiership.
"There were a few years where the club folded, so coming back and rebuilding and being able to tell people that you have to start from the bottom to win those premierships, it's really cool to be able to say that I've done that at this club and it is doable."
However, Willis admits it's been tough adjusting to life off the field due to a medical condition, which makes her more susceptible to the repercussions of head knocks.
"It's been pretty hard, but I guess coaching has helped me to still find the love of the game," she said.
Having had female coaches in the past, Willis believes its important to tailor training specifically to girls.
"I don't know if its a genetic thing or if they grew up kicking the footy with dad, but you see boys from the age of five knowing how to kick a footy perfectly, where as the girls come into under-14s and you ask them who taught you that, and they usually say they taught themselves," she said.
"You often have to start from learning how to kick.
"Teaching girls is also different because you have to think about breasts.
"In that way you have to kind of reshape how everything is done to suit the female body."
Willis has become the club's first Indigenous female coach, having also previously worked as an Indigenous youth worker in Melbourne.
"I have always loved working with Aboriginal youth," she said.
"It's definitely a rewarding area.
"I'm also studying criminal justice and criminology, leading into that youth justice field of preventative measures."
Thurgoona Female Football Club is still on the hunt for more under-14 and under-17 players this season, with anyone interested able to attend training.
