Emma Kerry is proud to be at the forefront of Keilor’s push into women’s football.
The Blues’ inaugural senior women’s coach has a long family connection with the club and understands the values that make it one of the most admired in the north-west.
Years of experience in football as a player and coach, coupled with an intimate knowledge of the club, makes Kerry the perfect choice to lead the Blues into an exciting sphere.
“For them to have asked me to coach is a real privilege and an honour and I’m excited about it,” Kerry said.
“I’d love to have played for them, but obviously that wasn’t the case so to be able to coach and assist in their junior programs is pretty special.
“My brothers played down there from under- 10s until seniors, and they’re life members.
“I grew up around the club. I’ve got a lot of friends and family down there and a lot of my friends have daughters who are now playing there, so it’s exciting.”
Kerry, 36, was a late bloomer when it came to football. That’s the case for many female footballers around her age because the pathways were not as clear for teenagers when she was growing up as they are now.
Like so many, Kerry turned to another sport, carving out a career in basketball with the Broadmeadows Broncos, Bulleen Boomers and Melbourne Tigers. But having grown up around football, it was always something she wanted to take part in.
At age 24, Kerry decided to take the plunge into football, and she hasn’t looked back.
She played two seasons with the St Albans Spurs before joining a Darebin Falcons side on the verge of a dynasty. Under super coach Peta Searle she shared in four premierships before spending four years at the club in a coaching capacity.
“I’ve been at Darebin the past 10 years, so this is a bit of a change for me, a bit of a challenge that I’m looking forward to,” Kerry said.
“We had 16 or 17 girls from the Darebin VFL team drafted into the AFLW league, so it’s a big learning curve for me having to go back to teaching the basics, but I’m excited by the challenge.”
Kerry has been thrilled with Keilor’s commitment to running a successful women’s program. The Blues’ ambitions to get a successful women’s section up and running came long before the arrival of the AFL women’s competition, which has been a resounding success in season one.
It’s given Keilor a massive head start on the clubs that will no doubt be pushing for women’s teams in the coming months following the success of AFLW.
“I can’t speak highly enough of the club as to how they’ve embraced women’s football down at Keilor; it’s really good to see,” Kerry added.
“They’re putting the time and effort and resources into girls and women’s football, so it’s only going to get bigger and better. The numbers in the past couple of weeks in the under-12s and 15s, in particular, have been through the roof and it’s only going to get bigger.”
