Rebecca Privitelli, the first Northern Knights football youth girls coach, initially put in an application to be the side’s team manager.
When her application arrived too late, the club was still keen to get in touch.
“They said, ‘Come in and have a chat’ – and we started talking about coaching,” Privitelli said. “I would have rather coaching anyway.”
The 21-year-old has held a number of coaching roles in the past two years.
She’s been an assistant coach at the Calder Cannons, co-coach of the Victorian under-16 girls team, coach of the Yarra youth girls summer program and coach at Loyola College.
Privitelli said the opportunity to coach close to home was too good to refuse.
“It is a big move at my age, but I’ve been through what a lot of players have,” she said. “I started coaching when I was 19 and [was] too old for youth girls. I wanted to pursue another level within football.”
The announcement caps off a big couple of weeks for Privitelli, who was taken at pick 142 by Carlton in the inaugural AFL women’s draft.
Her coach at Carlton is Damian Keeping, who was head coach at the Cannons when Privitelli was assistant.
“He’s played a huge part in my career and has a great football brain,” she said. “I’ll keep learning off him.”
Privitelli believes she can play a key role in the development of female football.
“One issue with girls football – there isn’t enough females involved,” she said.
“There are some fantastic male coaches out there, but for youth girls coming through I can connect in another way with them. I’ve been through it and understand what it feels to be in their position.”
Privitelli said the Knights were in the final stages of the selection process, with training to start next week. The Knights will compete in the AFL Victoria Youth Girls Academy Challenge over six weeks next year.
