Elise Coventry says development and support will underpin her coaching style as she embarks on her first pre-season as Geelong VFLW senior coach.

The former Cats AFLW-listed player has gone straight from defence coach duties with the AFLW side into pre-season training with her VFLW charges as preparations begin for the 2023 season.

With development being the primary goal for the club’s VFLW program, Coventry said her teaching background will come in handy as she focuses on education and helping her players get the most out of their time at Geelong.

“As the whole footy world knows, there was a lot of growth in our (AFLW) season this year, so I’ll be taking snippets of that and putting it into the VFLW program, so we’re educating girls around that style of play and how we want that to look,” Coventry said.

“I’m hoping, too, to play a supportive role. There’s girls coming into that program with lots of different outlooks. Some want to get drafted, some want to just play the best footy they can, others are there because they stand out at their local league.

“So (I’ll be looking at) how can I develop and support them to get the best out of their footy, whatever their end goal is?

“Having been in the program myself and been through a few of those stages, I hopefully have an empathetic view and that and can understand how that all looks.”

After starting out as a development coach for the 2021 AFLW season, Coventry added Geelong’s VFLW defence role to her résumé in 2022, before taking on the same role with Geelong’s AFLW side for Season 7.

At the same time, she has been completing her National AFL Level 3 Coaching Accreditation Course through the prestigious BHP Women’s Coaching Academy.

When previous VFLW coach Andrew Bruce decided to turn his attention to a development coaching role with Geelong’s AFLW side, the opportunity presented for Coventry to take the next step in her coaching journey.

“It sounds … like a pretty quick progression, but I think with the back-to-back seasons, and being involved in both programs, it’s felt like a long time,” Coventry said.

“The head coach thing was something that ‘BJ’ (Geelong Head of AFLW Brett Johnson) saw more than I did, which probably threw me a little bit when we first started the conversation, but now I’ve gone through those steps, it feels like a natural sort of progression.

“(I feel) fully supported by the club. They’re really invested heavily in me coaching, and female coaches in particular.

“I still have so much to learn, but I’m fully supported by Dan (Lowther), who will oversee the program and mentor me through that as well as our assistants, who are returning assistants, so they’ll play a big part in the game plan and how it all looks.”

Assistant coaches Alf Della Monica and Aiden Yelland are on board for season 2023, while Coventry is still weighing up whether she will continue as a playing coach, like she did as defence coach in 2022, or focus solely on coaching.

“I’ll never say never. I enjoyed the playing-coaching role once I got my head around it, but I’m not sure how I’d go with the whole system when I’m down one end, because there’s no way I’m getting myself in the middle,” Coventry said with a laugh.

There will be plenty of familiar faces in the team next season, with a returning core group of players, as well as several AFLW-listed Cats putting their hand up to play.

“We’ve got a good core group returning from the VFL program – they’re leading the charge already with getting the group together for coffee after training and things like that, so socially the group of players is coming together really quickly,” Coventry said.

“Because we had such a fit AFLW side this year, there’s probably about seven or eight girls who haven’t played enough footy in 2022, who will look to play quite a few games leading into their pre-season.

“It’s almost going to run alongside their pre-season, so it will complement what they’re doing on the track through the week. A few (players) in their meetings at the end of the year flagged that they might come for a few cameos, so we’ll just watch that play out.”

A start date for the 2023 VFL Women’s season is yet to be confirmed by the league.