The Warragul Blues Football Club will be venturing into women’s football in 2021, when their under 13 girls’ team competes in the West Gippsland AFL women’s competition.

After having everything in order to begin last year, COVID-19 put a stop to the inaugural season, one which new coach Amy Heath said they were excited about.

“We had around 25 girls signed up for 2020, but we probably don’t have as much interest as we did last year. I think that has to do with general life and some have moved into another age group,” she said.

It will be a historic year for the Blues as they embark on the journey to provide a team for girls football.

Amy has been a part of the club for seven years, with her son playing junior football in the under 14s and when an opportunity to be involved in the new team arose, she couldn’t say no.

“Personally, I’m footy mad. I live and breathe it and when this popped up, I wanted to be a part of it. Originally Laura Croft was going to coach, but with her football career she couldn’t commit. I was going to be the assistant, so I stepped in and Laura will be our assistant this year,” she said.

Amy has coached her fair share of teams, from junior sport through to high level netball.

“I love coaching and have been coaching teams since I was about 12. You can have a really big impact and instil that belief in the kids,” she said.

The team is still hoping to see more girls join the side before the season begins in May, with the fixture to be finalised in the coming weeks.

Any players wanting to play who are born in 2008 or later are encouraged to attend training on April 21 at the Marist-Sion oval from 4:30pm.

“I think it’s really important for kids to play sport and there’s not as many opportunities for girls to play, so to see them out there and possibly be able to go further on is great.

“Even if it’s not something they’ve thought about doing before, I encourage them to come and have a go, it’s about having fun and being connected as community,” she said.