Former UK player and coach Sian Freeman has joined the RugbyWA ranks signing on in a new role of Female Pathway Coordinator with the goal of driving female participation in the game.
Previously working in a similar role at the NRL WA, Freeman will be tasked with all things in the female side of the game from development and education at the grassroots level all the way to assisting with the RugbyWA Women and the Super W competition.
“I’m really excited about starting this new role especially during such an exciting time in the female game so I’m really keen to get stuck in,” Freeman said.
“My main objective is to continue to grow the game in the female space and with so many opportunities out there for girls and women nowadays it’s exciting to see so many avenues and pathways starting to open up.”
“All that being said my main aim here at RugbyWA is just to give females the best opportunities they can and start to open up those doors and pathways up to a higher level for anyone coming into the game.”
With such a rapid growth in female participation in team sport, it’s Freeman’s goal that rugby can follow suit starting at the junior level of the game.
As more and more opportunities start to arise for young female athletes in the rugby union pathway Freeman looks to help steer and guide RugbyWA athletes to success.
“Female rugby in WA is going in the right direction there are a lot of opportunities out there, I think the main focus is to highlight those opportunities for girls and women and actually show them how far they can go in the game,” she said.
“The world is their oyster really, considering where they can take themselves through the game of rugby and who they can play for especially now their is a legitimate pathway for girls to achieve that ultimate dream of representing their country."
“With all that in mind we just need to get out there and grow the local competition by getting more girls on board and into the game, then nurture them through the ranks from the younger age groups right the way up to the senior age category in turn creating a flourishing competition.”
Before her time with RugbyWA, Freeman had been involved in rugby from a young age starting her career off as a junior player.
“My journey started off as a little 12-year-old jumping into the space of rugby union, playing the game right through to university.”
While studying Freeman continued to play, representing her county and eventually playing internationally in Tonga and Fiji before ultimately landing in Australia.
Moving into the coaching space she had a major focus on passing on the skills and experiences she had learnt with a major focus on improving the women’s game.
“Once it was time to hang up the boots, I really thought to myself what more could I do and how could I feed my knowledge and skill into the game.”
“I went into a coaching role and worked as a development officer for the last 12 years now, so I’m really hoping I can bring those experiences from past roles into the field and really get some good ideas off the ground.”
Now at RugbyWA Freeman has set some major goals to improve both the Women’s pathway and club competition giving females the best chance to succeed.
“My development as an athlete had to really catch up fast to be competitive, however now we can nurturer this talent and grow girls into the best rugby players they can be,” she explained.
“I was very fortunate that I had a very supportive family network around me, however not all girls have that and one of my major aims is to make the game as easy as possible to play for everyone involved.”
“The opportunities are defiantly there for females the quality of coaching they are getting is outstanding, they just need to take it with both hands a seize it."
"That’s what I’m here for to further their knowledge of the game and further their skills on the pitch.”
“There is heaps of volunteers wanting to be apart of this, jumping up and down putting their hand up to welcome and help the women and girls through the game.”
“There is a great buzz around it at the moment, so what what I say to girls wanting to be involved is they need to get out there and put their hands up and take those opportunities when they come because I know they can go far in this system.”
Kicking off the new year Freeman will take on many projects aimed at growing the game including the new ‘Females in Union’ social networking events which looks to bring all females from around the community together to celebrate and promote the game of rugby.
“There is definitely going to be some new things coming in the female space in 2020, bringing in a few more age groups and strengthening the competition at the grassroots will be fantastic start for the younger girls.”
“By doing that hopefully these players can start to find themselves and really start having a lot of fun before stepping onto the senior platform.”
"We've got great events coming up with the Females in Union and the Super W matches as well so let's get on board as a community and jump in to find new girls who are eager to play our game."
Freeman has already started working at RugbyWA and is keen to hear ideas from the community on how to continue growing the women’s game.
To get in contact please email her at sian.freeman@rugbywa.com.au
