Get To Know Our New WAFLW Swans Coach - Leith Woods

The Swan Districts Football Club have appointed Leith Woods as the WAFLW League Coach for the 2020 season.

With an impressive resume as both a coach, player and referee, Leith brings a wealth of knowledge from an array of sports to the team.

She has won a Premiership as a player in 2013 and coach in 2017 and knows what it takes to perform at the highest level.

Leith also coached the State 16s and 18s and in the short time she’s been in the role, is already having an impact on the team.

We caught up with Leith to learn more about her life in football, as a national representative in Floorball and her view on the 2020 season.

How long have you been with the Swan Districts Football Club?

I started in 2013. So I played league for a few years, got a little bit sore and started playing Ressies. I got into the coaching quite early on and coached the youth girls, then on to the league. So it’s been nearly 7 years.

How did you first get into footy?

I was actually up in Northam and the girls were playing footy up there and they loved it. I had always liked playing footy, but never had the opportunity to play when I was at school, so I thought I’d give it a go.

What position did you play?

Full-back. When I started playing I wasn’t sure where the coach would put me, and then for my first game, full-back. I also got thrown into the ruck during my first game. I didn’t think I was tall enough so maybe my hair was on top of my head or something (in reference to her dreadlocks). So I played a bit of ruck in my first game and for a few games in Ressies, but preferred full-back or centre-half-back where I could watch the game coming to me.

It must be exciting being able to coach a team you’ve been around for so long. What does it mean for you to be able to take on the role as the head coach of these girls?

I think that was the thing that helped make the decision easy. This club has been great for me. I have learned so much around the club and I know the girls well. I spoke with one of my previous league coaches, Nicole Graves, and she’d said ‘It’s time to step up’. So that’s probably what made the decision easier, plus it’s the club I know.

You had experience coaching the younger group in the Rogers Cup, including a premiership in 2017. How different is the jump now to coaching the league side?

My first year coaching with the league (as an assistant) was mostly with girls that I had coached through two or three years in the Rogers Cup. I lost them when they moved up to the league side but now I’ve come back to join them again. The AFLW girls I’d also played with, so most of the girls I’d played with or coached already. The transition is that there is more accountability. We’ve got quite a young league side, but the personnel is still pretty similar to last season.

The league girls have won 4 of the last 7 Premierships in the women’s competition since 2013, including runners up in last year’s inaugural WAFLW league. Do you feel any pressure on you to continue with this success?

Not really. I know the club is in a good position. The pressure I feel is that I don’t want the girls to lessen in their development. We will move forward as a group in the best way we know how. We have been a successful club, and I hope what they’ve learnt from the past they will be able to bring forward into their games. I don’t actually feel pressure from that success (previous premierships), I just want to help our club keep moving forward.

You have already helped train the league girls and know their strengths. Do you think we’ll see some of them playing in different positions this season?

Some people have it in them to defend and others have it in them to get the ball and score goals. I think as a coach that is actually a really important thing, to pick your personalities in the team and work out where they need to go.

Do you have any new girls that have come across from other clubs to play at the Swans this season?

We’ve got a few girls from West Perth and Perth trying out. They need to make league to get a permit to play with us, which is exciting because they are good. We also have our AFLW girls and we don’t know when we get them back through the season with injuries and things like that. The rest of the girls coming through are our youth girls which is always exciting.

There are quite a few AFLW players that play for Swans isn’t there?

Yeah I think there are currently 14 on the list.

Tell us a little bit about yourself off the field and away from footy.

I’m a physio teacher and I love coaching kids sport. I’ve played a lot of Floorball, which is a sport not many people know about. I’ve played in the national team for that but just retired. I’m playing Spikeball at the moment. I love playing sport. I love coaching and in my spare time going to the beach or playing a bit of guitar.

You have represented Australia in Floorball. What does it feel like to pull on the jersey and play for your country?

It’s fantastic. It’s pretty amazing to represent your country, no matter what sport it is. Floorball is a sport that no one really knows about, but that doesn’t even matter. You sing the national anthem wearing the green and gold and whether you’re winning games or losing games with your team mates, you know how hard they’ve trained to get there. It’s the same with footy. When you’re with a team, it doesn’t matter what the team is, you’re proud to be part of it and you know you will all put in blood, sweat and tears. It’s one of those things with football, you can’t represent your country because we don’t have an international competition, but I definitely think it’s great.

You’ve been a referee at the highest level in Floorball. What is it like to be a referee?

I’ve been an international referee. It’s extremely good being a coach after doing that and remembering what it’s like on the other side. You have the understanding that referees and umpires are human too. It was a really good experience. I mainly did it because I want the sport going well, but I love it.

Do you think having refereed at such a high level gives you an edge in your coaching that others wouldn’t have?

It always reminds me that you will never change a referee or umpires decision and that you can only control what you can control. I do tend to keep the players or the other coaches a bit more calm because I know there is nothing you can do about it. You just have to be able to play the best you can play and let them do their job. So it probably gives me a more calming edge if anything.

I’ve read an article recently regarding Mackenzie Sargeant playing for Australia at just 16. She attributed yourself as a person who has had a massive impact on her floorball career so far. What does that feel like to have someone look up to you as an example and idol of the sport they love?

I think it’s great. I never aspired to be that type of role model. I just want to see kids, especially young girls, playing sport, being social and those sorts of things. For her to put in the effort and make the Australian team for Floorball, coming from a small country town, or to see these girls go on to play AFLW and being able to give them the tools, its fantastic. I don’t think too much about it in what I do, but I’m always proud to see them when they achieve whatever it is they want to achieve in their life.

With a bye in Round 1 of the 2020 WAFLW Premiership season, be there on Sunday the 10^th May to see our Swans ladies take on Subiaco.