CARLY TO TAKE THE REIGNS AS WESTERN FORCE WOMEN’S SEVENS COACH
Former Australian Sevens and Wallaroos star Debby Carly (formerly Hodgkinson) has been named as the Alcohol.Think Again Western Force Women’s Sevens Head Coach bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience to the team.
A product of Cottesloe Rugby Club, Carly was a member of both the Australian Sevens and Wallaroos and is widely regarded as one the best women to have pulled on the gold jersey.
Over the course of her 10 year career Carly represented the Wallaroos at two Rugby World Cups and was named Player of the Tournament in Australia’s Sevens World Cup winning side in 2009.
After hanging up the boots in 2012 Carly has turned her attention to coaching as she looks to develop the next generation of Western Australian Wallaroos and Sevens stars.
The former IRB Women's Personality of the Year said she is looking forward to the opportunity to coach the team.
“I am actually really excited,” she said. “I haven’t played for about four years but I have been wanting to get back involved for a long time and I thought now was a good time to involved especially with the Olympics coming up and all the buzz around Sevens at the moment.”
“I’ve had a quite a lot of experience in rugby and my playing days are pretty much over but I still love the sport. I think that with the amount experience I have I want to give back and hopefully help some younger players reach any international aspirations they might have.”
Despite not having a vast coaching background Carly believes her playing experience at the top level will stand her in good stead for the role.
“I might not have the most coaching experience but I definitely have playing experience and understands how it works and I would say there aren’t too many women in WA that have the experience that I have so I can use that to my advantage.”
“Over the next few weeks I will be getting down and watching a few games to identify some talent before we hold some trials towards the end of August. From there we will start training as a group get the team chemistry right, work on our core skills and get ready for nationals.
“I know a few of the girls from my playing days but there will also be some new young talent that will be a huge benefit to the team and I’m excited about what we can do.”
Western Force Men’s Sevens will also be led by a former international with former Cook Islands Sevens star and Commonwealth Games representative Koiatu Koiatu returning as Head Coach.
Both the Women’s and Men’s teams will compete at the Senior 7s National Championships will be held in Adelaide from November 19-20 with the Youth Sevens Championships will take place in Perth the following month from December 10-11.
https://www.westernforce.com.au/arti...s-sevens-coach
