17-year-old rookie mentor receives extraordinary honour as AFL Sydney’s Young Leader of the Year

The Northwest Lightning is in the midst of building something special for girls playing Aussie rules, and a 17-year-old rookie coach has been given an extraordinary honour as she leads the next gen.

Nikki O'Neill of the Northwest Lightning. Picture: Contributed

Despite being just 17 years of age, Nikki O’Neill is already making a huge impact in the lives of young players.

She was recently named the Young Leader of the Year by AFL Sydney Juniors for her efforts in coaching the next generation.

The inaugural coach of the U9s Northwest Lightning girls team, O’Neill said she took to Aussie rules like a duck to water and wanted to pass on that joy to young girls.

“It was so different from any other sport I’d played and I just fell in love with it from the start. I also had a really good coach in my first year so I knew how important that role was, I actually got the coach’s award at the end of it,” O’Neill said.

“In playing I learned the value of positivity and resilience and I thought that was important to pass on to other girls in the club so the opportunity came up and I put my hand up for it.

“I would tell anyone, especially young women considering volunteering that they should do it, because it’s just volunteering a really small thing, just being able to teach kids and to be there for them.

“But it can have a really big impact their life and your life, and I would tell them that they should definitely do it.”

Nikki O'Neill with the Northwest Lightning. Picture: Contributed

O’Neill was also crowned as the club’s Female Rookie Coach of the Year as the all-girls club continues to provide a pathway for young females within the sport.

“It’s important for me to give back. At Northwest Lightning, so many good things have come to me ever since I started playing there,” she said.

“I thought if I get back in, I thought if I start coaching, it would just be a good thing for the club and there’ll be more females in leadership roles, because there’s not that many females at Northwest Lightning despite being a junior women’s club.

“I think we need more women around the club, so I thought that it’d be good if I started coaching.”

AFL NSW/ACT coaching development and education lead Ryan O’Keefe said the contribution of Nikki O’Neill to community footy has been inspirational.

“Nikki has been a terrific contributor to the Northwest Lightning, and she is a deserving winner of the Toyota Younger Leader of the Year for NSW/ACT,” O’Keefe said.

“Having more women, especially young women get involved in coaching and leadership roles at junior clubs is so important to attracting more girls into Australian rules football. We want passionate people in coaching positions across the game so to see a 17-year-old give back to her club as a coach and inspiring the young women in our game is great, she’s a worthy winner.”