A GROWING number of women are becoming involved in elite football coaching, including past and present AFLW players.

GWS skipper Alicia Eva has long been involved in coaching, stemming back to her pre-AFLW days, and last month became the first female coach to join the NAB AFL Academy panel.

>> Watch Vic Country v Queensland in the NAB AFLW U19 Championships LIVE on womens.afl and the AFLW Official App from 12pm AEST Sunday

Another long-time coach is recently retired Gold Coast captain Sam Virgo, who is set to become the first woman to be the senior coach of a boys NAB AFL Under-17 Championships team, leading Queensland in July.

This year has seen 10 women employed as coaches in the NAB League across both the girls and boys teams, including Jacara Egan, who became the first Indigenous woman to coach in the League, working with Calder Cannons.

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Cutting Oranges Ep4: Jacara Egan

Darcy Vescio chats to Jacara Egan, a leader in the community, a coach in the NAB League and a woman with a vision for our education system

With the NAB AFLW Under-19 Championships continuing over the next two weeks, the Vic Country and Vic Metro sides set to take on Queensland will have all-female coaching panels (eight in total).

An additional five women have coached across the other state teams over the past month.

>> Watch Vic Country v Queensland in the NAB AFLW U19 Championships LIVE on womens.afl and the AFLW Official App from 12pm AEST Sunday

Some other past and present AFLW players to have been involved in the talent pathways this year include:

- Former Geelong captain Melissa Hickey (senior coach Vic Country; assistant, Geelong Falcons and AFLW Academy)
- Former Docker and Eagle Cassie Davidson (senior coach, Woomeras)
- Former Magpie Emma Grant (assistant, Bendigo Pioneers and Vic Country)
- Former Lion Lauren Arnell (Brisbane Academy)
- Giant Katherine Smith (assistant, Allies)
- Demon Krstel Petrevski (assistant, Woomeras)
- Tiger Monique Conti (assistant, Medleys)

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Eva and Grant have been the recipients of the AFLCA's Women's Coaching Pathway scholarship over the past two years, with the 2021 winner yet to be announced.

St Kilda's Peta Searle is the only female senior coach at AFLW level, but it is hoped as the current group of AFLW players start to transition out of playing and into coaching, that number will increase, as well as women at state league level being given the opportunity at the top level.

>> Watch Vic Country v Queensland in the NAB AFLW U19 Championships LIVE on womens.afl and the AFLW Official App from 12pm AEST Sunday

At community level, there are currently 1603 women and girls coaching footy in 2021, a number which has increased, but the ratio of men to women coaching has remained almost unchanged over the past decade despite the explosion of women's footy.

The AFL will launch a Women's Coaching month in July to help encourage more women to step into the coaching ranks at every level of the game.