Adelaide United’s Liberty A-League coach Adrian Stenta has spoken of his pride at being named the club’s first full-time women’s head coach, saying the move makes a statement about the club’s commitment to the women’s game.
The appointment was announced on Wednesday and Stenta said going full-time would allow him to dedicate more time and energy than he had been able to previously while also working full-time as a teacher.
Speaking to the media, the 2020/21 Coach of the Year said he was excited about the squad he had assembled for the new campaign and kicking it off with a stand-alone Sunday fixture against Canberra this weekend.
Adrian Stenta on being Adelaide United’s first ever full-time women’s coach:
“It means the world to me. I’m very passionate about this club. I’m very passionate about women’s football and very grateful for the opportunity and humbled and honoured to take it on, and hopefully take this program to new heights and new levels.
“It’ll help with the program. Mainly it means I can dedicate the time, effort and energy that’s needed to do this job because it is a difficult job to do. I can allocate that time a lot better than I could when I was working full-time as a teacher and part-time as a parent as well, and also coaching the team too.
“It makes a statement and probably an admission that things had not been where they needed to be in the past but it does make a statement that we are making steps in the right direction and with the proper resourcing and support and promotion, women’s sport can be in a really strong spot in the sporting landscape in Australia.
“I think there would be a few (other full-time coaches) at other clubs. To be honest I’m not 100 per-cent sure what happens at other clubs but my focus is here on Adelaide United and how we can make this program the best it can be.”
Adrian Stenta on his side’s Liberty A-League season opener against Canberra at Coopers Stadium on Sunday:
“I’m really excited about Round 1 and hoping for a big crowd to come out and support and watch the girls do their thing. Training has been great, the new recruits have fitted in really well and some of our returning players are another year stronger and better.
“The squad is shaping up really well and with some good support I’m hoping we can put on a really good performance on Sunday and people come out and watch.
“I think the APL has done a good job in starting the season off with a stand-alone women’s round. All the games are being played at big stadia around Australia and we get to play here at Coopers (Stadium), which is fantastic. I think it gives us some clean air and it starts the season positively so I’m looking forward to a big crowd getting out here on Sunday to support us.
“It’s also great to see some Matildas returning to the league, which is fantastic, so I think that speaks volumes of the strength that this league is going to.”
Adrian Stenta on the excitement around the women’s game since the FIFA Women’s World Cup:
“Our players are very talented, they’ve been playing professionally for a long time in Australia, it’s been going for a while and they’re worth your support and people coming out to watch them.
“As long as (the competition is) resourced and promoted well, people will get on board.”
Adrian Stenta on what his side is capable of this season:
“We’re not going to put any limits on what we think is possible or what we think we can achieve.
“We don’t want to just be a team that makes finals but a team that is competitive in that finals environment and we certainly want to improve on our results and our performances from last season.”
