Ash Wilson reflects on her time as the Newcastle Jets first female head coach

The 39-year-old was replaced by Gary van Egmond last week as the club moved to turn around what has been a less than impressive campaign so far with the Jets second-last on the ladder.

The former Women's National Soccer League striker was in her third campaign as Jets coach after serving five years as Craig Deans' assistant.

Wilson was welcome to stay part of the coaching staff with van Egmond at the helm but chose to step aside with "no hard feelings".

"I have so much respect for the players and I've thoroughly enjoyed working with them, and I'm really proud of the commitment that I've made to female football in Newcastle," Wilson told the Newcastle Herald.

"So, it's obviously disappointing not to be able to continue that. But unfortunately, that's the football life. It's a results-driven business and I understand that, and I understand very well where we've been over the last couple of years.

"The club wanted to bring in some changes that they thought might spark a bit of a re-shift for the end of the season and, while they still wanted me to be involved in some way, I felt that obviously it wouldn't send the right message and it gives them time to plan for the future ... a clean change will hopefully give the girls the best opportunity to move forward and grow."

As is the nature of the women's game, which is not yet fully professional, Wilson managed the coaching role while working full-time in education. She is head teacher of PDHPE at Hunter Sports High.

"It's very hard and, apart from the people who are around the environment consistently, I don't think that there are too many people that really understand the level of commitment that it takes, and the challenges that you face in the women's game with the limited resources," Wilson said.

"I've received a lot of thanks and some really touching messages from those people who are in the know about how it goes.

"I'm not the first coach within the female game to be in a situation where you're doing a full-time job but you're also having to go and do another full-time job. It's one of the biggest challenges ... It's not an excuse, it's the reality of it. It does become very tiring and, not that the players were sensing it, but I was feeling to a degree slightly burnt out with everything that I was doing ... I had two full-time jobs that I absolutely love and I gave everything to.

"I still have education to go back to and it will always be something that is very important to me. But the reality is I could never give up my teaching job because I did not make enough in women's football to do it as a full-time gig."

It is something she hopes will change as the ALW continues to grow. That growth - next season the competition expands to 12 teams and a full home-and-away format - brings added demand on players and coaching staff.

While working full-time in other careers, Jets ALW players are expected to produce high-quality performances in the elite sporting arena.

"I will always have the utmost respect for the players," Wilson said.

"I know the results show one thing but people don't see their level of effort and commitment day in and day out. They do that on top of working full-time jobs and balancing things that people can't comprehend unless they're in that position, in terms of how much demand from one thing to another and coming in and doing a job like being a professional athlete and having to perform from that physical point.

"The playing field and the resources is something that I hope continues to be considered as people think about how they're going to keep growing the women's game."

Wilson won't be rushing into her next football position, instead "taking a breath".

"I have been coaching in young academies since I was 25, 26. I'm getting close to 40," Wilson said. "I've worked in that A-League or W-League space for the last eight years and I haven't really been able to have a summer holiday for eight years.

"I haven't been able to get home and have Christmas with my family for the last five, so just little things like that ... reflecting, taking some time for me and just enjoy that aspect of my life that has probably taken a little bit of a backseat.

"I'm not closing the door on football completely. There's lots of things out there I'm sure I could do or would be a good fit. I love the game and I'm passionate about the game and I'm passionate about giving back, especially to female players.

"I will still get my football fix with the students at Hunter Sports High and that program."

The Jets have not made ALW finals since 2017-18. They have relied heavily on home-grown talent in recent campaigns and are 10^th of 11 teams on just seven points after 11 outings with seven games remaining.

"I can't sit here and say I've got them into finals or anything like that, which would've been nice, but I've been a part of the young ones developing," she said.

"This year, 13 of our players were local and we've got some good young ones coming through, which I've been a part of. There's also definitely been some changes in the background that we've pushed for.

"Whilst it hasn't ended the way I would have liked, I understand the business that we're in as coaches. I'm still very proud to be the first female coach and to be someone who got to coach at that level."

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