Senior Women’s Leadership Program, run by Pique Global

The Norwood Football Club prides itself on developing footballers to become the best version of themselves, both on and off the field. 

The Redlegs Senior Women’s squad underwent a leadership program over the 2026 pre-season, led by Pique Global’s Alice Hanna, who is also a lifelong Norwood supporter.

“We’ve had the honour of working with the Senior Women’s team on a program designed with the club that looked to provide skills for self leadership, leading within the team and for leading across the club,” Hanna said.

“Football is an incredibly high pressure environment. Both in each moment on the field, but also the pressure to get selected each week and the pressure that builds across a season. The pressure can be relentless, so being able to navigate that pressure is an integral skill.

“Giving the players tools for self-awareness and self-regulation on how to build trust with the team they’re training and playing with, and how to hold each other accountable. That’s all just as important as the skill of handballing, tackling, kicking and reading the play.”

Hanna said it was an honour to be invited by the club, to carry out the program.

“My Grandpa, who was a lifelong Norwood member, took me to almost every Norwood game from when I was three years old, until when he passed when I was 18,” she said.

“I kept up the tradition and am still a passionate supporter, so when (Norwood Board Member) Marie Skrodzki reached out to ask if I’d be interested in being part of the program, it was an easy yes.”

The program was available to the entire Senior Women’s playing squad, rather than just the leadership group, which is headed up by first-year captain and dual Best and Fairest Jade Halfpenny.

“You don’t need to be in a leadership role or have direct reports to be a leader,” Hanna said.

“Anyone in a team or organisation can be a leader by the way they hold themselves. While the captains take a more structured leadership role, everyone needs to lead and and be a role model for others on the field – especially under pressure and when things get tough.

“And many of these women have aspirations for leadership in the future, whether here at Norwood, in the AFLW or in their careers off field. And the club wanted to give the players that gift and legacy of playing for Norwood.”

Norwood vice captain Emma Clark said she, and the group, got a lot out of the program.

“The club partnered with Pique Global to bring to us a really unique leadership program opportunity, and we could put our hand up to engage with the program” Clark said.

“We had one a Saturday workshop, which was a full day to introduce the program, and then we had fortnightly sessions which covered different leadership topics that were tailored to what we wanted to get out of it as a group.

“We navigated things like challenging conversations, the different leadership styles, and identifying what you can bring to the table and how that might work with other types of leaders.

“We had some like amazing guest speakers like Jarrod Walsh and that come and chat to us about leadership too, which was just unbelievable.”

Clark said she had already noticed the benefits of the program.

“I found it to be a great experience,” she said.

“I think not only in terms of developing and building our leadership skills for football, but I think football in general is a really great platform for developing like lifelong skills as well.

“These aren’t only skills that we can use on the football field or around the club, but we can take them into our normal day. It feels like the club are not only setting us up for success on the field but also off the field.”

For more information about Pique Global, visit the website here.