Softball Australia announced the appointment of Leigh Godfrey as the Head Coach for the National U-19 Women’s programme. Godfrey is renowned for her distinguished softball career that includes a bronze medal at the Junior World Championships in 2007, competing in five Senior World Championships, including bronze medal honours in 2012 & 2014 and participating in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
“I'm really excited for the upcoming challenge of managing the U-19 Programme," Godfrey said. "To be able to give back and assist this age group to excel both on and off the softball diamond is something I'm extremely passionate about. I'm looking forward to working with players and coaches around the country to develop our next generation of softball athletes."
Earlier this year, Godfrey was the head coach of the Australia U-19 women’s team at the Canada Cup.
As a player, Godfrey also represented Australia at the WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup 2014, becoming the first-ever player to earn a medal in both the WBSC Women's Softball World Cup and the WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup.
The U-19 women’s programme represents an evolution of the Junior Spirit programme, extending support to Australia’s most promising 16 to 18-year-old female players by an additional year. Operating as a year-round development programme, offering comprehensive support for both athletic and personal development, it will include multiple training camps, international competitions, and year-round guidance from Godfrey and a team of national coaches and support staff.
National Pathways Manager, Clare Humberstone, expressed confidence in Godfrey’s ability to elevate the U-19 Women’s programme. “We are currently building the U19 women’s programme, but rest-assured it is going to be a world class athlete development programme," she said. "As Head Coach, Leigh will bring innovation, inspiration, and skilled coaching. Through her recent coaching roles supporting players in the national programme, we’ve seen that she is an excellent leader with a capability to accelerate the development of players in this age group.”
Humberstone also said that the programme’s ultimate goal is to support the development of players to transition into the Aussie Spirit programme. "We will support them as players and people to allow them to graduate into the senior ranks of softball competition ready for what comes to them in the next stage of life and competition.”
