Holly has played football at several different clubs across Tasmania including, Somerset Sharks, Burnie United, University and Taroona FC and over the years has been selected for North and South representative teams and State squads.

Disappointed after moving to Hobart in search of a higher standard of football (younger players had state teams and the NTC program but there were no real options for players over the age of twenty in Tasmania to take football more seriously), she complained for years that there was nothing in place for female football players to exeed and excel in the sport. Seeing a lack of choices and clear direction, she decided to take action and help change the future of football in Tasmania.

Through lots of support and a great deal of hard work, Her Strike was conceptualised. It is now up to all of us to see just how far we can take this.

Let's become a football community, support each other and begin to make changes for the future of our game!

• Successfully encourage and improve Tasmania’s football standard
• Play for a W-League side, and see others in Tasmania achieve this
• Work at Football Federation Tasmania as a Women’s Football Development Officer
• Gain the highest coaching qualification and coach the first Tasmania W-League team

Football exposes your character, it reveals who you are, the person you are off the field becomes the person you are on the field. Some of the lessons you learn on the park, you then take off and into your life. On the football field you are going to be seen for who you are.

Whether you are the player who puts their body on the line, takes control, the silent achiever, the player who never gives up or the one who sits and waits for their moment, these all reflect personal attributes which are then played out on the field.

The game is a great way to work on your personal development. It is also a wonderful environment for you to sort out your issues that can eventually affect your everyday life; such as your relationships, the attitude that you take to your workplace, your dedication to tasks, commitments, and your ability to take hard knocks.

Football and life are quite similar; both consist of the personal will and the will of the team, the bond and struggle of the union between self and the whole.

Football and life encourage you to face the difficulties and faults of the individual and the team but also to embrace the strengths. To claim who you are and know where you stand.

Football goes beyond the game and mirrors the aspects of life by enabling your true self to be seen. Everyone has moments on the field where they are truly impressed with, or humbled by their plays. It is within these moments that our characters are called into line and we get a brief glimpse into someone’s true self.

Next time you take the field, consider these moments and consider these qualities. Who do you want to be and how do you want to demonstrate that? Appreciate your team mates and coaches, these are the people who influence and help to change and alter that character.

What type of player are you, and what type of player do you strive to be?

The choice is yours! Work for what you dream, and your stride will follow.

If you have that kind of heart - if you are a positive life force - you are an asset for our team, whether or not you can even kick a ball.” (The Vision of a Champion, 2002, Dorrance, Averbuch)

Kickoff Kickout - Holly Ayton