Mortlake signs Shae De Francesco as inaugural women's cricket coach

So when she was contacted about becoming the inaugural women's cricket coach of the club this season in the Warrnambool and District Cricket Association, there was little hesitation in grabbing the opportunity with both hands.

The 20-year-old will lead the Cats' inaugural team in 2022-23 as player-coach, which is being spearheaded by women's coordinator Clare Tilley.

She told The Standard it was a proud moment for her to be involved in club history having come through the Cats as a teenager.

"I'm incredibly excited, I've been wanting to get into a position like this for a little while but my partner pushed me a bit more and Clare (Tilley) contacting me was a big thrill," she said.

"To be quite honest it makes me quite emotional, I went through the ropes of playing what you would call men's sport and footy when I was younger and to be able to see where women's sport has come to today is phenomenal."

The Terang-based cricketer most recently played for Simpson in South West Cricket, featuring in the club's division two premiership where she snared 1-11 and made seven not-out in the match-winning partnership.

To cap off a memorable grand final, she was awarded the best on ground medal.

The well-credentialed all-rounder said her philosophy to coaching the inaugural side would be simple: give it your all and walk off with a smile.

"Just do whatever you think is best for yourself," she said of how she will approach coaching.

"There will be some players in the team that are mum's, or who are studying still, or working and my main motto is 'you don't owe anyone anything', so I'll look to be quite supportive."

She said numbers were strong with the Cats having already secured a side and believed there was no ceiling on what the team can achieve in their first season.

"Clare has done a fantastic job, she started early and filled a full team," she said. "We would like a few more numbers in case some players are away to be comfortable.

"To start off with we want to work on what the girls want to be able to achieve, that's the main perspective of this season.

"My main goal for this season is to help the girls get to where we want to be, whatever that is."

If anyone is interested in joining the women's program for season 2022-23 they can contact Shae on 0458 645 322 or Clare Tilley on 0488 736 808.

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