Canberra United FC are delighted to announce the appointment of Rae Dower as Head Coach for Seasons Eight and Nine of the Westfield W-League.
Canberra United FC are delighted to announce the appointment of Rae Dower as Head Coach for Seasons Eight and Nine of the Westfield W-League. Dower was assistant to Elisabeth Migchelsen during the club’s championship winning season last year and makes the natural progression into the head role.
“We are pleased to offer Rae the opportunity to step up into the Head Coach role following her tremendous success alongside Elisabeth over the past two seasons.” Canberra United CEO Heather Reid commented. “Rae has done an excellent job with the NTC United/ACTAS program and she is aware of the demands placed upon the players in the Westfield W-League environment. She enjoys the trust of the squad, her staff and the Canberra United management and we are excited to offer her this additional role.”
Dower joined United at the start of Season 6 and made an immediate impact alongside Migchelsen. As head of the NTC United/ACTAS Women’s program, Dower was instrumental in the development of Canberra United youngsters Julia De Angelis and Grace Maher, who broke into the squad last season. She will continue to work in her NTC role with the Academy with a number of other potential Westfield W-League players making huge strides.
“I am excited about the opportunity offered to me to become Head Coach at Canberra United,” Dower said. “It is a fantastic club to be involved with and I look forward to helping the team move forwards as we strive to achieve more success. The professionalism of the club will allow me to continue the good work that my predecessors have done. It is an honour to be in charge of Canberra United.”
Dower, a native of Queensland, had played a distinguished part in the Youth Coaching scene in the Sunshine State for a number of years having been Head Coach of the Queensland State Representative girls’ teams at under-13, under-17 and under-18 levels.
She had previously been Head Coach and Technical Director of the highly successful Redlands United who competed in the National Premier League: Queensland competition. Dower had also tasted international football having represented the Matildas in the Oceania Cup in 1989 following on from Australian Youth and Schoolgirl appearances.
Dower is currently completing her ProDiploma coaching qualifications making her one of the highest qualified coaches in Australia. She is also a member of the FFA’s coaches mentoring program.
Canberra United will commence pre-season arrangements for Season Eight of the Westfield W-League in September 2015.
