Tory Schiltgen has been appointed the new head coach of the Wellington Phoenix women’s reserves.
Schiltgen, who joined the club in a wide-ranging role 12 months ago and coached the Phoenix U-18 women to an impressive second place finish in the Women’s Central League this year, replaces Callum Holmes, who has resigned from the academy to focus on his commitments with New Zealand Football.
She will continue as one of Bev Priestman’s assistants in the Ninja A-League, but her analyst responsibilities will shift to Tyron Curtis, who has agreed to a new fulltime position as A-Leagues analyst.
Curtis will continue to work across both Phoenix first teams, but primarily with the women.
Phoenix director of football Shaun Gill is thrilled Schiltgen has agreed to take over as the women’s reserves head coach.
“Tory has really impressed us since arriving from Waterside Karori 12 months ago,” Gill said.
“She is already well respected throughout the club and is the ideal coach to help the next generation of Phoenix women fulfil their dreams of playing professional football.
“Having Tory work across both the reserves and the first team ensures there’s great alignment across the women’s programme.
“As she moves fully into her on-field coaching responsibilities it’s great Tyron has been able to step up to take charge of the women’s first team’s analysis.
“He’s worked his way up through the club since arriving as an intern in 2022 and deserves this opportunity.”
Tory Schiltgen says her dual role is a big step forward for the club and one that allows for increased continuity across the women’s programme.
“Ultimately we want to be preparing more of our young players to compete in the A-League and highest levels of the game,” Schiltgen said.
“Our aim is to bring better alignment across the women’s programme, our playing style and how we develop players, so having somebody in both environments is integral to closing the gap.
“Thank you to the Phoenix for trusting me with this role.”
She believes the two coaching positions complement each other.
“The role helps streamline the process and overall management of player progression within our women’s pathway as well as the knowledge transfer between the two spaces.
“In the conversations with Bev and (academy director) Emma [Humphries] all of us are on the same page. We want it to be a highly collaborative environment.
“It means we can leverage the amazing work that’s being done here in the A-League space both on and off the field and bring that directly into the academy, allowing our players a direct line of sight into what it takes to compete at the highest levels.”
And Schiltgen is pleased Tyron Curtis will work closer with the women’s first team.
“Tyron has been an incredible colleague for the past year. He works incredibly hard and brings a completely different skillset to the analyst role allowing him to get into the weeds and data a bit more.
“I’m thrilled to see him come on board fulltime and support our women’s first team to a higher degree.”
Tory Schiltgen will take charge of the women’s reserves after the first team squad’s week-long training camp in Sydney, with Emma Humphries to continue to coach the reserves in the National League Championship in her absence.
