Little did she know then, it was the beginning of a journey that would lead to trip around the world and a first-class view of the Commonwealth Games.

The Tamworth born-and-bred soccer coach, who is now a PE teacher at St Peter Claver College in Ipswich, has just returned from a two-week stint in Birmingham, England, as part of an AIS coaching development program.

And since her return flight touched down at 3am on Tuesday morning, the experience has felt almost dream-like.

Although that, she added, might be down to the jetlag.

"[The first day back at work on Wednesday] was rough," Doherty said.

"I felt horribly hungover without having drunk anything."

But the experience was more than worth it. The Coach Elevate program, run by the AIS, spanned 12 months and consisted of weekly two-hour Zoom lessons on various topics, along with some residential weeks.

Roughly 80 coaches, including Doherty, were included in the program.

A few months after it had concluded, she received a phone call from Football Australia saying that she was one of nine selected from the program to attend a "study tour" in Birmingham during the Commonwealth Games.

"I was very shocked and grateful that somehow I made that shortlist," she said.

Doherty said she was "obsessed" with football from childhood, having been raised in a household which left her little choice in the matter.

Her parents, Steve and Claire Doherty, coached at North Companions while she was young (Steve now coaches the OVA women's teams, which Claire plays for).

"There was too many teams for them to coach, so they took them to games and allocated me the training sessions," Doherty said.

"So I coached my little brother's team in the under 6s, 7s, and 8s. And I was obsessed with football and playing, so any extra time, whether it was coaching or watching, I was keen to do."

Doherty lived in Tamworth until she was 16, at which point she went to boarding school in Sydney, after which she began a teaching degree at the University of Queensland.

Her early coaching experience "probably" influenced her choice to teach subconsciously, but it wasn't until Doherty began university that coaching took priority over her playing aspirations.

"When I was in grade 12, my dad said 'You should do a coaching course, it'll help you as a player'," she said.

"I first started doing it thinking it would give me an edge as a player. I wanted to be as smart [about the game] as I can."

Once she moved to Brisbane, she began playing NPL soccer for Olympic FC and began coaching their junior teams.

Fast forward eight years, and the 26-year-old is now entirely. focused on progressing her coaching career.

To this end, her experience in the UK was "pretty eye-opening".

Doherty spent the two weeks living in the Commonwealth Games Village. She spent one day at St George's Park (where the national team is based) and another at Liverpool FC where she was able to see first-hand the coaching infrastructure and discuss their pathway systems with staff, among many other opportunities.

The experience, she said, was "absolutely incredible".

"It was a very good dose of motivation, and very inspiring."

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