Dylan Holmes is a footballer enjoying the best year of her career. Her impressive form for Adelaide United in last season’s W-League earned the 24-year-old a move to top Swedish side BK Häcken. However, her relocation to Scandinavia is far from the first country overseas she has lived in.
“My family, which consists of my parents and an older brother and younger sister, moved around a lot growing up, and we eventually moved to Adelaide in 2007 when I was ten years old. I was born in São Paulo, Brazil and we moved to the US when I was two. We lived in northern California for five years and then moved to Santiago, Chile for a year and a half. After that, we moved to a small place in southern Peru called Ilo for a year and then ended up in Adelaide.
“My dad worked as a mining engineer so he’d work on a project for a bit and then we’d move to where the next one was. It was definitely a unique childhood, but we saw a lot of the world and had some really amazing experiences along the way.
“My family has been in Adelaide now for fourteen years and that is definitely where we would all call home. I did most of my schooling there, from Year Five onwards, and I’ve just graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree of History from the University of Adelaide.”
Dylan kicked her first ball as a youngster in the USA, and the journey that led to her becoming a Matilda was underway.
“I started playing when I was four years old when we were living in California. As we moved around the place I just always continued to play. In South America, I was mostly playing with boys, which I think in hindsight was a great thing for my development.
“When we moved to Adelaide I really wanted to play with girls, so I played at Cumberland United WFC through my junior years, while progressing through the SA state system from U12’s all the way through to the NTC. When I was 17 I was signed for Adelaide United for the 2014/15 W-League season.
“The next year, I spent a year at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, which ultimately didn’t turn out to be a good experience so I decided to come home. I played for Fulham United in the SA WNPL here before moving to Adelaide City in 2017. I was eventually re-signed with Adelaide United for the 2018/19 season and played there the following two seasons.
Dylan’s career has blossomed with the support of her family and some significant coaches.
“My parents have had a significant impact on my career so far. They are willing to do anything and everything to help me achieve my goals. So I definitely wouldn’t be where I am without them and their unconditional support.
“In terms of coaches, I have had a few that have really had a significant impact on my career. Through the SA NTC program, I was lucky enough to be coached by Ross Aloisi. He provided such a professional environment for us in that program and I felt like I was learning so much every single day. And he also signed me for my first W-League season when I was 17. He gave me my first taste of what it takes to be a professional footballer and really believed in me at a very young age.
“Another coach that comes to mind is Paul Pezos, who was Ross’ assistant with the NTC program, but I also got to play for him at Adelaide City in WNPL. He is one of the most knowledgeable coaches I have ever played for, and he has this incredible ability to make the game seem so simple. He taught me a lot about the game and really helped me get back into the W-League.
“Most recently, Ivan Karlovic and Adrian Stenta at Adelaide United have had a huge impact on me. Ivan gave me the opportunity to come back into the United squad in 2018 and put a lot of faith in me to play in a team that was filled with a lot of talented players that year when I was relatively inexperienced.
“Adrian this last year has had a really big impact as well. He trusted me with a lot of responsibility this last year with the captaincy and I think that really gave me a lot of confidence to try and push on and take my game to the next level. Ivan and Adrian were also very supportive of my move to Sweden, so I am indebted to them for that.”
Footballers all have hurdles to overcome in their careers and Dylan’s biggest one came about around the period of her year at Colgate University in the USA.
“My experience at college and the flow-on effects that had on my football when I came home was a big one. I was really unfortunate with the time I had there, and it set me back in terms of my football.
“I made the decision to come home after a year there. I wasn’t signed for Adelaide United for the next two years when I came back, which really made me question whether or not I wanted to try and keep working for a contract. That time taught me how to work hard and believe in yourself even when things aren’t going to plan.”
Last season saw Dylan captain Adelaide United in the most successful W-League campaign in the club’s history. She looks back on the last eight months fondly.
“Last season was the most enjoyable year I’ve had in the W-League, not only because of the positive results we had but also because we had a really cohesive and united group. The players were overwhelmingly South Australian, which I think helped the culture and ethos of the team. I think this also helped drive a collective desire to try and make history, and also build a stronger relationship with the Adelaide United supporter base.
“Adrian Stenta coming in this year was a really positive move by the club. Having Ivan as head of women’s football and then Adrian as the head coach just gave the program continuity. ‘Stents’ knew the group really well before he even started and he was able to continue on from the foundations that had been built by him and Ivan over the previous two years.
“I think Stents brought a real sense of belief that we could win games and make finals, and I think this belief really spread through the group. We went into every game knowing we could win, which hadn’t always been the case in previous seasons. I think overall Adrian and Ivan put together a really great staff and a team that had a good mix of youth and experience.”
It is this continuity that Dylan believes was the key to Adelaide United’s successes last season.
“The club put a lot of faith in us as young players to play at this level, and while the results then weren’t always great in previous seasons, the club now has a core group of South Australian players that have quite a bit of experience in the W-League. It obviously takes time to get that experience, so it’s been a long process, but it was the fruition of that. And hopefully the best is still yet to come.
“Next season there is a desire from everyone at the club to build on the year we had this past year. I think in order to give the team the best chance of making finals I think as much of the squad and staff from last year needs to be retained.”
Dylan’s form in a strong Adelaide United side culminated with an approach from Swedish Damallsvenskan side BK Häcken. She revealed that the move had its roots in a conversation with Ivan Karlovic quite a while before.
“At the end of the 2019/20 W-League season, Ivan had talked to me about whether or not playing overseas would be something I would ever consider, and I guess that was the start of me wanting to try and make the move. I finished my uni degree in November last year, so moving at the end of this W-League season seemed like really good timing. I didn’t really have anything keeping me in Adelaide besides my family.
“My agent told me about interest from a team in Gothenburg in the middle of February, and after talking to the coach and working with Adelaide United through the transfer process, it just seemed like a really good fit for me. It was unfortunate I couldn’t finish the season with United, but looking back I am very comfortable with the decision I made and am very grateful that everyone at Adelaide United was so supportive.”
BK Häcken are effectively a new club, albeit with strong connections to the previous Kopparbergs/Göteborg club who had won the Damallsvenskan in 2020 and the Swedish Cup in 2019 before being effectively closed down by its owners in December 2020. BK Häcken stepped in to take over the club and its place in the top tier of Swedish women’s football. Dylan explained what she knew about the club prior to the move.
“I had read a bit about what happened to the club in December and how it came to be BK Häcken. I also knew that most of the team from the title-winning side of the previous season had signed on with Häcken. So the chance to play in a really talented team in a strong European league, as well as the 2021/22 UEFA Women’s Champions League was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.
“I had also done some research on Gothenburg and it seemed like a really interesting place. I also wanted to play in a league that might allow me to play W-League in the off-season. So there were a lot of factors that helped make my decision.
With a new club came a first call-up for the Matildas for their April matches against Germany and the Netherlands. That period in the squad under the leadership of Tony Gustavsson has left a big impact on Dylan.
“That experience in April was really eye-opening for me. I left that camp feeling really inspired to work hard to try and get another opportunity. But for me, I’m just trying to do everything I can while at Häcken to give myself the best chance of getting opportunities with the Matildas.
“I am just trying to learn as much as I can at BK Häcken and get as much game time as I possibly can. I am playing in a new position, so I’m trying not to put too much pressure on myself and just enjoy the experience and learn. The squad is really competitive and we have a lot of depth, so the training environment has been great and I feel like I’m learning something new every day.”
Dylan hinted earlier that part of the attraction of a move to Scandinavia was that it potentially enabled her to come back to the W-League in the off-season. We closed our discussion by looking at the chances of Adelaide United fans seeing her back in a red shirt next season.
“To be honest, it is hard to say. I don’t really know when my season here will finish with Champions League games, and I also don’t know when the W-League starts this year. There are a lot of unknowns at the moment so I am trying not to think too far ahead. From experience, things don’t always go the way you plan them to! But Adelaide United holds a special place in my heart, so I would love to try and be back there at some point. But for now, I am really enjoying being in Europe and I think this has been a really positive step for my football.”
