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[Music]
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Michaela welcome to my podcast thanks
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for having me so good to have you here
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you're this is Michaela she's the
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captain of the northern Mystics networ
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team and a member of the silver FS when
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she's when she's uninjured yeah I always
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say on a I'm in the silver FS on a good
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day yes so you've um how many times have
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you played for the silver ferns oh not
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many
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um 15ish so you first made the silver
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Ferns
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and
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2018 and then you had a gap of oh
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like five years five years or something
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so the media like to tell me it's
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incredible really he it's in like you
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you've just been that injury Prim like
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and the fact that you made it back it's
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feels like it's
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a I don't know it must have felt like
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your Silver Fin dream was almost over
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yeah definitely got to that point I
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remember when I got injured the first
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time I was like I'll be back no issues
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like I'll do the work I'll be back then
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the second time that the longer it went
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that I wasn't in the more and more I
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thought oh yeah okay I don't don't think
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I'll be back
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there why just um yeah just because
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younger players come along yeah not on
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yeah like and you get to a certain age
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they're probably thinking we probably
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need to start building the next layer or
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tier of player and we can't really waste
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time on someone that's been injured
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twice major injuries been out for ages
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the game's kind of moved on and I I knew
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I was good enough to get back but yeah
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and also because you're in your mid 20s
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you're old news old you're old old has
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been but like you are cuz they're
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thinking about like four four years
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cycles and like I'm thinking oh yeah but
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then I'm probably making a narrative in
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my own mind that the selectors aren't
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thinking but because you haven't been
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selected you try to think of all these
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reasons why not Al another way of
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looking at it I suppose is the um the
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downtime when you you're not playing due
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to injuries and you're doing strength
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and conditioning and Rehab maybe that'll
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like tag those years on to the end of
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your
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well yeah definitely not for me my there
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is no way my body's going to give me
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more years than I uh have currently so
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maybe for others yes why yeah what is
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what is wrong with your body why are you
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so exd and prone yeah um that's a good
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question I I've got CTIC arthritis and
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my body I always say my body just hates
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me like my body didn't want me to be an
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athlete um they don't think that that
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was wow depends on who you ask but they
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don't think that that was related to my
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aules ruptures that I had but like
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days are tough like getting out of bed
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in the morning's tough like the
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maintenance I have to do on my body's
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tough and the mental and emotional toll
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that that takes just to get to the start
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line of nital training or netball game I
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don't know how many years I can keep
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doing that for so
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yeah so where did this all
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start oh well I've been injury prone my
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whole life that's nothing new yeah yeah
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I heard a podcast that you did and uh
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this was years and years this is the
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only podcast I found that you've been on
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and it was from like 2017 or something
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and you talk about the injuries that you
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had through like secondary school so you
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just got like a is it a genetic thing
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just like a weak body yeah I don't know
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I only got diagnosed with the sertic
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arthritis after my arales ruptures in
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2020 2021 actually I got diagnosed with
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that um but yeah growing
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up back shins like always injured with
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something um they don't really know why
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or how but yeah lots of injuries did you
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think about a desk job no not at all
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well just funny cuz I'm so competitive
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so if I do get injured my first thought
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is how do I get back not how do I give
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up like I just want to keep going and I
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want to be playing wow just that growth
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mindset eh yeah and I just love netball
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I'm actually a fan of the game I watch
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every a game I watch every silver F game
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I just I really enjoy the game and
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that's probably the disappointing thing
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is I I just love it and you're good at
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it you're really good at it but it
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wasn't always like to say so you're um
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you're from a family with um you're the
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baby of the family there's two older
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brothers yes
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research so you're the baby of the
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family um what does that mean growing up
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with two older brothers so were you you
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know competitive with them you never
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played netball growing up hey yeah no I
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didn't very competitive with my brothers
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one Sam he's 8 years older than me so
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when we were younger not as competitive
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cuz that age gap's so big that you know
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like he could have hurt me seriously if
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we started to go toe to- toe in sport
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whereas my other brother James is only
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two years older than me but we would go
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toe to- toe like we would yeah fight we
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were the most competitive man him just
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cuz we were so close in age um but yeah
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they definitely taught me to be tough
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there's there's probably some studies or
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research that has been done on this but
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um from I've found like from people I've
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had on the podcast like high performers
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a lot of them have like older siblings
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and I think it's just like playing at
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that upper level when you're younger it
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just makes you tougher or better yeah
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and like my brother would always like
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coers me into like playing rugby or
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soccer with him on the back lawn be like
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but if you play this with me I'll then
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come inside and play Barbies with you
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and we never ever came inside and played
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my game and You' think that I would
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learn like okay it's probably time that
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I go first but I'd always end up outside
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playing with him andun oh my God I I
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think did the same sort of tradeoff with
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um with my siblings like yeah come and
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play a bit of tennis with me or Cricket
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on the driveway and then I'll play
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elastics with you and did you ever play
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elastics no of course not are you
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kidding me I told you to get the dining
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room cheers for the elastics do you know
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what elastics are yeah I do I'm I'm
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young I'm not that young yeah but I was
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never very good at them my J skills you
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think with the height you would have
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been amazing yeah no yeah okay so so the
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the baby of the family um you very
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growing up but mainly soccer yeah lots
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of soccer only cuz that's what my
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brother played so joined soccer but then
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my brother went to rugby so end up at
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rugby but my mom coached netball umpired
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netball so and my dad played rugby my
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other brother played rugby so we're
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always around sport like Saturday was
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sport then my brother got really good at
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rugby so we started going to like rips
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on Sunday so it was kind of couldn't get
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away from sport growing up just because
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of yeah our family dynamic
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and well and your mom dragged you to a
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netball game one day or like big they
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were shorter players or something is
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that how it started yeah she coached all
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my friends I played I think I played
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soccer at the time but she was at the
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school coaching all my friends and they
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were like really short for training and
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she said please can you just come I like
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I really want to do these practices but
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I can't do it with the numbers we've got
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so I was like okay and I remember like
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grabbing the ball and sprinting down the
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court and trying to let do a layup or
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try shooty shoot the goal and my mom
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standing there like you can't like you
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can't run with that I was at year five
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or six I was like oh pathetic and I just
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used to think that like it was for girly
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girls and like SK I didn't want to wear
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the skirt and I didn't want to I don't
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know just wasn't my vibe and then Mom
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somehow I don't actually know how she
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enticed me to play the game on the
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weekend and I ended up really I remember
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really enjoying it and then asking if I
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could go back um and then she was like
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absolutely you can come back so I went
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back and I never left the team and then
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I never left the sport so you you
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enjoyed it because you were good at it
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or is just something collecting you were
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like oh this is a cool sport I think
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both I think I enjoyed like the amount
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of teamwork that was involved and that
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you needed everybody to win the game
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whereas like when I was playing soccer
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you could kind of just like cick run and
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boot it in and you like half your team
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could not even be involved whereas with
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netball everybody's needed all of the
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time and I think I really like that team
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aspect and then did you just become
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obsessed with
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netball then I probably became overly
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obsessed I ended up too much netball
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that's probably why I got broken but
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yeah I just ended up really liking that
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so I played the rest of that year with
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my friends and then the next year my mom
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actually and her friend started their
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own little we were called the crown gems
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they started their own little netball
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club and we went round and we got to
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design all our own dresses so we of
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course being young girls they were black
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and pink like hot pink um so that was
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really fun and I just I think all of the
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friendships I made that's what made me
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enjoy the sport more and you you were
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naturally good or oh I think so without
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sounding up myself I think so cuz I was
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really tall from a young age and so I
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think they could just throw the ball
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into me cuz I played a lot of shooter
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back then which I do not do now um and I
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could just kind of put the ball into cuz
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the goals were small they were the small
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goals yes so I don't have to try that
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hard to get it in so that helped
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probably I I it's must be hard not to
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like something that you're good at yeah
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probably yeah so what you um sort of
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screwed your nose up then about the
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shooting thing why why did you drift
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away from shooting shooting would be the
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glamour position yeah I
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probably well I was actually a coach
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that said to me I don't think you're a
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shoter I was like no I I am like what
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are you talking about and she's like no
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I think a Defender and at that point I
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had been going between goal attack and
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goal defense in games which is weird
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people don't normally do that but I
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would go between the two depending on
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where the team needed me then this one
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coach was like you should stay down the
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defensive end so I did and yeah I was
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definitely a better Defender than I was
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a shooter and you're you're now the
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captain of the mystics the northern
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Mystics this is the only the only AZ
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team you've played in right yeah you've
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been on the team for like eight years or
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something yeah since 2016
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so how old were we then like 18 18 yeah
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so you finished school do you make all
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the rep teams all the age group teams
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yeah neor New Zealand have got this like
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pathway of how to get to the top and I
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was the athlete that did all the steps
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so played reps then I went to the
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National development Squad and then I
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made New Zealand secondary schools New
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Zealand under 21s A and Z then silver f
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it all happened like in this real nice
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linear pattern for me then yeah all my
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injuries
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came yeah when did they start I was
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injured like throughout my whole kind of
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career but my two major ones came in
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2020 the Achilles yeah okay yeah we will
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get to them because I I think this is um
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maybe I don't know maybe an inspiring
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part of your story like The Comeback
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like it's um the sort of adversity and
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setback that you know it could it could
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finish some athletes off right yeah it
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really could okay so um so you finished
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school you go to university to become a
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teacher you want to be a PE teacher you
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are a PE teacher PE teacher yeah yeah
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how do you how do you fit it in now um
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are you fulltime no I teach on a
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Wednesday morning before training and
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our day off from Mystics is Thursday so
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I teach all day
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Thursday a one day a week yeah one and a
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half days must be nice and yeah it is
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and honestly teaching is so hard and
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when I walk in the office some mornings
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and I just look around at my colleagues
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I'm like you guys are amazing amazing
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like they always no matter what is
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happening they're just always so
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positive and upbeat and it's really easy
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for me to walk in and be positive and
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upbeat I'm there one day one in a bit
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days so I can walk out that door and
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I've got a whole week to reset cuz some
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days teaching are very challenging but
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they're just amazing amazing are you in
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the classroom at all or no you are so
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I've got my own classes cuz health is
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only taught at my school the Juniors
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only have health once a week so I'm just
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a health teacher for those kids so they
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don't actually they probably wouldn't
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even know I'm not there the whole week
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right what what what does Health mean
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they like we do
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sexuality drug education whole water
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heaps of stuff on her water nutrition
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and like you have to excuse my IGN
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what's what's is like it's a mar
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philosophy of Health okay so it's
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teaching the kids that Health isn't just
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physical so mental and emotional social
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spiritual and physical
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oh my God so so what sort of Ages what
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we teach whole water years 7 8 N9 and 10
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so from 11 to 15 16 [ __ ] that's good
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there was none of that when I was at
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school I know it was anti antidotal
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stuff that you'd have on the school bus
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on the roide to work with your M
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honestly it's incredible and I find I'm
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so passionate about teaching that stuff
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that sometimes I've got to like rain it
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in cuz I I get not all 30 kids sitting
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in front of me are just as passionate so
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sometimes I get really into it and
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they're like looking at me like I'm
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weird it's good that you're passionate
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about it though so I thought you were
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like a PE teacher oh we do health and PE
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okay so I only teach one PE lesson a
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week the rest are all Health cuz health
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is like what I'm really passionate about
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right and when you're teaching the kids
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health what are like some of the big big
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surprises you've got like are you
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surprised at like how advanced some of
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the kids are with that stuff that you're
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teaching already are you surprised at um
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some of the things theyve told you about
00:13:59
their drug taking or um I think I find
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it quite
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alarming probably the thing that
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surprised me the most is that so many
00:14:09
kids don't
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know like their values and who they are
00:14:12
and like I think cuz I'm I'm looking at
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it Through My Lens of a 27y old but I
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really try to get some of them don't
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even know like their grandparents
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names oh Nana I'm like yeah but Nana's
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got a name like who's Nana like who is
00:14:26
Nana and I like encourag them to go and
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have conver ations with their family
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about where they come from and like who
00:14:33
they are and things like that and that
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probably surprises me the most that
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there's so many that don't know and I I
00:14:39
do understand and appreciate that for a
00:14:41
lot of people that does come later in
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life but yeah I do encourage the kids to
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try and find out a little bit more well
00:14:47
that's cool must feel really rewarding
00:14:48
like you're making a difference yeah it
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is I some days I walk away wanting to
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like never go back and I'm like what am
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I doing here um and then other days I
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leave going that was incredible and I
00:15:00
can't wait to come back next week yeah
00:15:03
oh that's nice and you you were at
00:15:05
school teaching the day that you made
00:15:07
the silver F yeah I was I was on
00:15:10
placement yes I wasn't what's that like
00:15:12
a relief teacher yeah placement is when
00:15:13
you're still at Uni but you go into the
00:15:15
school to like get work experience oh
00:15:17
like almost like an internship yeah kind
00:15:19
of yeah yeah so talk us through that day
00:15:21
were you on the were you on the did you
00:15:23
know the team was being announced were
00:15:24
you on the radar of the selectors
00:15:27
um I was
00:15:29
I always say I don't know how how I was
00:15:32
selected so I wasn't in the silver Fern
00:15:35
Squad I was in the development Squad and
00:15:39
I had been to the youth World Cup and
00:15:41
we'd won that and then I had to have 6
00:15:44
months off cuz M had a fra like stress
00:15:45
fracture in my back and so I'd only just
00:15:48
kind of got back to training with the
00:15:49
mystics and then so I knew it was being
00:15:52
announced but I didn't even bet an
00:15:53
eyelid I was it won't be me then I yeah
00:15:56
my had an Apple Watch on and it came up
00:15:58
like the silver FS coach ranging and I
00:16:01
was like should only be ranging me for
00:16:02
one reason and I said to my boss who's
00:16:05
actually still my boss now but he was
00:16:06
teaching the class at the time can I can
00:16:08
I go outside like trying to get his
00:16:10
attention he yeah and yeah then she told
00:16:13
me that I had made the team to go to the
00:16:15
Commonwealth Games oh my God that's
00:16:17
amazing yeah so who was that wasn't Dame
00:16:20
noene at the time that was the previous
00:16:21
Janine southby right so how long's the
00:16:24
conversation like a minute yeah yeah
00:16:27
very brief I guess cuz she's got so many
00:16:28
phone calls to get through and she
00:16:30
probably knew that at the time it was a
00:16:31
bit of shock so she was like we we we'll
00:16:34
speak again I just wanted to let you
00:16:35
know like congratulations then I think I
00:16:38
was at the next day I had to be at like
00:16:41
the launch and I was like I'm on
00:16:42
placement like I got to got to wrap this
00:16:45
up somehow but luckily I went on
00:16:48
placement at my old high school so
00:16:51
everyone knew me there so and my boss
00:16:53
was my old PE teacher so he was like
00:16:56
yeah you go do whatever you need to do
00:16:58
that's amazing so you take that phone
00:17:00
call then um who do you call first what
00:17:04
do you do well then I've got to go back
00:17:06
into class and finish the lesson oh you
00:17:08
went straight back into class I can't
00:17:09
just walk off and not go back in I would
00:17:12
I would have been making it was a short
00:17:14
phone call with the coach you could have
00:17:15
made another five qu calls appearance
00:17:18
whoever yeah I went back and did that
00:17:21
then it was at lunchtime not too far
00:17:23
away so then I just went to my car I
00:17:25
think I rang my mom first I always rang
00:17:27
my mom first for anything so R her and
00:17:30
then I think my dad and then my auntie
00:17:32
and what do you like on those calls you
00:17:34
burst into
00:17:35
tears this a this is a big thing right
00:17:37
making the national team um I think
00:17:40
because I didn't know it was coming it
00:17:43
was more of a
00:17:44
shock when I made like the New Zealand
00:17:47
under 21 team that I've been working
00:17:48
four years for when I got that called
00:17:51
that was that was probably
00:17:55
more emotional because of how much I'd
00:17:58
put into get there even though I had put
00:18:00
in work for that team it wasn't like I'd
00:18:03
put in work directly to that wasn't my
00:18:05
goal necessarily so it was more shock
00:18:08
until I processed what had happened when
00:18:11
I got home right so you just gone
00:18:12
through all the steps and this was the
00:18:14
next step and it maybe it came a bit
00:18:15
quicker than what you yeah like I
00:18:17
thought I might have gone to like the
00:18:19
2022 Commonwealth Games so the 2018 ones
00:18:22
weren't really on my radar cuz I hadn't
00:18:24
done anything with the silver ferns
00:18:26
leading up to that phone call yeah we
00:18:28
with we were the we were the 2018 Comm
00:18:30
with gam Australia the Gold Coast ones
00:18:33
oh yeah how did the S fense get on the
00:18:34
worst we'd ever done fourth F and at
00:18:36
that time like the silver F hadn't ever
00:18:39
done bad so there was just this media
00:18:42
frenzy questioning whether we had
00:18:44
passion for the for the dress if we you
00:18:48
know if we wanted to be there if we had
00:18:49
Pride there was lots going on around us
00:18:53
because of that
00:18:55
result oh that's so tough ex yeah I've
00:18:58
had all sorts of people on the podcast
00:18:59
including um Susie Bates the cck and she
00:19:03
she went to the Olympics as um like a
00:19:05
teenage girl playing um basketball for
00:19:07
New Zealand so she went over there and
00:19:10
the no one was expecting anything from
00:19:12
the team so it was fine but it must be
00:19:14
so much pressure If you go over there
00:19:15
and you're expected to medal especially
00:19:18
the silver fans right they're KN one in
00:19:20
this country to win or to be there or
00:19:23
thereabouts so to get fourth was like
00:19:26
what has happened so did you have like a
00:19:28
game that you had to play for someone
00:19:30
gets bronze
00:19:32
someone sorry for bringing this up I
00:19:35
should have done my research and then
00:19:36
not bought it up no it's okay I because
00:19:38
I was so young I didn't how old were
00:19:42
you I don't know 20 yeah
00:19:45
21 because I and I was so new to the
00:19:48
team I didn't have to wear the brunt of
00:19:50
it I wasn't doing the media interviews I
00:19:52
wasn't a leader in the team so the
00:19:54
leaders wore a lot of it and I was on
00:19:57
the bench for most of the game and I'd
00:19:59
come in for maybe half a game a quarter
00:20:01
of a game so I didn't yeah I didn't wear
00:20:04
what our senior players had to wear who
00:20:06
who were the seniors at the time uh
00:20:08
Maria
00:20:09
fellow Katrina Grant we and we had quite
00:20:13
a we had a different team like we didn't
00:20:16
have Laura langman wasn't in at that
00:20:18
point she came back when NOS came back
00:20:20
Casey Coro came back when NOS came back
00:20:22
so the team was sh it was a good team he
00:20:24
there was a lot of big names you mention
00:20:26
yeah so was interesting times yeah and
00:20:29
know because it happened at the early
00:20:31
stage of your career like you probably
00:20:32
learn a lot from it you may not may not
00:20:33
feel like it at the time oh massively
00:20:35
and especially um as a leader now
00:20:38
looking back at those times and just
00:20:40
what they had to go through and yeah
00:20:43
I've taken a lot from that experience
00:20:45
more off the court yeah did you have a
00:20:47
lot to do with Maria F was she in the
00:20:49
mystics with you she was in the mystics
00:20:50
and I she's awesome she um she was so
00:20:55
much older when I started so she was
00:20:57
kind of like took us her and K
00:20:59
took us under their wing and we were
00:21:01
just like there was four of us fresh
00:21:03
into the team when we started Mystics
00:21:05
those two were like the mother hens and
00:21:08
they were so awesome I was I felt so
00:21:10
privileged to be in a team that had
00:21:12
these massive Superstars that growing
00:21:14
out watching them like I never thought
00:21:15
I'd get to play with them I remember
00:21:17
going home and being like to my mom who
00:21:19
obviously loved netball being like Mom
00:21:22
like those are my teammates we used to
00:21:24
like watch them on TV and be like how
00:21:26
cool are they and now like you know I'm
00:21:28
training alongside them day in and day
00:21:31
out yeah were you like a fan girl when
00:21:33
you at schol massively massively which
00:21:36
is so funny now because I know her and I
00:21:38
know the older girls now but back then I
00:21:40
was like man like you are so cool you
00:21:43
were you were you in um in the team with
00:21:46
Maria when um cuz I met her a couple of
00:21:49
times she's lovely but this was when she
00:21:50
was Maria
00:21:51
to then she married Israel Fel were you
00:21:54
were you in the team with her when all
00:21:55
the other homophobics [ __ ] that must
00:21:57
have been intense yeah she I feel like
00:22:00
she even though she had nothing to do
00:22:01
with it at all like she bought the BR on
00:22:04
behalf of New Zealand in a way and I
00:22:06
guess I just showed her character she
00:22:08
turned up to training um always smiling
00:22:11
always positive and just did her job and
00:22:14
it what have I can't imagine how hard
00:22:16
that would have been to do when you're
00:22:17
dealing with all of the stuff away from
00:22:19
your work but yeah she was incredible
00:22:22
but some Next Level professionalism
00:22:24
there is it insane like actually insane
00:22:27
to turn up and and I guess cuz we saw
00:22:31
her in the changing rooms and at
00:22:33
training and she was still the same
00:22:34
positive person that people got to see
00:22:37
on game day when she's playing in front
00:22:39
of however many people so yeah huge UPS
00:22:42
to her for that oh good stuff okay so
00:22:45
yes so you make the silver FS you don't
00:22:47
want to come with
00:22:50
games um and then so was there Co just
00:22:54
after that is that pretty much are we
00:22:56
where we at now 202 started so 2 years
00:22:59
later yeah so you played the silver fans
00:23:01
consistently over those I was in the
00:23:04
team consistently from then onwards till
00:23:07
2020 when I got injured but I didn't
00:23:09
always
00:23:10
play so Le I would go on tours and like
00:23:14
I'd be training I'd be with the team but
00:23:16
I wouldn't always get to take the court
00:23:18
right so they were sort of like bleeding
00:23:20
you to be like the next generation of
00:23:22
player yeah the sort of player that
00:23:23
you're fearful of now when you're out
00:23:25
yeah yeah yeah exactly that exact and
00:23:27
like especially me I'm very competitive
00:23:29
yeah yeah what's what's it like on those
00:23:31
um silver F tours do you guys have a lot
00:23:33
of fun yeah the girls are awesome it's
00:23:36
just like going away with your
00:23:37
mates like there's really no other way
00:23:40
to describe it you're French all there
00:23:42
for a common goal um one thing that I
00:23:45
really took away from Laura langman when
00:23:47
she when I was in building up for the
00:23:50
2019 yeah most 2019 Nial World Cup she
00:23:53
was the captain and I hadn't I didn't
00:23:57
know her at all I hadn't done any
00:23:58
netball with her and I always thought
00:24:00
she was this real serious hardcore
00:24:02
hairry heart out because that's how she
00:24:04
plays netball like she's just a gun and
00:24:07
I remember thinking oh how fun are you
00:24:10
going to be off the court honestly off
00:24:13
the court fun ass relaxed could like
00:24:17
heaps of jokes really
00:24:20
inclusive just an awesome person to lead
00:24:22
your team and one thing I've taken from
00:24:25
her is that like on the court you and at
00:24:27
training let's say serious and we're
00:24:29
here for a reason but you don't need to
00:24:31
take that attitude off coure and I think
00:24:33
that's what the f do well right just
00:24:35
that balance yeah and because you need
00:24:37
it when you're on tour for like 3 weeks
00:24:40
you want to be able to have some fun
00:24:41
yeah oh 100% it's not healthy otherwise
00:24:44
e no and and do you do you share a room
00:24:46
with someone else on those yeah you
00:24:48
always share a room and it's always
00:24:49
different people they mix it up do they
00:24:51
yeah I think the only time you really
00:24:53
get to choose is at like a world like a
00:24:55
pinnacle event because you're there with
00:24:57
that room mate for so long and it's a
00:25:00
pinnacle event so that I think they want
00:25:02
you to feel really comfortable in your
00:25:03
environment even though we do like cuz
00:25:05
we're all M so it doesn't matter who you
00:25:07
end up with but I think they just like
00:25:08
to give that bit of like Freedom what
00:25:11
would um your previous roommate say
00:25:13
about you like are you messy are you no
00:25:17
I am you want to know Kate ble she used
00:25:19
to be my roommate when we were growing
00:25:20
up she was messy she's good now cuz
00:25:22
she's got a Navy boyfriend so you know
00:25:25
who whipped her into shape quicksmart um
00:25:28
I'm really tidy I make this noise with
00:25:31
my throat when I'm like trying to itch
00:25:33
the back of my throat but I do that in
00:25:35
my sleep yeah that yeah that noise I've
00:25:38
had a sinus operation cuz my sinuses
00:25:41
were all up the wus so I don't snore
00:25:43
anymore but I used to snore and make
00:25:45
that noise so I could imagine that was
00:25:46
horrible for anyone rooming with me oh
00:25:49
there's nothing worse than rooming with
00:25:50
a SN I know Anna Harrison actually like
00:25:53
sneakily told my management once please
00:25:55
never put me with
00:25:57
Michaela didn't find that out till like
00:25:59
way later when I was like why do we
00:26:00
never get to Rome and she was
00:26:02
like well you're annoying you think that
00:26:06
try and peer soras together or give
00:26:07
soras their own room does does the
00:26:09
captain get their own room no we all sh
00:26:12
there's 10 of us in a team well 12 if
00:26:14
you're with the f 10 if you're with your
00:26:16
a andz team so we all just buddy up and
00:26:19
what do you do for fun after games you
00:26:20
never hear about the um the the netball
00:26:22
girls getting in any sort of trouble in
00:26:24
terms of shenanigans antic to be honest
00:26:26
it depends on if it's Mystics we go home
00:26:30
s it we're not the party team at all we
00:26:34
it's halfway through the season we
00:26:35
haven't even had one night on the beers
00:26:36
together which it's just not How We Roll
00:26:40
um I don't actually know why maybe we're
00:26:42
boring um and Fs as well like this you
00:26:46
just kind of go home if we're on tour
00:26:49
you go back to your hotel and you
00:26:50
normally got a game soon so you go back
00:26:52
recover and then you move on to the next
00:26:54
city the next day and if the tours ended
00:26:58
like you go home so yeah there's not
00:27:00
really big nights out so there's no like
00:27:03
missing curfews and things like that wow
00:27:06
well I suppose that's professionalism
00:27:07
isn't it yeah and it we just don't have
00:27:11
that culture yeah like you know when it
00:27:13
actually IRS me you know when you watch
00:27:15
rugby and they're in the sheds after a
00:27:16
game having a few beers and like they're
00:27:18
just relaxing like in my mind that's
00:27:20
relaxing we do not do that at all and I
00:27:24
feel like there's this thing around like
00:27:26
being woman we shouldn't drink in our
00:27:29
uniform cuz how how people might
00:27:32
perceive that but yet the All Blacks
00:27:34
post on Instagram like celebrating a wi
00:27:37
with a beb and there's nothing wrong
00:27:39
with that there's even like Stein ler
00:27:41
signs in the background it's funny funny
00:27:43
you say that I feel like people would
00:27:45
have a problem if we did it or I think
00:27:46
that's the perception so we
00:27:48
don't I've um I've had Maya listen on
00:27:51
the podcast she said pretty much exactly
00:27:54
the same sort of thing she said she
00:27:55
feels like there's this um sort of
00:27:57
judgment about you guys even if you go
00:27:58
out for dinner and have wine or
00:28:00
something someone would be like
00:28:01
mindblowing right like I should be able
00:28:03
to have a wine if I feel like it and if
00:28:06
I'm in my kit does it really matter but
00:28:08
it does matter there's this perception
00:28:10
that it does matter H cuz there's a
00:28:12
difference between um having a wine
00:28:15
after your game and then you know
00:28:18
Behaving Badly after having too many
00:28:19
wines a very very clear difference
00:28:21
absolutely there's a massive difference
00:28:23
yeah and yeah I don't know what it is
00:28:25
about that but yeah well good on you for
00:28:27
talking about it cuz I think the more we
00:28:28
talk about it and address it the more
00:28:30
chance there is of changing that yeah I
00:28:32
think so yeah um so what happened during
00:28:35
the co years so was all games suspended
00:28:38
was the AZ cap still on or thez was
00:28:41
played yeah at ockland Nall Center under
00:28:43
real strict guidelines with no
00:28:47
Spectators okay so so you weren't
00:28:49
injured then I was or you were injured
00:28:51
yeah I got injured I got injured in 2020
00:28:54
January in England and I think the a
00:28:57
andz started
00:28:58
around marchish March April okay yeah
00:29:02
let's talk about that injury in England
00:29:03
then so so this was your left Ares right
00:29:07
right Ares so January 2020 you in your
00:29:10
right arches what does that mean exactly
00:29:12
your Ares that's yeah the Archilles is
00:29:14
like where it connects onto like the
00:29:16
heel bone and okay so you land the wrong
00:29:19
way or um well it's like a middle-age
00:29:22
man injury so careful that's what my
00:29:25
surgeon on me anyways um no I was warm
00:29:29
it was at the first quarter we were
00:29:31
having a practice game against England a
00:29:33
leading up to the series and I just like
00:29:36
went to change direction and then I
00:29:38
looked back to like be like who's who's
00:29:41
kicked me which is like classic Ares
00:29:44
rupture pain and no one was there and
00:29:47
then I just
00:29:48
remember I probably looked like a Looney
00:29:50
Tune I just remember walking
00:29:53
off yelling at my physio that I had
00:29:56
ruptured my Archilles and I keep keeps
00:29:58
saying that like constantly and he's
00:30:01
like trying to be like yeah okay we'll
00:30:02
do the test I'm like you don't need to
00:30:03
do the test I'm telling you I've
00:30:04
ruptured my AR killes and I'm like Loki
00:30:07
freaking out because you know the
00:30:09
severity of it yeah I know that that's
00:30:11
like I'm I've just well cuz I was a
00:30:14
reserve for the 2019 World Cup I went
00:30:17
all the way to England I wasn't needed I
00:30:18
came home I was then in the series at
00:30:22
the end of 2019 and I felt like it was
00:30:24
really my time to like wave the flag for
00:30:27
my position and show them that I was
00:30:29
ready and to know that I and I'd been
00:30:31
training really really well and I just
00:30:34
the entire summer I had done nothing but
00:30:37
train I was like I'm taking this
00:30:39
opportunity with both hands so to know
00:30:42
that I just essentially ripped off my
00:30:45
bib and gave it
00:30:47
away like that's what I knew I had just
00:30:52
lost so it wasn't even the injury the
00:30:53
injury didn't like hurt massively it was
00:30:56
more the shock of what I'm
00:30:59
losing why does it take so long to
00:31:01
recover from it um you have well you
00:31:04
don't have to have surgery but I chose
00:31:05
to have surgery it's just like a 9mon
00:31:08
like you can't start running till like
00:31:09
four five months cuz it's got the
00:31:11
tendon's got to heal then by the time
00:31:14
you start running you got to learn to
00:31:15
then jump again because the tendons used
00:31:18
like it's so elastic that you need it to
00:31:21
jump well to move well to take off
00:31:24
accelerate so you need time to build all
00:31:26
that back up but for four five months
00:31:28
you can't do anything apart from upper
00:31:30
body weights are you are you good with
00:31:32
patience and following like physial
00:31:34
orders uh depends on what physio you ask
00:31:38
some might say no some might say yes um
00:31:42
with this I was because I didn't want to
00:31:46
reard it yeah but we didn't have
00:31:49
any what's it called like obstacles like
00:31:53
if you were walking at 3 weeks without
00:31:56
crutches well it was actually more like
00:31:57
8 weeks but I ticked at every single
00:32:01
like tick box oh at four weeks you
00:32:03
should be doing that I was doing it so I
00:32:05
got all the way through my first rehab
00:32:08
with like no
00:32:10
complications so I was I would say I was
00:32:12
patient and I was very diligent if I was
00:32:15
told to do 50 of this and 50 of that
00:32:18
that's what I did right so so when it
00:32:20
when it happens um like how do you react
00:32:23
immediately see you know you cool down
00:32:25
the adrenaline starts to wear off then
00:32:27
what
00:32:28
um then we I got taken to hospital just
00:32:32
to like check that it was just there so
00:32:35
me and the mental skills person and Fs
00:32:37
Rod he ended up being my buddy he has
00:32:40
driven me around lots of places because
00:32:43
of various things and so we'll go after
00:32:46
the hospital in England and if anyone's
00:32:48
ever been in the English A&E on a
00:32:50
Saturday night we witnessed a few
00:32:53
interesting things which was fun because
00:32:55
it allowed us to like you know have
00:32:57
conversations about other things um and
00:33:00
then yeah we put on a plane the next day
00:33:03
back to New
00:33:04
Zealand to start my recovery but you're
00:33:07
with this guy right are you are you um
00:33:10
laughing and joking at the other the
00:33:11
drunk people oh we are laughing and
00:33:13
joking we've got like guys blood coming
00:33:16
out of everywhere it's like spewing
00:33:19
behind us intoxicated people and we're
00:33:21
just sitting there like thinking well
00:33:23
I'm like I guess it could be worse like
00:33:26
but but deep down you must be
00:33:27
devastating right yeah
00:33:30
yeah and I remember the first thing I
00:33:32
did again was Ring my mom I'm still on
00:33:34
the sideline I was I just need to talk
00:33:36
to somebody that's not in this bubble
00:33:39
rang her I'm like hey Mom it's early in
00:33:42
the morning over there I don't care what
00:33:43
the time as I just rang and she's like
00:33:46
what are you doing I was like I've
00:33:47
ruptured my eye kees she a oh that's a
00:33:51
shame like you'll be okay I was like
00:33:54
thinking first of all if I could come
00:33:56
through the phone and like strangle yeah
00:33:59
like you do we know what I'm saying to
00:34:01
you and I'm like Mom like I'm out yeah
00:34:04
short Yeah couple of days like like she
00:34:06
didn't really know and I was like no Mom
00:34:08
like I'm on I'll be coming back home and
00:34:11
I'll be having surgery and I will not be
00:34:12
doing anything for the rest of the year
00:34:14
and then she just started crying and
00:34:15
then she was like okay it's okay like
00:34:17
then mom's like do you need me to fly to
00:34:19
England and come and get you I was like
00:34:21
no like I'm no I don't need you to do
00:34:23
that like I'll get myself home um just
00:34:26
pick me up from the airport and that
00:34:28
okay like whatever you need I'm here so
00:34:30
do you when she starts crying do you
00:34:31
start crying you must felt like I was
00:34:34
probably already crying when wrong but I
00:34:36
actually don't know if I was crying I
00:34:39
just trying to explain to her what an
00:34:41
Ares Rapture was and from a from a
00:34:44
professional perspective that guy Rod
00:34:45
the mental skills coach is there
00:34:47
anything that that he says or does
00:34:49
that's impactful um or is it just like
00:34:52
being the he just tries to we just chat
00:34:55
about random stuff he he's highly
00:34:58
trained he probably knows that I don't
00:34:59
want to sit there and talk about it all
00:35:01
right now so we just chewed the fat
00:35:02
about everything but pretty
00:35:05
much yeah cuz I suppose there I mean it
00:35:08
is what it is right there's nothing you
00:35:09
can do yeah apart from try to figure out
00:35:12
a plan to move forward yeah right so you
00:35:15
come home um so again this is early 2020
00:35:18
yeah um so so lockdown starts so you
00:35:21
sort of recovering on crutches during
00:35:23
yeah I it must have been a relief in a
00:35:25
way cuz you feel like you're not missing
00:35:26
out on anything kind of but then I've
00:35:29
got nobody to help me rehab so the day I
00:35:34
came out of my moon boot just and that's
00:35:36
when I was like right we're going to
00:35:37
ramp up the rehab now came out of my
00:35:39
moon Boot and the next day we went into
00:35:40
lockdown so I was so like grateful for
00:35:43
my trainer guy and the physio Mark they
00:35:47
would be on Zoom with me every day or
00:35:49
every second day taking me through all
00:35:50
of my exercises my dad built me a bench
00:35:54
pru out of
00:35:55
scaffold um he built me a leg press out
00:35:58
of some plywood in this weird exercise
00:36:01
machine thing we had and then yeah Mark
00:36:04
and Guy literally sat on zoom and we're
00:36:06
like right do this do that do this do
00:36:08
that and just coach me through my entire
00:36:10
rehab but your parents s amazing oh
00:36:13
they're I'm I'm so incredibly lucky
00:36:15
there they they still together yeah
00:36:16
they're still together they and they
00:36:19
became if anyone has ever had to have
00:36:22
their parents help them with their
00:36:24
training I ended up having to be a coach
00:36:27
cuz I had to coach them how to play and
00:36:30
pass and N ball so that I could train
00:36:32
properly cuz you couldn't have anybody
00:36:33
asked we live together so it needed to
00:36:35
be them and like I would need them to
00:36:38
pass to each other so I could practice
00:36:39
intercepting and no I spent half the I
00:36:42
spent half the time coaching them how
00:36:44
and where to pass so that I could do a
00:36:46
proper intercept then I just went and
00:36:48
bought a rebounder thing that I didn't
00:36:50
need them as much but yeah they helped
00:36:51
me with all of my rehab and like no
00:36:54
matter what time of day what they were
00:36:56
doing I like right this time tomorrow we
00:36:58
got to go that spend two hours with me
00:37:00
an now with me helping me with my rehab
00:37:03
you seem very driven even perhaps a
00:37:04
little bit stubborn is do you think
00:37:06
that's from your your your M's M's side
00:37:10
that croa c c they're staunch and they
00:37:13
stubbing yeah yeah is there a bit of
00:37:15
that in you you yeah absolutely what
00:37:17
about you too much sometimes oh no but
00:37:19
it's got you where you are and it's got
00:37:20
you this um incredible resilience and
00:37:23
sort of fighting Power that you got what
00:37:25
about from your dad's side what are your
00:37:26
traits there that you I I would say I am
00:37:30
more my dad but get the stubbornness and
00:37:34
the croa the croation fire from my mom
00:37:37
I'm very loud and abrupt um but my dad
00:37:40
is extremely hardworking not to say my
00:37:42
mom's not no but my dad is very
00:37:45
hardworking and
00:37:47
just he's hard to
00:37:50
explain he he's incredible and I've
00:37:52
learned a lot from him and he's a lot
00:37:54
more patient than I am and he thinks
00:37:57
sings through a lot more than I
00:37:59
necessarily do but yeah he's very
00:38:03
hardworking diligent and he's provided
00:38:05
so much for our family so yeah I would
00:38:08
say I'm like him in ways but you're like
00:38:10
Mom too oh what a nice compliment and
00:38:12
what a nice mix yeah yes I say my other
00:38:16
brother James is more like my mom but he
00:38:18
wouldn't like me saying that well what
00:38:20
do they do what are your older brothers
00:38:21
do um My Brother Sam he's an engineer
00:38:24
and my other brother James Works in like
00:38:26
demolition both super successful like
00:38:29
really successful and we're all super
00:38:31
close as a family which is nice yeah
00:38:33
that's neat okay so so the 2020 year so
00:38:37
you you're rehabbing you're doing
00:38:38
everything you're supposed to do um so
00:38:41
the the Mystic season continues a yeah
00:38:45
how weird is that are you still involved
00:38:47
in the squad like are you no or you no I
00:38:50
am and that's probably where that
00:38:52
stubbornness and um love for netball
00:38:55
really flourished in 201 20 so you're
00:38:58
just wandering around on crutches or a
00:38:59
moon just being in that environment
00:39:01
sitting up to meetings yeah I I went to
00:39:04
everything apart from gym because I had
00:39:06
to do all my own rehab I wouldn't go to
00:39:09
their gyms because I needed like
00:39:11
one-on-one kind of support and help so I
00:39:14
would do all of my rehab away from the
00:39:17
team and then I would turn up to all of
00:39:19
the team trainings and team meetings I
00:39:20
literally didn't miss any I was there
00:39:23
every game and every meeting and I ended
00:39:25
up being assistant coach because Helen
00:39:27
our coach at the time we didn't have one
00:39:30
so I ended up being assistant coach and
00:39:32
manager I did all these random jobs well
00:39:35
why um with the benefit of hindsight why
00:39:37
did you why were you then involved and
00:39:39
Hands-On with when there's nothing you
00:39:40
could do was it I just love my team and
00:39:44
I and I think because I knew I wanted to
00:39:46
be back and I knew the only way I could
00:39:50
be back is if I still develop my netball
00:39:52
brain and you can develop that when
00:39:54
you're not playing by watching by having
00:39:56
coaching conversations to be like okay
00:39:58
if I had gone here or done that would
00:40:00
that have changed that and I feel like I
00:40:02
play netball differently now than I did
00:40:06
before because I understand the game
00:40:08
better well that's really cool yeah so
00:40:13
yeah yeah yeah and I suppose it's also
00:40:15
um even if this is subliminal it's like
00:40:17
hey don't forget about me I'm still here
00:40:19
oh absolutely and I'm well aware of that
00:40:20
and I think out of side out of mind and
00:40:23
I was I was not leaving this realm I
00:40:26
want to be part of this this team and I
00:40:28
want people to want me to be part of
00:40:30
this
00:40:30
team that's hunger isn't
00:40:34
it wow that's the creation yeah that is
00:40:37
stenness that's awesome so you so it
00:40:40
gets to the point where you're you're
00:40:41
rehabed and you're playing again yeah so
00:40:44
it got 8 and a half months down well got
00:40:47
eight months down the track and I was
00:40:50
able to start like training with like
00:40:52
the team again I somehow got put back so
00:40:56
I got injured
00:40:57
I didn't in January play didn't play the
00:41:00
a andz season but they rename at the end
00:41:02
of the a andz season a silver F Squad
00:41:05
and I got put back in the squad because
00:41:07
they knew I was going to be ready for
00:41:09
the international season in some sort of
00:41:11
capacity so I ended up going to the
00:41:15
trials that they have or like the camp
00:41:17
they had and I ended up making like the
00:41:20
development team which is called nza and
00:41:23
we were going to play the ferns the men
00:41:25
and not sure who else
00:41:28
and so that was 8 and 1/2 months post
00:41:30
rupture so I was essentially back and we
00:41:34
were in another warm-up game against
00:41:37
like a put together team before the cry
00:41:39
series and then that's when I ruptured
00:41:41
my other Ares so same injury again but
00:41:44
on the other on the other leg Yeah like
00:41:46
what like what are the chances it was
00:41:48
literally 9 months to the day like it
00:41:51
was like literally nine months later
00:41:53
bang and and straight away you're not
00:41:55
yeah oh I knew
00:41:58
I knew right oh my God I actually didn't
00:42:01
know this for months till months later
00:42:04
but I just stood there with my head and
00:42:07
my hands sobbing and then just yelling
00:42:10
if bombs like if bomb after if bomb
00:42:12
after if bomb to her just to yourself
00:42:13
just my well out loud to like the
00:42:15
universe whoever was listening whoever
00:42:17
had brought such misery upon me and the
00:42:20
go shoot I was playing Goldie I think
00:42:22
the gold Shir thought that I was
00:42:24
swearing at her and that like
00:42:27
I I think she thought I thought she'd
00:42:30
hurt like she'd kick me but I I knew I
00:42:32
had just changed Direction it had gone
00:42:34
she wasn't even anywhere near me and it
00:42:36
wasn't until months later I don't even
00:42:37
know who she is to apologize be like I
00:42:39
wasn't swearing to you like so it's a
00:42:42
gold shoot from that random Gamers
00:42:43
listening I know it wasn't you it was
00:42:46
all me so um yeah so then what are you
00:42:50
with thato Rod again yeah Rod's there
00:42:52
there Rod's there see Rod is always
00:42:54
there in times of need he always is
00:42:56
there to help me is is he is he like a
00:42:59
team into schools coach is he your
00:43:00
personal seems like he's got time for
00:43:02
nobody else no he doesn't he's he's he
00:43:04
may as well be on my payroll because he
00:43:07
has helped me through some things but
00:43:09
yeah he's there and then how is it
00:43:11
different this time or is it not
00:43:12
different oh it's and the and the same
00:43:15
physio was there and the same strength
00:43:17
and conditioner were there um except
00:43:20
this time like all our hearts broke
00:43:22
because like I had just like literally
00:43:24
it was my first game like it only just
00:43:26
got
00:43:27
back um so we all really felt the pain
00:43:30
of that one um and I
00:43:34
remember Rock Rod took me back to the
00:43:38
hotel and like I just remember sitting
00:43:41
on the floor of where when palmon north
00:43:43
of all places I was just like why
00:43:45
couldn't have we been in ockland um and
00:43:48
I just remember sitting on the hotel
00:43:49
floor and just being like get me out of
00:43:51
here like get me home but I couldn't get
00:43:53
home cuz it was at night time and I
00:43:55
wasn't so me my mom again oh come get
00:43:57
you I was like no don't I don't want to
00:43:59
sit in a car for hour a many hours stay
00:44:00
at home I'll fly in the morning and then
00:44:02
your Rod took me to the airport and I
00:44:04
flew home and I actually remember
00:44:07
crouching down like the terminal to get
00:44:10
to the baggage claim and my parents were
00:44:12
there and I just remember like I don't
00:44:15
know what came over me but I saw my mom
00:44:16
and my dad and I just like cried this
00:44:19
loud like someone you know when someone
00:44:21
had like passed away and there just
00:44:23
horrible loud cries that was me and that
00:44:27
middle of the airport and I remember the
00:44:29
article went live on Silver's page and
00:44:31
people had commented like yeah I seen
00:44:33
her in the airport she was really
00:44:36
devastated and another lady was like
00:44:37
yeah I was on the plane on the way home
00:44:39
with her she didn't stop crying the
00:44:41
whole way and I was like yeah okay
00:44:43
thanks for telling everybody like no one
00:44:45
else needed to know that but yeah the
00:44:47
second one was hard to deal with
00:44:52
especially because it was like i' only
00:44:53
just got back it only been back two
00:44:55
weeks yeah I mean yeah the the timing
00:44:57
the just the timing and also you know
00:45:00
like you're fresh off that road to
00:45:01
recovery so you know exactly what's
00:45:03
involved all over again ex exactly I
00:45:05
knew we exactly what to expect except
00:45:09
the first one took me 9 months to
00:45:10
recover from the next one took me 18 the
00:45:13
first one had no hurdles or obstacles
00:45:15
the other one only had hurdles and
00:45:17
obstacles what were the what were they H
00:45:20
it would like everything um everything
00:45:23
that could go wrong yeah went wrong like
00:45:25
their scar wasn't healing
00:45:28
and then like the pain
00:45:31
like I haven't had one even since that
00:45:34
rupture in 2020 I haven't had a painfree
00:45:37
day in that arili since even like to
00:45:39
this day and so dealing with that and
00:45:41
then that's when I got diagnosed with
00:45:43
the sertic arthritis and then they
00:45:46
ultrasound my arches and they then my
00:45:48
rheumatologist is like oh your arches
00:45:50
could snap at any time like all of this
00:45:52
Doppler is inflammation in the Ares so
00:45:55
we had to completely halt
00:45:57
all and I just started running again and
00:45:59
I was like GH so I had to completely
00:46:02
stop all running and jumping so go like
00:46:05
way back in my rehab get medication on
00:46:08
board to get hopefully settled down the
00:46:10
inflammation it was just a really long
00:46:13
emotional process how I so the day after
00:46:16
you you're crying in the plane as we
00:46:18
know thanks social media got us in is it
00:46:21
nowhere that secret I know and then
00:46:23
you're crying at the airport when when
00:46:25
did the when did the tears stop when do
00:46:26
you managed to sort of compart
00:46:28
compartmentalize it and go okay this is
00:46:30
um like the next day yeah really yeah I
00:46:33
don't yeah the next day I'm not a big
00:46:35
crier you just got it getting it out and
00:46:38
STP it and then my dad actually took me
00:46:41
to my surgeon's office and we the next
00:46:43
day which actually it was that day Dad
00:46:45
was out buying The Lawns and I was like
00:46:46
Dad stews Rong we got to go and Dad's
00:46:49
like like I don't even they know if you
00:46:51
turn the lawn M off he raced inside he
00:46:53
was like yep yep got his keys got in the
00:46:55
car and like we headed off for the
00:46:57
appointment so yeah I like when I know
00:47:00
I've got a plan in place I can kind of
00:47:03
move forward but how how was your mental
00:47:05
health over that time um it got to a
00:47:08
point actually where I did really
00:47:09
struggle and i' I'd bought my own house
00:47:12
by this time so I'd moved out
00:47:16
and I love my parents so much I bought a
00:47:19
house four doors up from them so I
00:47:21
remember one day like it probably got to
00:47:23
the point where I couldn't hold in how I
00:47:26
was feeling anymore like I was really
00:47:28
really struggling and so I just remember
00:47:31
like building up the car and which is so
00:47:33
funny cuz I'm so close with my parents
00:47:35
like they know everything about me even
00:47:37
if I've made mistakes growing up as a
00:47:39
kid like dumb things you know that young
00:47:40
kids teenagers do I've confess to my
00:47:43
parents and be like Oh and they don't
00:47:45
need to know like it's over I hav hurt
00:47:48
anybody but I'd always have to tell my
00:47:50
parents like cuz I just was that's a
00:47:52
relationship we had and that's why I
00:47:55
understand why like people say about me
00:47:57
to house just ask for help I was like
00:48:00
I've got the most amazing relationships
00:48:02
with my parents and even I struggled to
00:48:03
ask for help but I finally built up the
00:48:05
courage to go down there and I just sat
00:48:07
there and I just like yeah was like I'm
00:48:10
struggling and I just remember balling
00:48:12
my eyes out and I think I was like five
00:48:13
or 6 months post rupture so like i' been
00:48:16
on the rehab Journey a
00:48:18
while and they just like to Boom TV went
00:48:21
off full attention on me and we're like
00:48:23
we've got you we know like if you want
00:48:26
to give
00:48:27
we don't blame you like you've been
00:48:30
through enough like you can stop and I
00:48:32
remember thinking I don't want to stop
00:48:33
though and they were like sweet like
00:48:35
what do we need to do we've got you and
00:48:37
that's when I think they cranked up the
00:48:39
nipple training partner mode and we're
00:48:41
like we'll do whatever it takes to help
00:48:42
you like what do you need from us and I
00:48:45
was just like to be honest I don't need
00:48:47
anything from you I just need you to
00:48:48
know I'm not okay but I will be okay
00:48:51
like don't worry about me I just need
00:48:53
you to know that I'm
00:48:54
struggling cuz it's a tough one cuz I
00:48:56
supp the two options are a just just
00:48:58
giving up which is understandable or B
00:49:01
just plowing on through but you know how
00:49:03
[ __ ] hard the the road ahead is yeah
00:49:06
is that what you were just like just
00:49:08
daunted by that yeah I and just knowing
00:49:12
that I was doing like the same thing day
00:49:14
in day out and I was going to Mystics
00:49:18
training and was like this real
00:49:20
positivity still cuz now I'm in my
00:49:21
second season on the bench for Mystics
00:49:23
too so I've just watched my
00:49:25
teammates do a whole season without me
00:49:28
and now I've got to watch them do a
00:49:29
whole another season without me and I
00:49:31
loved going to training but man it took
00:49:33
a lot some days to put on this real cuz
00:49:35
no one wants a mopy sulky person who's
00:49:39
the sad girl in the stay home if you're
00:49:41
going to sulk um so I made a real effort
00:49:43
to like try and be like positive for
00:49:45
them but then I got to the point where
00:49:47
like then I'd come home and I had none
00:49:49
for myself I had no positive energy to
00:49:52
give myself so realizing that was
00:49:55
probably huge for me as well while and
00:49:57
then also realizing that once I told my
00:50:00
parents it was easier to keep talking
00:50:03
about it and to keep being to keep
00:50:05
saying yeah I'm not good today or I'm
00:50:07
okay today and just keep trying to find
00:50:10
ways to like bring joy to my own life
00:50:13
yeah how how did you do that just by
00:50:16
trying to do things my parents have got
00:50:17
a boat so like we I remember we'd go out
00:50:19
on the boat quite a bit and just like
00:50:22
being out on the ocean was nice and just
00:50:24
doing things that weren't nbol all
00:50:26
weren't rehab cuz they took up so much
00:50:29
in my
00:50:30
day why um what did keep you going why
00:50:33
didn't you give up I mean you know
00:50:36
because you you you're very good at nitb
00:50:37
but it's not like who defines it's not
00:50:39
what defines you like you've got a great
00:50:41
job as a teacher you've got some
00:50:42
qualifications behind you yeah I just
00:50:44
love it yeah and like I think I'd had
00:50:46
like 11 11 caps in the silver ferns at
00:50:50
that point and I really I really wanted
00:50:53
more and I knew I could contribute to
00:50:56
the like the greater good of a team and
00:50:58
I really wanted to see myself achieve
00:51:01
more and at that time I was young and
00:51:04
like I knew I I had time if I was at 30
00:51:08
oh don't get me wrong I would have been
00:51:09
H hanging up the boots and been like see
00:51:11
you later but cuz I was young enough to
00:51:15
make a comeback that's kind of what kept
00:51:16
me going knowing that I had time oh it's
00:51:19
inspir the drive is inspirational
00:51:22
especially from where like from where
00:51:23
you are now and what you've been through
00:51:25
since coming back um is this the biggest
00:51:27
adversity you've ever been through in
00:51:28
your
00:51:29
life uh yeah I yeah y y and that's a
00:51:34
thing and that's probably another thing
00:51:35
that I really really struggled with it
00:51:38
happened just before Co so you're seeing
00:51:41
people's lives get turned upside down
00:51:43
every single day you hear stories in the
00:51:45
media of all these people losing jobs
00:51:48
losing family members and not being able
00:51:49
to be by their family members sides
00:51:52
like you just saw all of this and then
00:51:55
so it played into who am I to complain
00:51:59
like perspective cuz what's happened to
00:52:01
me is actually nothing compared to other
00:52:03
people but it was so hard cuz to me it
00:52:05
was the end of my world so I was like
00:52:08
balancing like trying not to talk about
00:52:10
it to other people because of what other
00:52:11
people are going through so it's like
00:52:13
this weird conflicting time in the world
00:52:17
and then it was a weird conflicting time
00:52:19
in my little world yeah misery misery
00:52:23
comparisons were dangerous so I was like
00:52:25
oh I've got nothing to complain about
00:52:27
really like but you still do though yeah
00:52:29
but that was weird and hard and to
00:52:31
navigate what were the um did that guy
00:52:33
Rod give you any any like useful tips or
00:52:35
tricks or pointers that yeah we talked a
00:52:37
lot the one thing that like he itched he
00:52:41
said it once but somehow itched onto my
00:52:44
brain was how many times have you played
00:52:47
and trade netball in your whole entire
00:52:49
life I was like I'd hate to know like
00:52:52
thousands is how many times have you
00:52:54
raptured your arules and I was like oh
00:52:56
well tce he's like well so the odds or
00:52:58
like the percentage is so so
00:53:01
slim and cuz I did have like a bit of
00:53:03
PTSD after my my second IES rupture like
00:53:07
anytime that someone would like trip up
00:53:09
my heart would pound at like 100 miles
00:53:12
an hour and I would like start like
00:53:14
sweating and then I like couldn't watch
00:53:16
the training for a little bit and I had
00:53:18
to like regulate and I could watch again
00:53:21
and I just had this fear that every
00:53:23
single person every time they slightly
00:53:25
hurt like fell or did had hurt thems
00:53:27
like badly um so I had to like get over
00:53:31
there but then yeah and so when I came
00:53:33
back I just had that in my mind every
00:53:35
time I was warming up and I was like you
00:53:36
got to be Fearless otherwise there's no
00:53:38
point being in this training so I would
00:53:41
just dump those feelings and train yeah
00:53:43
100% And what biggest learnings about
00:53:46
yourself are you tougher than what you
00:53:48
thought you were or oh I always knew I
00:53:50
was tough I always knew I was tough but
00:53:52
but this is like next level tough though
00:53:55
this is a lot to be thrown at one person
00:53:57
yeah um I probably just learned that if
00:54:00
you want something you can you can get
00:54:02
after it and it taught me that I
00:54:05
actually really do enjoy what I do and
00:54:07
that when it was taken away from me I
00:54:08
was devastated because I love it so much
00:54:11
um so it's nice to know that I actually
00:54:12
enjoy what I'm doing yeah that's saying
00:54:14
you don't know what you've lost until
00:54:15
it's gone yeah did did you have any um I
00:54:18
know there was a lot of like Physical
00:54:19
Therapy but what about like mental
00:54:20
therapy you go do any therapy or
00:54:22
anything during this time yeah I I we've
00:54:24
got this really awesome
00:54:27
we got like a Players Association and
00:54:29
through them we can reach out to
00:54:30
counselors so I did reach out to a
00:54:32
couple but people do say that like you
00:54:35
don't always
00:54:36
connect with somebody yeah sometimes
00:54:39
when I started therapy that's why um
00:54:41
some some friends said to me they said
00:54:42
it's like going on a a tnder date yeah
00:54:45
you got to we ofie if we find the right
00:54:47
one I met my man on Bumble so I
00:54:50
understand but yeah I so I had a few
00:54:52
conversations with different ones but I
00:54:53
didn't feel like it really landed with
00:54:56
me yeah um so I just went back to my
00:54:59
mate Rod cuz he like he's also like he's
00:55:02
not there to be like a counselor he's
00:55:04
there to like help us with like our
00:55:06
performance mindset and things like that
00:55:08
and so I really tried not to go to him
00:55:11
cuz I just wanted to have a cry and
00:55:12
wanted to understand but then I realized
00:55:14
well to be honest I can go back to my
00:55:16
friend
00:55:17
Rod who who is this guy he's come up a
00:55:19
lot what's his last name what uh Corbin
00:55:21
he does Rod Corbin mental skills coach
00:55:24
for he does like lots with Cricket
00:55:26
hockey meatball he does Lots with lots
00:55:28
of different sports I might have to get
00:55:29
him on the podcast you've spoken very
00:55:31
highly about him today because he like
00:55:33
because he is involved in all of my
00:55:35
injuries so you like you know he needs
00:55:37
some mention and um I so so so you get
00:55:41
over both the AR kelles when when do you
00:55:43
start playing again when's that is that
00:55:45
where are we at now is that the start of
00:55:47
that would have been so once I got over
00:55:49
that it what do we would have been 2022
00:55:51
2022 years and um that was when the um
00:55:54
the silver FS won um a silver medal at
00:55:57
the common worth games I think that was
00:55:58
in bingh so I I played that 2022 a andz
00:56:03
season that I didn't play that well okay
00:56:06
so it's for the mystics and yeah okay
00:56:09
was my first year back in two years and
00:56:11
like I played every game and I didn't
00:56:13
play bad but I didn't play like how I
00:56:17
normally would play yeah why was that
00:56:20
you lost like match Fitness or no I was
00:56:22
I was fit like I was really fit cuz all
00:56:24
I was doing was running you know what I
00:56:26
mean playing playing Fitness a different
00:56:28
sort of thing I just my skill set was
00:56:30
probably not as sharp as it needed to be
00:56:32
I would say was the main thing okay so
00:56:34
you're back playing again um but you
00:56:36
weren't good enough to be selected for
00:56:38
the silver fans no um which I knew as
00:56:40
well like when I I was gutted I didn't
00:56:43
make the any squads but I wasn't
00:56:45
surprised that makes sense
00:56:47
like I I didn't cry I didn't think oh me
00:56:51
I was I like I didn't I was like I I
00:56:53
don't deserve to be there yeah and I I
00:56:56
knew that so it was it was okay okay did
00:56:59
did you watch the games though they were
00:57:00
oh yeah absolutely like I said a big
00:57:01
nipple fan over here right and and I
00:57:03
suppose they're all your friends and
00:57:04
stuff abolutely so you didn't have a
00:57:06
sense of like fomo when they won a medal
00:57:08
no okay they deserved to be there and
00:57:10
they had to work really hard for that
00:57:11
medal and they yeah and then what about
00:57:13
2023 that was the netball World Cup um
00:57:16
you missed out on that as well I did
00:57:19
indeed I did inde that one hurt that one
00:57:22
cut real deep yeah did it why did that
00:57:24
one hurt um I thought that in
00:57:27
2023 this is obviously my personal
00:57:29
opinion I'm not a selector or
00:57:31
anything I thought that I had had the
00:57:34
best year of net i' ever had in my life
00:57:37
um
00:57:39
I I and I felt like I was I felt like I
00:57:43
was the best Wing defense in the a andz
00:57:45
I was turning over good ball I was
00:57:47
attacking well I was leading down the
00:57:49
defensive end well I just felt like I
00:57:50
was on and I was like firing and and
00:57:53
Mystics won last year and we won so the
00:57:55
the nipple cup so that was after the a
00:57:57
andz competition so I I remember I
00:58:02
remember being by my I knew that squads
00:58:05
and stuff was getting announced like I
00:58:07
wasn't in any squad so I didn't get any
00:58:09
communication but obviously my friends
00:58:11
know so I'm like when is I'm texting
00:58:13
them when are we when is everyone
00:58:14
finding out what's the go cuz I know I
00:58:16
know that girls find out before media
00:58:18
right cuz like you've got to can't just
00:58:20
find out because you're reading the
00:58:22
news and I remember my phone didn't ring
00:58:27
and I remember sitting in the New World
00:58:28
Car Park like by my house and the the
00:58:32
media release like came out with the
00:58:34
names of people that had been selected
00:58:36
and like I was not even like a training
00:58:39
partner I was I was nowhere I was
00:58:41
nothing and I remember boiling my eyes
00:58:45
out cuz I just thought man out of any
00:58:48
time in my entire nipple career for any
00:58:50
team I've ever wanted I wanted that more
00:58:53
than anything and I had worked so hard
00:58:56
to get that and to not get it I was yeah
00:59:01
then I didn't even make the silver Fern
00:59:03
Squad if like they came back from the
00:59:05
Nal World Cup and I wasn't even in the
00:59:07
squad and I and that's when it dawned on
00:59:10
me oh I'm not if I can play like that
00:59:13
and still not be wanted oh I'm out they
00:59:16
just don't want me at all did you think
00:59:18
that was an age thing or do they give
00:59:20
you any cuz I know the old blacks give
00:59:22
um like dropped players or players that
00:59:24
are on the front some work on I get
00:59:26
everyone gets feedback yeah yeah what
00:59:28
sort of what what feedback did you get
00:59:30
no get more ball defensively like you
00:59:34
know just just nipple specific feedback
00:59:36
that everyone would get how long how
00:59:39
long were you upset for before it turned
00:59:40
to like a
00:59:42
rage I I remember posting in my family
00:59:46
group chat being like I didn't make it
00:59:49
and then going I was at the supermarket
00:59:52
to go home and cook dinner I remember
00:59:54
just going to my mom's and just probably
00:59:56
raging then a bit and and not raging and
01:00:00
then when I take a step back there's two
01:00:04
cutting you've had on your podcast and
01:00:05
there's Kate Heff and they don't play
01:00:08
they last year in 2023 they don't play
01:00:10
Wing defense in the A and Z but they can
01:00:14
play Wing defense at ferns level like
01:00:16
the coach will slide them there so when
01:00:18
I look at the when I put take my
01:00:20
emotional head off and put my selector
01:00:22
head on I can understand why why I
01:00:24
wasn't selected and I understand that
01:00:26
those two cover that position and
01:00:28
they're incredible athletes so after I
01:00:31
raged about myself when I stepped back
01:00:34
and kind of took my yeah put my coach's
01:00:36
head on I can understand why I didn't
01:00:37
make the team and like I was actually
01:00:39
okay with it in the end but at the time
01:00:41
I was very upset and and it's okay to
01:00:44
rage especially in your you're in a
01:00:45
circle like stages of grief or whatever
01:00:48
it is you're allowed to go through these
01:00:50
things but I can understand that you had
01:00:51
a great year yeah I did and I felt like
01:00:53
I did I was like what else do I need to
01:00:54
do so so where are things at now so
01:00:57
we're in 2024 now um it's AZ A&Z cup at
01:01:01
the time we're recording this you were
01:01:02
what third on the table yeah you're
01:01:04
where you should be um do the the silver
01:01:08
FS for this year get announced yeah
01:01:10
after this well we actually had trials
01:01:14
to go to the northern tour in December
01:01:16
and I actually made it back into the fs
01:01:18
so in January I went with the F to
01:01:20
England and I played like a four match
01:01:22
series with the F so I'm like feel like
01:01:24
I'm I'm back yeah and that was
01:01:27
incredible but it was almost like a
01:01:31
feeling of
01:01:33
like how do I explain it you know when
01:01:35
you're like in in the moment and it's
01:01:38
not too later that you reflect back on
01:01:39
it and being like man I did
01:01:41
that when I was in the when I was
01:01:44
actually in England living living it I
01:01:47
remember walking into the stadium
01:01:48
looking up and being like man I did it
01:01:51
like I'm here like how freaking cool is
01:01:54
this and my mom actually flew over to
01:01:56
what cuz like she would never not she
01:01:58
wouldn't miss 5 years of me not being in
01:02:00
the F she would not be missing it for
01:02:02
anything and I just remember being like
01:02:05
to her we had a bit of downtime and I
01:02:06
went to Hotel I'm like we're actually
01:02:08
here
01:02:10
like we did it and it wasn't just me who
01:02:13
had done it like my parents had done it
01:02:15
too to get me back there so it was a
01:02:18
really um heartfelt tour for me even
01:02:23
though I didn't play a whole lot I still
01:02:25
played a bit and just yeah knowing that
01:02:27
I even if I never make it back there
01:02:29
again knowing I did it I'm like that's
01:02:31
cool yeah and just how much harder you
01:02:33
to work than anyone else there I got I
01:02:35
got bumps just hearing that that's a
01:02:37
great story God that's a lot yeah it's a
01:02:40
lot that was yeah what was that moment
01:02:42
with your mom just like a sense of just
01:02:44
overwhelming Pride yeah it was
01:02:48
like yeah just looking up finding her in
01:02:52
the stands first of all and just looking
01:02:54
at her and connecting with her and being
01:02:55
like we did it
01:02:57
and then just once you're playing you're
01:02:58
just playing you forget about everything
01:02:59
you're in the zone but yeah that and the
01:03:01
whole tour I just and every team meeting
01:03:03
I just remember cuz no's the coach she's
01:03:06
so incredible and I remember like taking
01:03:08
in everything she's saying and trying to
01:03:10
contribute the best I can cuz I'm I
01:03:12
might never be back so may as well like
01:03:14
enjoy every moment and take every single
01:03:16
opportunity you can so so Dame Noland
01:03:19
did she give you the call in the
01:03:21
beginning of the year to say you're in
01:03:22
that she said after the trials had
01:03:24
finished she came and sat with me and
01:03:27
she said you're in I'm taking you and I
01:03:30
was like and they were taking training
01:03:32
partners and I was like I'm I in or am I
01:03:34
H in like what what in are you talking
01:03:36
about and she just like kind of like
01:03:39
paded me on the back and she was like
01:03:41
you've like you've worked so incredibly
01:03:43
hard cuz no has been there for the whole
01:03:45
journey she was there when I ruptured
01:03:46
both the AR's like she'd been on the
01:03:48
meetings to hear if I'm in or if I'm out
01:03:50
or what's happening so she knows as well
01:03:52
and she's heard through the snc and the
01:03:54
videos how hard I've had to work so yeah
01:03:56
it was really a nice moment for her to
01:03:58
be like n you've you deserve this enjoy
01:04:01
your enjoy like just go and enjoy your
01:04:03
opportunity oh that's amazing so it was
01:04:05
really nice that is so cool what what
01:04:07
makes her such a good coach everyone
01:04:10
speaks really highly I know they do way
01:04:12
I I like her style
01:04:14
like she about old school in terms of I
01:04:19
guess her approach she she doesn't she's
01:04:22
not there to be a best friend not saying
01:04:24
she's not friendly in approachable but
01:04:26
she's not there to be your best friend
01:04:28
she's the coach to get the best out of
01:04:29
us and I love that and I also don't want
01:04:32
my coach to be my best friend like I've
01:04:34
got enough of them um and just when she
01:04:39
speaks you want to listen you know some
01:04:42
people are just like that a like she
01:04:44
some real Mana yeah absolutely and
01:04:46
like I it's hard to describe unless
01:04:49
you're in the room but I just really
01:04:52
enjoy her company and I resp and I guess
01:04:56
cuz the level of respect I have for her
01:04:57
is so high that's why when she speaks it
01:05:00
holds so much weight and value and when
01:05:03
I was younger in the environment I
01:05:06
probably struggled to connect with her a
01:05:09
little bit because of my own stuff I was
01:05:12
maybe scared to go talk to her I I
01:05:15
didn't know how to approach but now I'm
01:05:16
older going back in oh sweet is if I
01:05:19
want feedback I've got to go get it if I
01:05:22
want to understand something more I've
01:05:24
got to go and so felt like when I was in
01:05:26
in jry I was able to have a better
01:05:30
connection with her because she isn't
01:05:33
going to make sure that I understand
01:05:36
everything 100% And that it's my
01:05:39
responsibility to go to her and I felt
01:05:41
like I got a lot out of her cuz I was
01:05:43
willing to go and approach just as much
01:05:47
does that make sense that makes a lot of
01:05:49
sense that makes So like um there's a
01:05:51
book I read by this guy called Joo
01:05:53
willink he's like a Navy SEAL dude it's
01:05:54
called Extreme ownership
01:05:56
and it's about just like taking control
01:05:58
of everything yourself yes and I be
01:06:00
proactive go and ask her for feedback
01:06:02
and cuz she's not scary or she seems
01:06:04
scar oh like I mean I'd probably be
01:06:07
scared of her if she was yelling at me
01:06:08
but she is she a yell Noah she's not um
01:06:12
but yeah she's just awesome and you're
01:06:14
right she's got so much mana and yeah
01:06:16
you really want to listen when she's
01:06:18
speaking what's your career highlight so
01:06:20
far would it be making the fs for the
01:06:22
first time winning um with the mystics
01:06:24
last year making it back into the silver
01:06:26
FS at the beginning of this year my
01:06:28
career highlight is actually winning
01:06:32
gold at the youth World Cup in
01:06:34
Botswana just because of how much went
01:06:37
into that like we were young we were 16
01:06:39
year olds get selected for this under 21
01:06:42
Squad and man we grinded they had us in
01:06:45
the gym like We're Young we're at Uni
01:06:46
we're at school we're going like 3 four
01:06:49
mornings a week at 6:00 a.m. to do
01:06:50
strength and conditioning I've never
01:06:52
done strength and conditioning in my
01:06:53
life at this point learning all these
01:06:55
new things getting all this conditioning
01:06:58
work track shuttles all these things I'd
01:07:00
never done before and man at camps they
01:07:04
absolutely like pummeled us for four
01:07:07
years they trained us into the ground
01:07:08
like it was amazing don't get me wrong
01:07:10
but it was
01:07:11
hard and a week be and then I got
01:07:14
selected in that team and then I got
01:07:16
made captain of that team wow and then
01:07:19
like maybe a week before me my mom and
01:07:21
dad and the team would du to fly out to
01:07:23
Botswana my n passed away
01:07:26
and she was like Liv around the corner
01:07:29
from my house so really super close with
01:07:31
my
01:07:32
grandparents and then so I had the
01:07:34
funeral my whole team came that was
01:07:37
incredible then I just left my entire
01:07:39
family to go to the other side of the
01:07:41
world to play in this tournament that
01:07:43
I'd worked so hard for and I remember my
01:07:45
parents came a few days later and my mom
01:07:47
just looked you can imagine if your mom
01:07:50
had just passed away right especially
01:07:51
cuz my mom and her mom were so close my
01:07:53
mom just like drained and I just
01:07:55
remember
01:07:56
thinking my poor mom is here on the
01:07:59
other side of the world and her mom has
01:08:01
just passed away to support me like
01:08:04
we've got to like we have to win this
01:08:08
like like and I and then the night
01:08:12
before the final I was asleep and my
01:08:15
nana like came to me in a dream and she
01:08:18
actually had her leg amputated cuz she
01:08:20
had diabetes and she in her dream we
01:08:23
were flicking in my dream we were
01:08:25
flicking through a photo album and she
01:08:27
had both legs and she was really Housey
01:08:29
looking before she passed away she
01:08:30
wasn't like looking very good and she
01:08:33
just looked like beautiful and radiant
01:08:36
and like she held my hand and she's like
01:08:38
I'm good like I'm I'm good like don't
01:08:41
worry about me like and I remember
01:08:44
waking up and just boiling my eyes out
01:08:47
to be like holy heck and
01:08:50
then I just remember like like telling
01:08:54
Mom like she like she's okay like we can
01:08:57
let her go and we can go [ __ ] win
01:08:59
this thing and then so yeah winning that
01:09:01
was like the most incredible moment and
01:09:04
just having my mom and dad there and
01:09:06
then my granddad who we left back in New
01:09:07
Zealand was with my auntie on FaceTime
01:09:10
and just that we could celebrate that
01:09:12
moment together was like honestly we
01:09:14
still talk about it as family today like
01:09:16
that was just an incredible moment for
01:09:18
to win but to be together to celebrate
01:09:21
all of that was just like I didn't foret
01:09:23
and that dream as well I know it's in
01:09:25
your own mind that it's still powerful
01:09:28
yeah yeah like it
01:09:30
was and just like at the timing timing
01:09:33
of it all and it just really got me
01:09:35
through that one more game cuz at that
01:09:37
time it's a tournament and you're
01:09:38
exhausted and you're like got to go play
01:09:40
Australia and a 60-minute final like get
01:09:43
up again one more time so um so so last
01:09:46
year the mystics won um the a cup and um
01:09:49
you were Sulu Fitzpatrick was um the
01:09:52
captain and that was like her last game
01:09:54
what a send off and then you you took
01:09:56
over did you were you like ear to be
01:09:58
captain or you get shoulder tapped how
01:10:01
do you find out you Captain that's a big
01:10:03
responsibility in a big honor I had been
01:10:05
like the Vice Captain for like 5 years
01:10:07
okay so like I'd been there for a while
01:10:10
like even maybe longer um so I'd always
01:10:13
you're like Prince Charles waiting
01:10:16
waiting for the queen I'd always been in
01:10:17
a leadership role at Mystic since like
01:10:19
my second year in the team um but I said
01:10:23
to
01:10:24
Tia I I really don't want to lead this I
01:10:26
really don't want to lead this team if
01:10:28
they don't want me to lead like can you
01:10:30
please put a survey out like ask the
01:10:32
girls who they want cuz if it's not me I
01:10:34
don't want to do it um like that would
01:10:37
just be weird right like you need you
01:10:39
got to have the backing you got have the
01:10:40
backing otherwise it's hard and like I
01:10:42
would I am happy not to do it if they
01:10:45
think somebody else was better for the
01:10:46
job um turns out they did choose me so I
01:10:50
got the job and you'd hope so after 5
01:10:53
years as Vice
01:10:55
you know what I'm going to just
01:10:56
relinquish all duties at this point
01:10:58
somebody else can do it um probably just
01:11:01
cuz the girls also know how much I love
01:11:03
the team and I will do anything for the
01:11:06
team so they probably thought oh yeah
01:11:08
she can deal with all of that extra
01:11:09
stuff yeah and from what we've talked
01:11:10
about in the last hour like you probably
01:11:12
like proved yourself with how you how
01:11:14
you held yourself uh when you were not
01:11:16
playing as much as how you've held
01:11:18
yourself on the court I don't know yeah
01:11:21
and probably cuz they're like oh she's
01:11:23
been waiting long enough to do the job
01:11:24
just give it to her
01:11:25
she's not going to go away otherwise um
01:11:28
what about goal setting plans for the
01:11:29
future uh plans for the future
01:11:32
honestly like just be healthy like I'm
01:11:36
really realistic about my future um I
01:11:40
take it year by year like if my body's
01:11:42
not going to allow me to do it I I'm not
01:11:44
even 30 yet um I've still need to live
01:11:47
in this body for a really long time so
01:11:50
if I'm going to keep smashing it into
01:11:51
the ground I've got to be prepared to
01:11:53
not be able to do much later in
01:11:56
and I don't want to do that so in terms
01:11:58
of sport my goals are just to take it
01:12:00
year by so I don't really have any um I
01:12:04
like I'd love to get back in the ferns
01:12:06
at the end of the a andz season I'd love
01:12:07
to win this a andz season I'd love to
01:12:09
play good netball
01:12:11
but as far as that goes not much you how
01:12:15
old what are you 277 yeah are you
01:12:17
worried about life post netball and how
01:12:19
that's going to look in terms of you
01:12:21
know your your physical carcass yeah am
01:12:24
a bit and that's why I'm trying to be
01:12:26
really proactive and looking after
01:12:28
myself now but also not trying to plan
01:12:31
too far ahead in case I actually can't
01:12:32
get
01:12:33
there yeah yeah cuz you don't want to be
01:12:35
like a a 35y old mom that that's you're
01:12:39
rubbing your knees before you go to back
01:12:41
with you I want to teach my kids like
01:12:44
that they can't beat me in anything
01:12:46
physical until they're at least like 17
01:12:49
like I want to be really competitive
01:12:50
like owning them in all Backyard Sports
01:12:54
not like being the on the sideline cuz I
01:12:56
can't move and what about outside of
01:12:58
netball what are you into what do you do
01:13:00
um to be honest I'm really thinking hard
01:13:02
about that I don't think I want to be a
01:13:04
teacher I but I don't know what I want
01:13:06
to do I love education and I love
01:13:08
teaching about health but I would love
01:13:11
to go and somehow teach it to people who
01:13:13
really want to be there like and I don't
01:13:16
know who that is but like maybe adult
01:13:18
education in some way or some
01:13:21
form but I don't know what that looks
01:13:24
like and what about coaching you mention
01:13:27
you did a bit of your a bit of coaching
01:13:29
when you were no no that seems like airm
01:13:31
that you've said no four times yeah I I
01:13:34
would maybe one day like later in my
01:13:36
career but not anytime soon yeah yeah
01:13:38
yeah and and what about your partner you
01:13:40
mentioned before you met your partner on
01:13:42
Bumble how long have you been together
01:13:44
uh a year and a halfish I so you've
01:13:47
deleted the apps
01:13:48
yeah I
01:13:51
actually we after our first date we went
01:13:53
on our second date and like after that
01:13:55
we spent like 5 days with each other
01:13:57
without leaving and like he's just why
01:14:00
was that a lockdown thing or by choice
01:14:01
no by choice like he's just my person
01:14:03
and I love him with all my soul and he's
01:14:06
just my person and I don't know what our
01:14:09
future looks like but I just not like I
01:14:11
don't know how to explain it but I just
01:14:12
know in my soul that we're going to have
01:14:14
a really like joyful happy life probably
01:14:17
cuz he's not stubborn like me and like
01:14:19
he's is he more like your D he's more
01:14:21
like my D he's more calm and like if I'm
01:14:24
like my creation
01:14:26
like he's just there like but he can put
01:14:30
me in my place when I need it and I need
01:14:32
that um so we yeah we just have the most
01:14:34
amazing relationship and I just feel so
01:14:36
thankful that I somehow met him yeah how
01:14:40
were you quite active on the apps no he
01:14:42
was just like up in my area for work
01:14:46
randomly staying with a friend and then
01:14:48
we match and he was like do you want to
01:14:50
do this this this and this and I was
01:14:51
like I'm not doing any of those things
01:14:52
with you all of the people in the a
01:14:55
small tiny Community I live in know me
01:14:57
because it's a small place like no I'm
01:14:59
not having people know my business then
01:15:02
we ended up going
01:15:04
skateboarding yeah know random what were
01:15:06
his initial suggestions oh like dinner
01:15:09
and like coffee and like all these plac
01:15:11
very reasonable which I would I would
01:15:13
know people at these places potentially
01:15:15
so I'm like I'm not having people know
01:15:16
my business so it was like I I had
01:15:19
training on my own training from like
01:15:21
7:00 to 8:30 so I was like I can meet
01:15:22
you at 8:30 like a.m. and he was like
01:15:25
that's bit okay weird I was like but
01:15:27
then I've got an appointment at 9:30 so
01:15:28
like fit in that Gap or like jog on and
01:15:31
he was like no no like that's fine so
01:15:33
yeah we went somehow to the skate park
01:15:35
[ __ ] you wouldn't want to be hitting the
01:15:36
achilles with a board would you no I
01:15:38
know I know wow I that's not something I
01:15:41
sort of thought about but I yeah suppose
01:15:42
the area you're in you
01:15:44
ftin place like but also um like you
01:15:47
mentioned before about people spotting
01:15:48
you at the airport and in the the
01:15:50
airplane when you you're crying that
01:15:52
sort of recognition I suppose you don't
01:15:54
know who I gu I was in all my kids so
01:15:57
it's easier to spot me but like my local
01:15:59
you know and I'm a teacher as well I
01:16:01
don't want kids being out Miss on a date
01:16:04
like you know like and because you can
01:16:06
tell if it's a first date right it's
01:16:07
awkward and it's weird just the way they
01:16:10
interact and talk with each other it
01:16:11
does big first absolutely I do not want
01:16:14
that yeah oh that's cool well it seems
01:16:16
like everything's going really well and
01:16:18
um yeah touch I don't even think that's
01:16:20
word yeah um but best of luck for
01:16:22
everything are you are you you doing it
01:16:24
like extra good job with stren strength
01:16:26
and conditioning to make sure lots yeah
01:16:29
and like I'm on a bit of a different
01:16:30
program to the rest of my team just
01:16:32
because of like how I am like I I do
01:16:34
need to be treated a little bit
01:16:36
differently um I've got the most amazing
01:16:38
massage therapist who absolutely
01:16:39
annihilates me every week um heaps of
01:16:42
pull heaps of recovery so everything is
01:16:45
good brilliant hey it's been wonderful
01:16:47
to sit down with you today I've really
01:16:48
enjoyed it it's been cool it's um I feel
01:16:51
like a lot of people can get a lot out
01:16:52
of this as well like I did think when I
01:16:54
was coming on I was like [ __ ] I'm boring
01:16:56
compared to all the like cuz I've
01:16:57
listened to the podcast I was like
01:16:58
there's some really awesome people on
01:16:59
here and I'm like what the hell have I
01:17:00
got to offer oh no I think you you'd be
01:17:03
you'd be surprised um maybe if you don't
01:17:05
appreciate it now maybe when you get
01:17:06
older like post Nall you'll realize just
01:17:09
how amazing um it is to come back from
01:17:12
what you've been through yeah and you've
01:17:13
done it with a smile on your face for
01:17:15
the most part yes to the outside world
01:17:18
smiling yes all right hey best of luck
01:17:20
for the um the rest of the Mystic season
01:17:22
and thez cup and um whatever the future
01:17:25
holds okay
01:17:31
[Music]
