WEBVTT - How Tom Mitchell utilises perfectionism to become an unstoppable force 🥇 0:00:03.120 --> 0:00:08.039 As someone who loves sport, loves Ozzie Rules footy, and 0:00:08.119 --> 0:00:11.640 as a kid especially, I was just fascinated with the 0:00:11.720 --> 0:00:14.960 behind the scenes life of your sporting heroes. You know, 0:00:15.040 --> 0:00:17.400 what do they do that you don't see on the TV? 0:00:17.680 --> 0:00:19.520 What do you do that they don't hear about? 0:00:20.239 --> 0:00:21.919 And it's interesting as. 0:00:21.840 --> 0:00:23.919 You get older and as you get better insights, particularly 0:00:23.960 --> 0:00:25.960 in the career that I've had in sports science and 0:00:26.000 --> 0:00:29.360 fitness and been lucky enough to meet a lot of 0:00:29.360 --> 0:00:34.560 elite athletes, it never ceases to amaze me. The sacrifices 0:00:34.640 --> 0:00:39.400 made the commitment, the mindset. So today on the wood 0:00:39.400 --> 0:00:41.680 Life we are in for a treat with one of 0:00:41.720 --> 0:00:46.720 Australia's best Ozsie Rules footballer, Brandlow Metallist joining us in 0:00:46.760 --> 0:00:49.640 the studio to give us just a little sneak. 0:00:49.400 --> 0:00:51.800 Peek into what being an elite athlete is all about. 0:00:52.680 --> 0:00:54.760 Then we're going to dive into some fitness fans and 0:00:54.800 --> 0:00:57.040 find out which ones are worth trying and which ones 0:00:57.040 --> 0:00:57.920 you need to avoid. 0:00:58.360 --> 0:01:01.880 I never knew that sauna suits existed until recently. Do 0:01:01.960 --> 0:01:02.760 they actually work? 0:01:03.200 --> 0:01:07.440 I've heard the phrase barefoot running. Is it a fad 0:01:07.800 --> 0:01:09.360 or is it actually better for the body? 0:01:09.720 --> 0:01:12.080 I'm thinking of investing in a stand up desk as 0:01:12.080 --> 0:01:14.520 a better alternative than sitting at my desk all day. 0:01:14.640 --> 0:01:15.800 Are they worth the investment? 0:01:16.280 --> 0:01:18.880 I'll be hating or rating those later in the show. 0:01:19.520 --> 0:01:43.680 This is the wood Life, let's get into it. Look, 0:01:43.720 --> 0:01:44.880 I feel like I say. 0:01:44.640 --> 0:01:46.759 We've got a very special guest every single work. That's 0:01:46.760 --> 0:01:49.480 because they are all special. But to me, this one's 0:01:49.520 --> 0:01:51.560 extra special. One because he's a good made of mine. 0:01:51.800 --> 0:01:54.600 Two because I'm a mad Hawthorn fan and he is 0:01:54.640 --> 0:01:57.640 a brilliant Hawthorn football, a brandlew metalist and founder of 0:01:57.720 --> 0:02:02.320 ball Magnets, a brilliant AFL training at for kids. Tom Mitchell, 0:02:02.360 --> 0:02:03.840 Welcome to the WOODLFE mate. 0:02:03.640 --> 0:02:04.640 Thanks Woody, good to be here. 0:02:04.680 --> 0:02:06.680 I know you're sugarcoating all of that, but I've got 0:02:06.720 --> 0:02:08.400 sugarcoating you here nonetheless. 0:02:08.760 --> 0:02:11.840 So we're all about or I'm all about progress, not 0:02:11.880 --> 0:02:15.040 perfection here on the wood Life. But becoming an elite 0:02:15.080 --> 0:02:17.359 athlete as you are to the. 0:02:17.360 --> 0:02:19.000 Level that you're at would take. 0:02:19.800 --> 0:02:22.359 I can't even imagine the amount of sacrifice in all 0:02:22.400 --> 0:02:25.880 different aspects of your life. So is there any space 0:02:26.360 --> 0:02:29.280 for someone like you and other elite athletes for progress 0:02:29.320 --> 0:02:32.800 not perfection in your training or do you just have 0:02:32.840 --> 0:02:33.720 to shoot for perfection. 0:02:34.080 --> 0:02:35.679 Well, yeah, it's a good question. I think. 0:02:36.720 --> 0:02:38.680 I think what footy fans, I guess see is the 0:02:38.680 --> 0:02:40.680 finished product on game day, but they don't see the 0:02:40.720 --> 0:02:42.880 hard work and the sacrifice that does go on behind 0:02:42.880 --> 0:02:45.320 the scenes. And there's so many things that players do 0:02:45.440 --> 0:02:48.480 to go to the integral to get everything out of 0:02:48.520 --> 0:02:51.200 their bodies, which cop in absolute battering. Some of the 0:02:51.200 --> 0:02:53.720 things that guys play with you would have no idea about. 0:02:53.840 --> 0:02:56.640 But I think I probably was, to be honest, I 0:02:56.639 --> 0:03:00.600 think early in my career a perfectionist and that drive 0:03:00.639 --> 0:03:02.240 to just be the best you can be and be 0:03:02.240 --> 0:03:03.600 better and be better and be better. And I think 0:03:03.639 --> 0:03:06.040 as I've got older a little bit more mature, tried 0:03:06.080 --> 0:03:07.720 to be a little bit more lenient because I have 0:03:07.800 --> 0:03:10.200 more of a holistic approach to life in general and happiness, 0:03:10.280 --> 0:03:14.200 because that perfectionist approach can have a toll on your mentally. Answer, 0:03:14.440 --> 0:03:16.840 I've sort of adopted that progress is still a good thing. 0:03:16.919 --> 0:03:19.600 Like if you're finding little ways to get better at footy, 0:03:19.600 --> 0:03:22.359 training or something in life in general, if you're improving, 0:03:22.440 --> 0:03:24.400 I think that's a good thing. So obviously, as an 0:03:24.400 --> 0:03:26.040 elite athlete, you have to. But I've been a little 0:03:26.080 --> 0:03:27.760 bit more leaning, I would say, last few years. 0:03:28.040 --> 0:03:31.960 It's a really interesting answer, and I do think it one. 0:03:32.800 --> 0:03:35.160 You know, you've reached a status in the game too, 0:03:35.240 --> 0:03:38.200 you have. You know, you've aged and you've matured, you're. 0:03:38.080 --> 0:03:38.920 Sort of renowned. 0:03:39.520 --> 0:03:40.760 I know you're not going to want to pump your 0:03:40.760 --> 0:03:43.400 times out, but you know there's always footage of you 0:03:43.520 --> 0:03:46.360 doing the extra skill work. And I know you know 0:03:46.560 --> 0:03:48.880 some of the knows you that you're always doing every 0:03:49.000 --> 0:03:50.880 little thing that you can to get the best out 0:03:50.880 --> 0:03:52.360 of your body and the best out of your mind. 0:03:52.480 --> 0:03:54.800 But are you suggesting you still do all of that, 0:03:55.200 --> 0:03:57.760 but you now have the capability to switch off and 0:03:57.840 --> 0:03:59.120 switch on a little bit more. 0:03:59.240 --> 0:04:00.000 I think so. Yeah. 0:04:00.120 --> 0:04:03.120 So I haven't told this story too often, but I 0:04:03.160 --> 0:04:05.120 didn't have a day off at Hawthorn. My first five 0:04:05.200 --> 0:04:06.680 years at Hawthorne, I didn't take a day off, which 0:04:06.720 --> 0:04:09.200 is don't encourage I don't encourage anyone to do that. 0:04:09.240 --> 0:04:10.240 I was on a path to. 0:04:10.240 --> 0:04:13.240 Burn out any two thousand days straight. Yeah. 0:04:13.280 --> 0:04:15.400 The thing was that I was being rewarded with it 0:04:15.440 --> 0:04:17.160 through performance and things, and I was like Okay, I 0:04:17.240 --> 0:04:19.000 got to keep doing this. So our day off was 0:04:19.000 --> 0:04:21.000 Wednesday at the footy club. I'd be in there every Wednesday, 0:04:21.040 --> 0:04:24.919 no players would be. There would be physio massage, a 0:04:24.920 --> 0:04:28.599 bit of extra prehab or weights, footies ice bas. I 0:04:28.640 --> 0:04:30.760 did this consistently for four or five years, and that 0:04:30.800 --> 0:04:32.680 would be from eight till twelve on my day off 0:04:32.720 --> 0:04:34.560 and then obviously because we don't get weekends of because 0:04:34.560 --> 0:04:37.359 we play weekends, so I would have you know, you know, 0:04:37.440 --> 0:04:37.680 it was. 0:04:37.680 --> 0:04:38.240 It was full on. 0:04:38.320 --> 0:04:40.520 And so I think having the business having ball magnets 0:04:40.520 --> 0:04:43.080 has given me a release because I've found a passion, 0:04:43.520 --> 0:04:45.160 found something else. I found a lot of pride and 0:04:45.279 --> 0:04:48.239 enjoyment in mentoring and helping younger players. You get fulfillment 0:04:48.279 --> 0:04:50.400 out of, you know, seeing them taking their games to 0:04:50.440 --> 0:04:52.839 another level, and I think that's just a natural. 0:04:52.560 --> 0:04:53.400 Sign of maturity. 0:04:54.360 --> 0:04:56.080 But yeah, it was an interesting time, Like you know, 0:04:56.160 --> 0:04:58.440 I was, you know, as you said, receiving all these 0:04:58.440 --> 0:05:00.960 accolades and pats on the back, and that reinforced everything 0:05:01.000 --> 0:05:03.039 I was doing. But you know, in the end, I 0:05:03.080 --> 0:05:05.080 was just going to crash. So I've sort of changed 0:05:05.080 --> 0:05:05.640 my approach a bit. 0:05:05.680 --> 0:05:05.760 You know. 0:05:05.839 --> 0:05:07.599 It's interesting. I did a similar thing. 0:05:07.800 --> 0:05:12.880 It was when I was growing twenty eight. Initially, I 0:05:12.960 --> 0:05:17.960 was literally just fifteen sixteen hour days up doing videos 0:05:17.960 --> 0:05:20.960 and content at six am, still at the gym, training people, 0:05:21.400 --> 0:05:24.880 And it was because it was working. It kind of 0:05:24.960 --> 0:05:29.320 unhealthily reinforced it. And it wasn't until the circuit breaker 0:05:29.360 --> 0:05:31.920 of Sneeze and Evy coming over and having children and 0:05:32.080 --> 0:05:35.040 then experiencing I think the joys of life outside the 0:05:35.080 --> 0:05:37.640 business bubble kind of smacked me in the face so 0:05:38.279 --> 0:05:40.480 nicely that I went, hang on a second. You know, 0:05:40.600 --> 0:05:44.719 I'm sure if I work smarter, not harder, and get 0:05:44.720 --> 0:05:45.839 a better balance here. 0:05:45.800 --> 0:05:48.200 Then you know, the business is not going to die. 0:05:48.360 --> 0:05:50.279 You're not going to become a crap footballer if you 0:05:50.320 --> 0:05:51.560 don't do the extra Wednesday. 0:05:51.560 --> 0:05:52.000 It's still a. 0:05:51.920 --> 0:05:53.440 Constant battle on your head, though, isn't it. I feel 0:05:53.480 --> 0:05:55.880 like I'm constantly battling with Okay, am I doing enough? 0:05:55.880 --> 0:05:56.440 Am I doing enough? 0:05:56.440 --> 0:05:58.440 Because it's probably not as much as what I was doing, 0:05:58.480 --> 0:06:00.760 but that was more detrimental. So you've got to have 0:06:00.839 --> 0:06:02.680 those ongoing conversations in your own head. 0:06:02.680 --> 0:06:04.080 But yeah, it's weird. It's a funny. 0:06:04.200 --> 0:06:05.680 People tell you less can be more. 0:06:05.760 --> 0:06:09.159 Yeah, they do, and I think if you're wired kind 0:06:09.160 --> 0:06:12.320 of against that, you don't necessarily accept it. So it's 0:06:12.360 --> 0:06:16.680 really interesting that your drive for perfectionism has softened a 0:06:16.720 --> 0:06:19.520 little bit as you've matured and as your career has 0:06:19.520 --> 0:06:22.440 gone on. When you were younger, where do you think 0:06:22.480 --> 0:06:23.520 it actually came from. 0:06:24.720 --> 0:06:27.920 Yeah, it's a I don't know, maybe a little bit 0:06:27.920 --> 0:06:30.000 of Like my dad was a football player and I 0:06:30.080 --> 0:06:31.839 used to watch him even when he was finished footing, 0:06:31.880 --> 0:06:33.719 he would train hard, and my mum would train hard 0:06:33.720 --> 0:06:36.719 and things like that. I think maybe that, And I 0:06:36.720 --> 0:06:39.479 think making rep squads and it being so competitive, it 0:06:39.520 --> 0:06:41.200 sort of forces it out of you, like you have 0:06:41.240 --> 0:06:43.880 to go that little bit extra to get the advantage. 0:06:43.920 --> 0:06:46.599 And I think, you know, I took that really seriously 0:06:46.640 --> 0:06:49.000 and it was with you know, every rep of every session, 0:06:49.080 --> 0:06:50.840 like I didn't miss a beat and I still don't, 0:06:51.120 --> 0:06:52.560 sort of something I prided myself on. 0:06:52.640 --> 0:06:56.000 So you were thinking, I want to be in AFL football. 0:06:56.080 --> 0:06:58.880 There's no qualms about it. Yeah, I'm one hundred percent 0:06:58.960 --> 0:07:00.720 sure this is what I want to do with my life. 0:07:00.920 --> 0:07:05.280 And then the next step to that was and I 0:07:05.400 --> 0:07:09.680 know if I perhaps don't do everything not ninety nine 0:07:09.720 --> 0:07:12.200 percent yeah, one hundred percent I might not make it, 0:07:12.240 --> 0:07:13.520 and I'm not going to take that chance. 0:07:13.680 --> 0:07:16.840 Yeah, I think so, And I think, you know, which. 0:07:16.640 --> 0:07:18.440 Is very much an eighteen year old way of thinking. 0:07:18.680 --> 0:07:20.320 Like I look at myself as a player now and 0:07:20.320 --> 0:07:22.200 I'm a bit of older, but you know, I wouldn't 0:07:22.240 --> 0:07:26.400 say I'm I'm definitely not fastest, fittest, strongest, you know, 0:07:26.520 --> 0:07:29.240 pretty I think intuitive, smart player, like I read the 0:07:29.240 --> 0:07:31.400 game quite well and know how to find the ball 0:07:31.440 --> 0:07:33.680 and you know, set up teammates into space and things 0:07:33.720 --> 0:07:36.360 like that. But I think if any I think the 0:07:36.360 --> 0:07:37.880 one thing I can hang my hat on is any 0:07:38.000 --> 0:07:40.120 if you ask any of my teammates, you know, who 0:07:40.160 --> 0:07:42.560 puts in the most work, I think that would I've been. 0:07:42.640 --> 0:07:43.440 I've assume the. 0:07:43.400 --> 0:07:45.520 Top three, and so I think, you know, that's what 0:07:45.560 --> 0:07:47.880 I've sort of prided myself on my career and sort 0:07:47.920 --> 0:07:49.240 of got me to a point. And in terms of 0:07:49.280 --> 0:07:52.080 the perfectionism, like it definitely has lightened. And rather than 0:07:52.120 --> 0:07:55.640 doing you know, silly eight to five pm days of 0:07:56.120 --> 0:07:57.800 you know, I know people work those hours, but you know, 0:07:57.840 --> 0:08:01.600 physical training, I've broken it out into more process. So 0:08:01.640 --> 0:08:03.680 I've got five k things I need to tick off 0:08:03.680 --> 0:08:04.080 every week. 0:08:04.760 --> 0:08:07.840 So with these younger players coming through, the eighteen nineteen 0:08:07.920 --> 0:08:11.480 year olds have just been drafted, do you put your 0:08:11.600 --> 0:08:15.000 arm around them and tell them perhaps to take their 0:08:15.000 --> 0:08:16.600 foot off the accelerate a little bit, or do you 0:08:16.600 --> 0:08:18.720 think that's something that you have to discover yourself on 0:08:18.760 --> 0:08:21.440 your own journey and it's not up to you to 0:08:21.480 --> 0:08:22.080 tell them that. 0:08:22.160 --> 0:08:25.200 It's a fine balance because a lot of I guess 0:08:25.200 --> 0:08:27.720 senior players and coaches of the opinion of that balance, 0:08:27.760 --> 0:08:30.480 But I also think, how badly do you want to 0:08:30.480 --> 0:08:30.720 make it? 0:08:30.760 --> 0:08:31.480 How could you want to be? 0:08:31.960 --> 0:08:35.440 Like I think you'd rather overshoot than undershoot. But sometimes 0:08:35.480 --> 0:08:38.480 even young players or young people in business or new employees, 0:08:38.520 --> 0:08:40.800 they may not know what their limit or threshold is 0:08:40.800 --> 0:08:43.240 because they never take themselves to that level. So I 0:08:43.280 --> 0:08:45.280 think they need to learn to over Everyone needs to 0:08:45.360 --> 0:08:48.040 learn to overshoot, because then you know where your tipping 0:08:48.080 --> 0:08:48.360 point is. 0:08:48.400 --> 0:08:49.400 You never know where your tipping point is. 0:08:49.400 --> 0:08:51.280 If you don't cross it, you think you one hundred 0:08:51.280 --> 0:08:53.000 and twenty, you don't think you can get to you 0:08:53.000 --> 0:08:54.640 one hundred and twenty percent, and then you realize that 0:08:54.679 --> 0:08:55.319 you're eighty percent. 0:08:55.600 --> 0:08:56.640 Given insight to our. 0:08:56.520 --> 0:08:59.800 Listeners, about just how much you train, what happens with 0:08:59.840 --> 0:09:01.280 you food, you sleep. 0:09:01.040 --> 0:09:03.080 Well, I think what you touched on before. Another thing 0:09:03.080 --> 0:09:04.880 I've learned to do is reward myself. So at the 0:09:04.960 --> 0:09:06.680 end of a big training block or every big game, 0:09:06.800 --> 0:09:09.200 like you know, I'm pretty disciplined with diet in terms 0:09:09.240 --> 0:09:12.280 of Monday to game day, So I just sort of 0:09:12.360 --> 0:09:15.440 use the rule of common sense, Like I know what 0:09:15.520 --> 0:09:18.240 junk food is, so Lolly's chocolate ice cream, soft drink 0:09:18.840 --> 0:09:21.640 and near that crap chips, I just won't touch that 0:09:22.120 --> 0:09:23.679 until the day after a game. 0:09:23.720 --> 0:09:26.280 The day after a game, I'll allow myself to do that. 0:09:26.360 --> 0:09:29.120 I feel like if I've given myself every chance to 0:09:29.160 --> 0:09:32.040 prepare and play well, then you know I'm putting all 0:09:32.040 --> 0:09:34.880 the odds in my favor. Really, I definitely realize the 0:09:34.920 --> 0:09:38.120 impact of eating clean and well has on energy levels 0:09:38.120 --> 0:09:40.080 and things compared to when you don't. So I can 0:09:40.400 --> 0:09:41.920 feel the difference in my training and. 0:09:42.080 --> 0:09:43.920 Carrying a few extra kilos if that's. 0:09:43.760 --> 0:09:45.920 Fat, one or two kilos is doesn't sound like much. 0:09:45.920 --> 0:09:47.839 You're running fifteen game, it's a lot. 0:09:47.960 --> 0:09:49.680 Yeah, you know, you've got to recover properly. 0:09:49.800 --> 0:09:52.160 And they say every running step is three times your body. Wait, 0:09:52.200 --> 0:09:53.720 going through your three bodies. 0:09:53.720 --> 0:09:55.120 So yeah, every. 0:09:55.480 --> 0:09:58.400 Injuries, join injuries, everything through extrakelos. 0:09:58.480 --> 0:09:59.280 Yeah. 0:09:59.320 --> 0:10:03.360 But yeah, in terms of food, like I yeah, I 0:10:03.400 --> 0:10:06.200 go to an organic fruit shop every Monday pretty much, 0:10:06.200 --> 0:10:09.040 and I stuck up on just the basics fruit and vegetables. 0:10:09.120 --> 0:10:11.680 Eat a lot of fish, a lot of chicken. There's 0:10:11.720 --> 0:10:14.200 someone of protein to help recover. I'm not big on 0:10:14.240 --> 0:10:15.839 supplements or anything. I sort of trying and use the 0:10:16.120 --> 0:10:19.960 natural diet. Some players use proteins and supplements, but I'm 0:10:19.960 --> 0:10:23.360 pretty natural and I just use a common sensrule of knowing, 0:10:23.880 --> 0:10:25.280 just knowing what's good, trying. 0:10:25.120 --> 0:10:28.320 Real food, unprocessed, whole ingredients. 0:10:27.880 --> 0:10:30.360 And I think, you know it's important, like tonight, for example, 0:10:30.400 --> 0:10:31.640 I'm going out with a few of the guys. Like 0:10:31.679 --> 0:10:33.719 that's important from a social point of view. But I 0:10:33.760 --> 0:10:35.400 don't want to be going out for dinner every night 0:10:35.480 --> 0:10:37.600 like I do. Try and cook two three nights a 0:10:37.600 --> 0:10:40.040 week minimum if I can. And obviously the social part 0:10:40.080 --> 0:10:43.600 is important. So allow yourself to still live and live life, 0:10:43.640 --> 0:10:44.720 you know when you can as well. 0:10:44.840 --> 0:10:47.040 Now you said before that you reward yourself, and I 0:10:47.080 --> 0:10:49.000 know you're referring to you know, on a Sunday. If 0:10:49.000 --> 0:10:51.079 you've played on a Saturday, you'll have some lollies or 0:10:51.120 --> 0:10:51.960 some chocolate or something. 0:10:52.080 --> 0:10:52.720 Let your hair down. 0:10:53.360 --> 0:10:55.520 What about Because this is something that I'm always telling 0:10:55.520 --> 0:10:57.200 our listeners and I'm always telling my twenty eight is 0:10:57.240 --> 0:10:59.040 to reward yourself on the journey. For example, if they're 0:10:59.040 --> 0:11:01.200 trying to lose twenty k and they've lost five killers 0:11:01.200 --> 0:11:03.240 in the first month, I will say them, not with 0:11:03.280 --> 0:11:05.040 lollies and chocolate. I don't want them to put that 0:11:05.040 --> 0:11:06.679 weight back on. But I might say, you know, get 0:11:06.720 --> 0:11:10.040 yourself a message or running shoes. You know, don't wait 0:11:10.200 --> 0:11:12.439 till the whole twenty kilos has lost to sort of 0:11:12.440 --> 0:11:15.800 pat yourself on the back. What do you like bigger 0:11:15.880 --> 0:11:17.480 picture at rewarding yourself. 0:11:17.679 --> 0:11:18.280 It's a good one. 0:11:18.440 --> 0:11:21.920 Yeah, I'm not really into too many like superficial things 0:11:21.960 --> 0:11:25.800 like I guess rewarding myself with buying things for clothes 0:11:25.920 --> 0:11:29.440 or cars or anything like that. Like I probably do 0:11:29.480 --> 0:11:32.360 fit under the umbrella of more, you know, not being 0:11:32.360 --> 0:11:35.959 satisfied and whether again it's the same conversation of that 0:11:36.280 --> 0:11:37.800 may not be healthy, but that's just I think a 0:11:37.840 --> 0:11:40.120 little bit how I'm wired. Like I think it's kind 0:11:40.160 --> 0:11:41.800 of just how you become wired as an athlete. I 0:11:41.800 --> 0:11:44.000 think like you just keep going and going, and you 0:11:44.040 --> 0:11:44.840 want more and more and more. 0:11:45.280 --> 0:11:49.760 Spoken about the highs. What about injuries? 0:11:50.160 --> 0:11:53.680 Now, you had a fairly horrific injury not that long ago, 0:11:53.840 --> 0:11:55.640 broken leg, missed the whole season. 0:11:56.960 --> 0:11:58.199 Our listeners have. 0:11:58.240 --> 0:12:01.560 Setbacks, fall off the wag and have a bad weekend, 0:12:02.280 --> 0:12:04.439 drop the ball for a month or two, get an injury, 0:12:04.520 --> 0:12:08.920 whatever it might be. What's your mindset around coming back? 0:12:09.000 --> 0:12:11.600 I mean, you've had a very serious injury and your 0:12:11.800 --> 0:12:14.640 body is your career. So you won the Brown Law 0:12:14.679 --> 0:12:18.520 Metal and got a broken leg. How did you mentally 0:12:18.559 --> 0:12:19.840 and physically come back from that? 0:12:20.160 --> 0:12:21.360 Yeah? That was a huge challenge. 0:12:21.360 --> 0:12:23.160 So I went from being at the top of my 0:12:23.240 --> 0:12:25.080 game the first session back in the new year. I 0:12:25.120 --> 0:12:26.560 was I was fit, I was strong, I was going 0:12:26.600 --> 0:12:28.120 to be better than I was the year before, and 0:12:28.160 --> 0:12:31.640 I was so excited and then in a heartbeat, yeah, 0:12:32.160 --> 0:12:33.240 you know, season's over. 0:12:33.040 --> 0:12:35.000 I remember looking my leg and it was all over 0:12:35.000 --> 0:12:37.719 the shot like not good, like facing the wrong way. 0:12:37.720 --> 0:12:39.520 I'm like, god, I'm even going to play foot again. 0:12:39.520 --> 0:12:43.640 So it was pretty shocked and the doctor was out. 0:12:43.640 --> 0:12:44.520 I'm like, what's going to happen. 0:12:44.720 --> 0:12:46.960 I'm in trouble, aren't And he said, he said, it's 0:12:47.000 --> 0:12:48.160 not good, but you should be all right. 0:12:48.440 --> 0:12:49.280 It took a little while. 0:12:49.320 --> 0:12:51.720 Obviously the first month was a challenge, but I learned 0:12:51.720 --> 0:12:53.920 so much for that for that period, and my approach 0:12:53.960 --> 0:12:56.800 to anything now is two words, and they get thrown 0:12:56.800 --> 0:12:59.719 around a lot, but gratitude and perspective and their two 0:12:59.800 --> 0:13:02.439 things that I lean on a lot, even in week 0:13:02.480 --> 0:13:04.160 to week footy, Like if I have a bad game, 0:13:04.559 --> 0:13:06.880 I drive to the game. Every time I'm driving the McGr, 0:13:06.920 --> 0:13:08.800 I say, this is my childhood dream. 0:13:08.840 --> 0:13:09.320 How good is this? 0:13:09.360 --> 0:13:11.760 I'm driving to play the MCG in front of fifty 0:13:11.800 --> 0:13:14.480 thousand people. So many people would killed to be in 0:13:14.520 --> 0:13:15.760 my position. I'm so lucky. 0:13:15.760 --> 0:13:18.959 I've worked so hard for this, enjoy it, like have that. 0:13:19.000 --> 0:13:22.360 Approach, And when I couldn't play footy, it was how 0:13:22.360 --> 0:13:25.120 good is this? I've got this family of support, I've 0:13:25.120 --> 0:13:28.160 got this network of people who are helping me. Here's 0:13:28.160 --> 0:13:30.520 some more opportunities that have come from. You know, who 0:13:30.600 --> 0:13:32.280 knows where the ball magnet would have bossomed if I 0:13:32.280 --> 0:13:33.760 didn't have the time to start thinking about what I'll 0:13:33.760 --> 0:13:35.880 do post footy And now I'm doing it in my 0:13:35.920 --> 0:13:39.200 footy career when you know, I'm probably running a business 0:13:39.200 --> 0:13:41.640 that's more relevant while I'm playing. So there's wins here 0:13:41.679 --> 0:13:45.640 and losses in the physical component. But yeah, I think 0:13:45.679 --> 0:13:47.440 that's just one thing I learned throughout that whole year 0:13:47.480 --> 0:13:48.400 of missing a year of footy. 0:13:48.720 --> 0:13:52.600 Now you mentioned before that you've got a company called 0:13:52.640 --> 0:13:54.559 ball Magnets. Do you want to tell our listeners a 0:13:54.600 --> 0:13:56.520 little bit about what it's all about, because I bet 0:13:56.559 --> 0:13:59.520 there's heaps of out listeners that have young kids that 0:13:59.559 --> 0:14:02.560 could really benefit from this, this great, great free program 0:14:02.559 --> 0:14:03.040 that you're unning. 0:14:03.080 --> 0:14:03.400 I think so. 0:14:03.520 --> 0:14:03.760 Yeah. 0:14:03.840 --> 0:14:08.480 So basically, ball Magnets is a free app. It's a 0:14:08.520 --> 0:14:12.280 training app for AFL, so to any AFL skills training app. 0:14:12.320 --> 0:14:16.200 We do fitness workout similar to yourself. We do skill sessions, 0:14:16.200 --> 0:14:19.080 we give tips and insights around you know, players who 0:14:19.080 --> 0:14:21.880 play a certain position, so the co founders and myself 0:14:21.880 --> 0:14:24.320 Patty Crips and Locke Neil, So it's all around I 0:14:24.360 --> 0:14:27.840 guess giving back to the kids because I guess, especially 0:14:27.920 --> 0:14:31.320 through COVID, so many missed training and games and my 0:14:31.520 --> 0:14:34.080 favorite memories of a kid was, you know, going to 0:14:34.120 --> 0:14:36.440 a clinic or being able to interact with players, and 0:14:36.440 --> 0:14:39.520 so we're trying to create those experiences virtually, you know, 0:14:39.560 --> 0:14:40.960 through an app, because you can get more reach and 0:14:41.000 --> 0:14:43.240 get to everyone. I'm not sure if the parents listening 0:14:43.440 --> 0:14:45.320 know what oz kyk is, but oz Kig's very basic. 0:14:45.800 --> 0:14:47.680 You know, this is Ak Campbell. Yeah, like we know 0:14:47.760 --> 0:14:50.280 that this is the next level stuff like this is 0:14:50.320 --> 0:14:51.960 you know, how you think about reaction time, This is 0:14:51.960 --> 0:14:54.760 how you think about technique. This is game awareness. This 0:14:54.880 --> 0:14:57.760 is the next level where I guess for any player 0:14:57.800 --> 0:14:59.040 that wants to be the best they can be, doesn't 0:14:59.040 --> 0:15:01.080 matter about making a f It's not about that. It's 0:15:01.120 --> 0:15:05.280 around This is enhancing your knowledge around the game, and 0:15:05.320 --> 0:15:06.600 who else better to learn from them? 0:15:06.640 --> 0:15:08.840 So the players doing us from ten years old on 0:15:09.120 --> 0:15:09.520 are going to. 0:15:09.520 --> 0:15:11.880 Get a massive and parents and coaches as well. Like, yeah, 0:15:12.000 --> 0:15:13.920 I got so many parents and coaches. We're close to 0:15:13.960 --> 0:15:16.600 twenty thousand subscribers now, wow. And as you mentioned, the 0:15:16.640 --> 0:15:18.360 best part about it is it's free. So it's all 0:15:18.360 --> 0:15:20.600 for the love of giving back. And you know, we've 0:15:20.640 --> 0:15:24.000 got some great people helping us drive something that we're 0:15:24.040 --> 0:15:24.800 really passionate about. 0:15:24.800 --> 0:15:28.320 I mean, I love that you've got this passion and 0:15:29.000 --> 0:15:33.560 interest outside of your own footy. Tommy, thank you so 0:15:33.680 --> 0:15:35.680 much for coming in mate. It's a bit of a 0:15:35.720 --> 0:15:39.280 different guest because it really does give an insight into 0:15:39.280 --> 0:15:41.960 a world that so few of us will ever know 0:15:42.160 --> 0:15:42.840 and do ever know. 0:15:43.120 --> 0:15:44.480 And I really appreciate it. 0:15:44.560 --> 0:15:46.160 And good luck for the rest of the season and 0:15:46.200 --> 0:15:47.400 the rest of a great career. 0:15:47.840 --> 0:15:49.520 Thanks for coming on the Woodlife. You're a legend. 0:15:49.560 --> 0:15:54.920 Thanks well, do you appreciate it. 0:15:54.920 --> 0:15:57.760 It's so good to have an insight from an elite 0:15:57.800 --> 0:16:01.360 sports person because on this show we're about progress, not perfection, 0:16:01.480 --> 0:16:04.400 and just do what you can. Sometimes it's nice to 0:16:04.400 --> 0:16:06.600 look at the other side of the coin and look 0:16:06.600 --> 0:16:11.640 at these people that are trying to squeeze every last 0:16:11.720 --> 0:16:14.360 drop out of their potential and their performance. They know 0:16:14.680 --> 0:16:16.600 that to get the most out of them, or even 0:16:16.640 --> 0:16:20.160 to discover what they're truly capable of, that they need 0:16:20.800 --> 0:16:25.360 to make those sacrifices. Train it that intensity, train it 0:16:25.480 --> 0:16:31.040 that consistency. Otherwise they never truly find out where that 0:16:31.320 --> 0:16:34.800 potential line is. And the reason I say that is 0:16:35.200 --> 0:16:36.960 I think a lot of us can learn from that. 0:16:37.280 --> 0:16:40.520 I think a lot of us tell ourselves we're working 0:16:40.520 --> 0:16:43.200 at capacity or that we're working really hard. It's good 0:16:43.200 --> 0:16:46.160 to get some perspective and just challenge our way of thinking. 0:16:46.280 --> 0:16:50.240