1
00:00:05,480 --> 00:00:09,960
Speaker 1: The goat of Australian basketball. Every time I hear that phrase,

2
00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:14,760
Speaker 1: one particular athlete always springs to mind, and considering she's

3
00:00:14,920 --> 00:00:18,600
Speaker 1: just become the first Australian to win five medals across

4
00:00:18,680 --> 00:00:21,360
Speaker 1: five games, there's no better time to.

5
00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:22,560
Speaker 2: Have her back on the pod.

6
00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:26,760
Speaker 1: It's been almost two years since we spoke to Lauren Jackson,

7
00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:29,360
Speaker 1: and during that time she was gearing up for an

8
00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:33,280
Speaker 1: impressive fifth Basketball World Cup and one of the greatest

9
00:00:33,280 --> 00:00:37,159
Speaker 1: sporting comebacks in history. It hasn't been an easy journey

10
00:00:37,159 --> 00:00:40,879
Speaker 1: to get there, with a broken foot, torn Achilles two,

11
00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:44,520
Speaker 1: ruptured plan of fashiers and a lot of sacrifices along

12
00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:47,760
Speaker 1: the way, but that comeback has become even more.

13
00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:49,800
Speaker 3: Impressive because lj is not.

14
00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:53,480
Speaker 1: Only a five time Olympian, but now also a five

15
00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:57,200
Speaker 1: time Olympic medalist. My name is Sophie and I'm the

16
00:00:57,240 --> 00:01:01,040
Speaker 1: producer here at the Female Athlete Project. Chloe sat down

17
00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:03,760
Speaker 1: with the Goat just days before she hopped on the

18
00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:07,160
Speaker 1: plane to Paris full of hope for her last Olympics,

19
00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:10,919
Speaker 1: and now she returns to OZ with another bronze medal

20
00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:15,759
Speaker 1: around her neck. This series is presented by Nike Championing

21
00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:20,160
Speaker 1: athletes like LJ listening to athletes needs and supporting them

22
00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:24,160
Speaker 1: throughout all their journeys. This chat was open and honest

23
00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:26,440
Speaker 1: about what it takes to stay at the top of

24
00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:26,880
Speaker 1: your game.

25
00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:28,640
Speaker 2: We hope you enjoy it.

26
00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:33,360
Speaker 4: Lauren Jackson, Welcome to the Female Athlete Project for a

27
00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:34,199
Speaker 4: second time.

28
00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:36,600
Speaker 2: Thank you. Yes, it's great to be back here having

29
00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:38,640
Speaker 2: a chat with you again. It's been a while.

30
00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:42,000
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, it has been. It's been a couple of years.

31
00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:44,000
Speaker 4: It's it's gonna be really cool to have a chat.

32
00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:45,880
Speaker 4: And we discussed off there that we're going to go

33
00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:48,640
Speaker 4: a little bit more this back end. For people who

34
00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:50,240
Speaker 4: want to listen, go back and listen to the first

35
00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:53,320
Speaker 4: episode for more of your I guess your whole career story.

36
00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:54,840
Speaker 4: But I think it'd be really cool just to take

37
00:01:54,880 --> 00:01:59,320
Speaker 4: a look at the last couple of years, how incredible

38
00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:01,520
Speaker 4: they've been. I'm sure still many ups and downs in

39
00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:04,360
Speaker 4: those last couple of years, but how incredible they've been.

40
00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:08,240
Speaker 4: Can we go back to the twenty twenty two World

41
00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:09,760
Speaker 4: Cup on home soil?

42
00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:12,760
Speaker 5: Okay, so I think last time I spoke to you

43
00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:15,080
Speaker 5: was right before that I'd been selected to go.

44
00:02:15,160 --> 00:02:17,040
Speaker 2: We're in a camp in gold Coast before we headed

45
00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:17,840
Speaker 2: into the World Cup.

46
00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:25,000
Speaker 5: And look, i'd probably played, I reckon about fourteen games

47
00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:29,200
Speaker 5: of basketball leading into the World Cup after you know,

48
00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:32,000
Speaker 5: six years or seven years of really not doing anything,

49
00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:36,080
Speaker 5: and close to eight years actually because of my injury

50
00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:39,440
Speaker 5: and stuff. So yeah, it would have been eight games

51
00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:41,799
Speaker 5: from May till August.

52
00:02:42,600 --> 00:02:44,800
Speaker 2: Fourteen games from May to August. I'm trying to think here,

53
00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:49,520
Speaker 2: And you know, i'd been training obviously in the gym.

54
00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:51,160
Speaker 5: I've been trying to get as strong as I could

55
00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:55,200
Speaker 5: and stuff, but still I didn't have I definitely wasn't

56
00:02:55,400 --> 00:03:00,320
Speaker 5: near the player that I've been in the past. And look,

57
00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:02,600
Speaker 5: to be honest, everything that I did in the lead

58
00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:05,360
Speaker 5: up to that was like in my head, my brain

59
00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:08,040
Speaker 5: was just like, it's just one day, just go to

60
00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:10,800
Speaker 5: the gym. If it works, it works, If it doesn't,

61
00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:14,600
Speaker 5: it doesn't, if no pressure on you. So I really

62
00:03:14,639 --> 00:03:17,240
Speaker 5: didn't anticipate for it to go as far as it did.

63
00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:19,880
Speaker 5: And there was even in the back of my mind

64
00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:22,440
Speaker 5: it was like tomorrow I'll probably hurt something, my knee

65
00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:26,440
Speaker 5: will probably go, you know something, or and I always

66
00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:28,960
Speaker 5: sort of had a backup plan just because I was

67
00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:32,640
Speaker 5: so negative about it or not negative, but I really

68
00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:35,560
Speaker 5: it was really a case of just get through today,

69
00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:37,800
Speaker 5: like don't worry about what's going to happen tomorrow, because

70
00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:41,360
Speaker 5: if you look too far ahead, you know you'll do

71
00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:41,880
Speaker 5: your head in.

72
00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:44,520
Speaker 2: Anyway, I got.

73
00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:46,800
Speaker 5: I somehow made it through to the World Cup, and

74
00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:49,040
Speaker 5: like I said, I don't I don't know how I

75
00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:53,280
Speaker 5: did it. I don't think I felt like I was

76
00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:56,160
Speaker 5: that good of a player. I think what I brought

77
00:03:56,200 --> 00:03:58,880
Speaker 5: to that team was just a sense of toughness that

78
00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:02,280
Speaker 5: leadership sort of asked off the court. I think when

79
00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:07,200
Speaker 5: I'm around, especially the younger players and stuff, they bit

80
00:04:07,360 --> 00:04:10,800
Speaker 5: like they feel like they have like something more.

81
00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:12,920
Speaker 2: I don't know. It's from what I've been told.

82
00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:17,960
Speaker 5: It's more that competitiveness and I give people confidence, and

83
00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:20,839
Speaker 5: I think that's probably more what they wanted from me,

84
00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:24,520
Speaker 5: and probably all that they expected that they were going

85
00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:24,840
Speaker 5: to get.

86
00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:25,920
Speaker 2: To be honest, I.

87
00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:28,240
Speaker 5: Didn't play a lot of minutes during the rounds or whatever.

88
00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:32,280
Speaker 5: And then in the last game we played against China

89
00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:34,320
Speaker 5: in the semi final, I reckon I played about two

90
00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:35,480
Speaker 5: or three minutes.

91
00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:38,840
Speaker 2: And we lost by one point, and.

92
00:04:38,839 --> 00:04:41,560
Speaker 5: Then that was I think we got back to the

93
00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:44,000
Speaker 5: hotel about eleven pm and we had to turn around

94
00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:46,719
Speaker 5: and play for a medal at one o'clock the next day.

95
00:04:46,839 --> 00:04:50,240
Speaker 5: So we went in bed till about one ish, and

96
00:04:50,279 --> 00:04:52,479
Speaker 5: the girls were shattered, you know, losing by one point

97
00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:55,800
Speaker 5: to go into that gold medal match, and I.

98
00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:56,400
Speaker 2: Was shouted to.

99
00:04:58,520 --> 00:05:01,560
Speaker 5: And didn't sleep too much and had to get up

100
00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:03,680
Speaker 5: and get ready straight away for the game the next

101
00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:04,599
Speaker 5: day against Canada.

102
00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:07,000
Speaker 2: And I don't know what happened.

103
00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:10,360
Speaker 5: I think I was just like, I'm not going through

104
00:05:10,360 --> 00:05:13,120
Speaker 5: all of this to not get a medal, you know,

105
00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:16,960
Speaker 5: And so I got minutes.

106
00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:20,760
Speaker 2: So she played me, and I just, I don't know,

107
00:05:20,839 --> 00:05:21,839
Speaker 2: something clicked.

108
00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:21,880
Speaker 4: And.

109
00:05:23,279 --> 00:05:25,800
Speaker 5: Yeah, I played well and we got the bronze medal

110
00:05:25,839 --> 00:05:27,480
Speaker 5: and it was it was really special.

111
00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:29,480
Speaker 2: So that's sort of that's what happened. That was a

112
00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:30,039
Speaker 2: World Cup.

113
00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:35,960
Speaker 3: That game was exceptional. How did it feel?

114
00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:37,520
Speaker 4: I think you kind of touched on this feeling of

115
00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:40,080
Speaker 4: going in and feeling quite negative because you hadn't had

116
00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:42,640
Speaker 4: the prep that you would have usually had. And I

117
00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:47,440
Speaker 4: think sometimes there's probably parallels with elite athletes where things

118
00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:49,680
Speaker 4: might not go right in the lead up to a tournament.

119
00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:51,840
Speaker 4: They might have little niggles and things, but yours was

120
00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:55,640
Speaker 4: an entirely different situation altogether, where you hadn't played for

121
00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:58,680
Speaker 4: so many years. How did it feel being out there,

122
00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:02,400
Speaker 4: being like it's a huge occasion and I don't necessarily

123
00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:03,760
Speaker 4: feel like I'm at my best.

124
00:06:04,279 --> 00:06:07,080
Speaker 5: Oh, look, I just I had to rely really heavily

125
00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:10,719
Speaker 5: on you know, like Trish Fallon was there, one of

126
00:06:10,720 --> 00:06:13,320
Speaker 5: my old teammates. Sandy Brundella is one of my old

127
00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:15,880
Speaker 5: teammates as well, and she was a head coach. And

128
00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:18,479
Speaker 5: I think just having those friendships and being able to

129
00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:21,359
Speaker 5: have those conversations with them and them knowing me so

130
00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:24,760
Speaker 5: well as well, really really helped, you know, because obviously

131
00:06:24,839 --> 00:06:27,200
Speaker 5: the young girls, I say the younger girls, but all

132
00:06:27,200 --> 00:06:30,000
Speaker 5: the girls on that squad were you know, the the

133
00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:33,600
Speaker 5: eldest is ten years younger than me. So it's not

134
00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:38,320
Speaker 5: it's not like, you know, there's not an age like

135
00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:41,080
Speaker 5: there's a big age gap there. And I mean even

136
00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:45,840
Speaker 5: in the in the squad now for the Olympics, the youngest.

137
00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:47,000
Speaker 2: Could be like my daughter.

138
00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:51,200
Speaker 5: You know, I could have quite easily been married and

139
00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:54,839
Speaker 5: had a child by the age of you know, so

140
00:06:54,880 --> 00:06:57,159
Speaker 5: it's there is a really big age gap there, and

141
00:06:57,200 --> 00:06:59,320
Speaker 5: I think I would have felt quite isolated if I

142
00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:01,960
Speaker 5: didn't have those existing relationships and I couldn't sort of

143
00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:04,680
Speaker 5: lean on the people that knew me as well as

144
00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:08,599
Speaker 5: what they did. So I was really really lucky in

145
00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:12,000
Speaker 5: that sense. But also the girls took me under their

146
00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:14,679
Speaker 5: wing a bit, you know, to be honest, they really did.

147
00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:17,559
Speaker 5: And I sort of thought about how I would feel

148
00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:21,360
Speaker 5: in that situation if I was, you know, thirty years

149
00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:24,240
Speaker 5: old and someone who was in her forties came out

150
00:07:24,280 --> 00:07:27,200
Speaker 5: of retirement, got onto the squad and was playing at

151
00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:29,920
Speaker 5: a World Cup. But you know, I'm probably I'd be

152
00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:32,160
Speaker 5: the first to admit I probably wouldn't have been that welcoming.

153
00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:37,120
Speaker 5: But the girls were. They were incredible. They really were

154
00:07:37,240 --> 00:07:40,520
Speaker 5: right from day dot. And that's something that I think

155
00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:43,400
Speaker 5: will warm my heart for the rest of my life,

156
00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:47,320
Speaker 5: Like the fact that kindness and that really sort of

157
00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:51,520
Speaker 5: set the scene for me. And yeah, they're so special

158
00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:54,800
Speaker 5: and like to this day, you know, I'm just so

159
00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:56,240
Speaker 5: grateful and thankful.

160
00:07:56,600 --> 00:07:59,679
Speaker 3: That bronze middle match was an iconic moment.

161
00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:02,080
Speaker 4: Do you think it is for you, Like, was it

162
00:08:02,200 --> 00:08:05,239
Speaker 4: just like that muscle memory, Like it just it's a career,

163
00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:07,560
Speaker 4: a lifetime in basketball that came back to you or

164
00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:09,040
Speaker 4: is it the big pressure moments.

165
00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:14,280
Speaker 2: I really don't know. I just know that I got

166
00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:16,400
Speaker 2: an opportunity and I went for it, you know, And

167
00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:17,040
Speaker 2: I think.

168
00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:22,400
Speaker 5: Yeah, it was highly emotional day because we were still

169
00:08:22,400 --> 00:08:27,360
Speaker 5: sort of feeling the effects of the night before. When

170
00:08:27,400 --> 00:08:30,160
Speaker 5: we left the hotel, some of the exopals, like the

171
00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:33,079
Speaker 5: older opals my mum's generation, had organized like a sort

172
00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:36,040
Speaker 5: of guard of honor out of the hotel. So as

173
00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:38,640
Speaker 5: we were leaving, my kids were there as well. They

174
00:08:38,720 --> 00:08:40,960
Speaker 5: ran up to me when I came downstairs, and that like,

175
00:08:41,040 --> 00:08:45,280
Speaker 5: I started crying immediately I saw them. But it was

176
00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:48,320
Speaker 5: really emotional before the game, and even in the locker room,

177
00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:51,679
Speaker 5: the tension was just so thick that like you could

178
00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:53,240
Speaker 5: have cut the air with a knife. And I mean,

179
00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:56,120
Speaker 5: even thinking back to it, I'm getting a little bit teary, because.

180
00:08:57,360 --> 00:08:59,360
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was. It was a lot.

181
00:09:01,280 --> 00:09:03,280
Speaker 5: So I think, yeah, I just wanted to do well

182
00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:05,760
Speaker 5: for Sandy, and I wanted to try and give back.

183
00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:08,320
Speaker 2: As much as I could. And you know, there wasn't

184
00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:10,240
Speaker 2: a lot in my tank at that point too, you know.

185
00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:13,160
Speaker 5: My And this is funny, but by that point, I

186
00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:15,440
Speaker 5: think in April that year, when I right before I'd

187
00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:19,040
Speaker 5: started my first game with Aubrey, I ruptured my plane

188
00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:21,880
Speaker 5: of fashion in my left foot, like completely ruptured it.

189
00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:24,679
Speaker 5: And at that point, not knowing about the injury or whatever,

190
00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:27,120
Speaker 5: I thought I was done, like like the pain was

191
00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:30,000
Speaker 5: that bad that I was like, shit, i haven't even like.

192
00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:32,720
Speaker 2: Even played a game yet, and I've just I'm gone.

193
00:09:32,800 --> 00:09:36,120
Speaker 5: I'm finished, and you know, on the phone to my

194
00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:38,160
Speaker 5: surgeon and some other people and they're like, look, it'll

195
00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:39,719
Speaker 5: take three or four weeks and you'll be able to

196
00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:42,320
Speaker 5: run again. You're fine, And I was like four weeks,

197
00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:44,680
Speaker 5: that's like that's a quarter of a season. Is this

198
00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:46,920
Speaker 5: even worth it? And you know what, in the back

199
00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:48,760
Speaker 5: of my mind, I was like, you know what, I'm

200
00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:50,800
Speaker 5: going to go. We had to buy the second week

201
00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:52,360
Speaker 5: so there was a chance I could get back for

202
00:09:52,559 --> 00:09:56,520
Speaker 5: the third game, which was a road trip up north then,

203
00:09:57,040 --> 00:10:00,160
Speaker 5: so I was like, okay, day by day, after two

204
00:10:00,240 --> 00:10:02,120
Speaker 5: or three days, I didn't need crushes anymore, and it

205
00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:07,560
Speaker 5: got better progressively. But my feet since that day like

206
00:10:07,679 --> 00:10:11,880
Speaker 5: were killing me. But and I've had so many problems

207
00:10:11,920 --> 00:10:17,200
Speaker 5: since then, so what the story is that? Yeah? I

208
00:10:17,559 --> 00:10:19,280
Speaker 5: and then I rolled my ankle at the end of

209
00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:24,400
Speaker 5: May my other ankle, so my feet were shocking. And

210
00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:26,040
Speaker 5: then by the time I got into the World Cup,

211
00:10:26,080 --> 00:10:28,520
Speaker 5: because of the load and everything, how it just ramped

212
00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:29,480
Speaker 5: up super quick.

213
00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:32,800
Speaker 2: My body was just like what the hell is going

214
00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:33,240
Speaker 2: on here?

215
00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:36,079
Speaker 5: By the end of the World Cup, I was having

216
00:10:36,160 --> 00:10:40,200
Speaker 5: local anesthetic my feet before games because I just like

217
00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:42,439
Speaker 5: my plani fascia on the other foot was split all

218
00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:44,959
Speaker 5: the way down the middle. I didn't go the other way,

219
00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:47,200
Speaker 5: It went like down the middle of attendon. So that

220
00:10:47,360 --> 00:10:54,960
Speaker 5: was just the pain was excruciating and so that that

221
00:10:55,200 --> 00:10:57,559
Speaker 5: was where I was at. So by the end of

222
00:10:57,600 --> 00:11:00,240
Speaker 5: that World Cup, I think even just getting me ruels

223
00:11:00,280 --> 00:11:04,200
Speaker 5: in my feet like was just so again traumatic that

224
00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:07,640
Speaker 5: you just I was waiting for it to be over, and.

225
00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:10,920
Speaker 2: There was a part of me, you know, by.

226
00:11:10,760 --> 00:11:12,160
Speaker 5: The end of the World Cup too it was like

227
00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:14,120
Speaker 5: this is it, Like I really I don't even want

228
00:11:14,160 --> 00:11:17,480
Speaker 5: to play W ANDBL. I can't handle the pain anymore,

229
00:11:18,080 --> 00:11:19,400
Speaker 5: you know, the pressure and all that.

230
00:11:20,280 --> 00:11:22,240
Speaker 2: So you know, that's sort.

231
00:11:22,040 --> 00:11:24,600
Speaker 5: Of where Nike, I guess, have been so supportive of

232
00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:27,440
Speaker 5: me over the last I don't know how many years,

233
00:11:27,480 --> 00:11:30,600
Speaker 5: two or three years, because I go on to play

234
00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:34,880
Speaker 5: W ANDBL after the season, my feet is still pretty bad,

235
00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:36,959
Speaker 5: not terrible, not as bad as I were at the

236
00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:40,199
Speaker 5: World Cup, but that was still really sore. And then

237
00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:44,240
Speaker 5: in December, we were playing over in Perth and just

238
00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:46,800
Speaker 5: after I've reckon had about twenty points to the half,

239
00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:51,760
Speaker 5: and after halftime I did something. Someone trod on my

240
00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:52,959
Speaker 5: foot and I went to step and I.

241
00:11:52,960 --> 00:11:56,480
Speaker 2: Broke my foot. I broke the top of my foot.

242
00:11:56,320 --> 00:11:59,400
Speaker 5: And I played through it thinking because but I was

243
00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:01,800
Speaker 5: so used to the pain in there that it didn't

244
00:12:01,840 --> 00:12:03,960
Speaker 5: sort of register until after the game. And I said

245
00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:06,200
Speaker 5: to my coach, I actually think I have a broken foot,

246
00:12:06,280 --> 00:12:09,360
Speaker 5: like the pain is so bad. And she looked at

247
00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:14,840
Speaker 5: me and she was like, yeah, okay. Next day we

248
00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:17,600
Speaker 5: fly back to Melbourne and I said, I called her

249
00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:21,079
Speaker 5: again and I'm like, Chez, I think I've broken my foot.

250
00:12:21,200 --> 00:12:23,640
Speaker 5: Like it's really painful. I couldn't walk at the airport.

251
00:12:24,040 --> 00:12:27,040
Speaker 5: I mean I could walk, I was limping, but like anyway,

252
00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:29,480
Speaker 5: we had to play the next day and I went

253
00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:32,200
Speaker 5: into warm up, got a bit of local to see if,

254
00:12:32,559 --> 00:12:33,440
Speaker 5: like I could settle it.

255
00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:34,679
Speaker 2: I couldn't settle the pain down.

256
00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:36,960
Speaker 5: It was so generalized, like I didn't even know where

257
00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:39,080
Speaker 5: it was hurting the whole My whole foot was just.

258
00:12:39,800 --> 00:12:41,520
Speaker 2: Completely just killing me.

259
00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:43,880
Speaker 5: So I go and get any and it was right

260
00:12:43,880 --> 00:12:47,560
Speaker 5: before Christmas, so there was no radiologists report. But the

261
00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:51,080
Speaker 5: doctor looks at it and they go, no, it's just arthritis.

262
00:12:51,480 --> 00:12:52,160
Speaker 2: You'll be fine.

263
00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:54,800
Speaker 5: Here's some cortizone, go and do what you do. And

264
00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:57,840
Speaker 5: I'm like okay, and the quart zone settled it down

265
00:12:57,960 --> 00:13:02,959
Speaker 5: enough that I could play. But it wasn't like after games.

266
00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:06,520
Speaker 5: I couldn't sleep, I couldn't walk, I wasn't training between games.

267
00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:08,520
Speaker 5: So my teammates are like, you've got arthritis and you

268
00:13:08,559 --> 00:13:11,000
Speaker 5: can't train, you can't like you're in all this pain.

269
00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:13,520
Speaker 5: And so I guess about after three or four weeks,

270
00:13:13,600 --> 00:13:15,600
Speaker 5: I went back to the doctor and I was just like,

271
00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:17,720
Speaker 5: look this, I don't know what to tell you, but

272
00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:18,040
Speaker 5: this is.

273
00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:19,840
Speaker 2: The most painful thing I've ever had in my life.

274
00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:22,160
Speaker 2: And I've had to play through it.

275
00:13:22,280 --> 00:13:24,920
Speaker 5: The Cortizon's wearing off, and they're like, oh, we'll just

276
00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:27,760
Speaker 5: go and do another test. And so do an next

277
00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:29,720
Speaker 5: ray and they're like, oh, it's a Liz Frank fracture

278
00:13:29,720 --> 00:13:31,720
Speaker 5: and you ruptured ligaments around to Liz Frank and I

279
00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:34,960
Speaker 5: was like, so, I've been playing thinking I've had arthritis

280
00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:37,120
Speaker 5: all of this time with a Liz Frank fracture in

281
00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:38,040
Speaker 5: my foot.

282
00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:41,840
Speaker 2: So by this time I've been favoring.

283
00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:44,079
Speaker 5: My other foots so much that my achilles has blown up,

284
00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:47,320
Speaker 5: like it's playing up and on the other foot.

285
00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:51,800
Speaker 2: And look, in my mind, this is the irrational in me.

286
00:13:51,960 --> 00:13:55,559
Speaker 5: It was like, right, I've been playing for three weeks

287
00:13:55,800 --> 00:13:58,440
Speaker 5: on a broken foot. There was a big game coming

288
00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:01,560
Speaker 5: up that they were trying to sell out John Cane

289
00:14:01,559 --> 00:14:04,520
Speaker 5: Arena and it was for me and everything like that,

290
00:14:04,559 --> 00:14:07,600
Speaker 5: which was a really special game. I thought it looked

291
00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:09,520
Speaker 5: really bad if I've been playing on a broken foot.

292
00:14:09,559 --> 00:14:11,360
Speaker 5: My stop now, just because I know about it, you know,

293
00:14:11,640 --> 00:14:14,680
Speaker 5: I thought that if i'd been playing, obviously I could

294
00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:17,760
Speaker 5: keep playing. So and nobody sort of said, think about it,

295
00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:22,280
Speaker 5: it's probably not a great idea. Your age. Get to

296
00:14:22,280 --> 00:14:27,000
Speaker 5: this John Caine game and within ten seconds of the game,

297
00:14:27,160 --> 00:14:29,040
Speaker 5: my achilles ruptures on the other foot.

298
00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:30,520
Speaker 2: It's gone.

299
00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:33,560
Speaker 5: So that was the end of that, and that's the

300
00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:38,160
Speaker 5: start of my journey with my feet. Bluck anyway, so

301
00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:40,480
Speaker 5: go and have a double surgery. I'm in a wheelchair

302
00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:44,040
Speaker 5: for you know. However, long six to eight weeks or something,

303
00:14:45,640 --> 00:14:47,840
Speaker 5: thinking that it was all over, you know, that I

304
00:14:47,840 --> 00:14:50,760
Speaker 5: would never play again, that I couldn't possibly come back

305
00:14:50,800 --> 00:14:51,080
Speaker 5: from that.

306
00:14:52,800 --> 00:14:54,520
Speaker 2: But I'd made a commitment to to my kids.

307
00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:55,880
Speaker 5: I was sort of like, I want to get back

308
00:14:55,920 --> 00:14:57,880
Speaker 5: on my feet so that I can play with them.

309
00:14:58,200 --> 00:15:00,200
Speaker 5: It took a real toll on my kids as well,

310
00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:04,480
Speaker 5: like they were really upset about that, and I just

311
00:15:04,600 --> 00:15:06,240
Speaker 5: I sort of made the commitment that I'll just do

312
00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:10,360
Speaker 5: the rehab, you know. And by May I was running

313
00:15:10,440 --> 00:15:14,400
Speaker 5: or jogging again in the gym, and so I just

314
00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:16,720
Speaker 5: kept going. I just kept jogging a little bit more.

315
00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:20,720
Speaker 5: I took the time where I needed it. I you know,

316
00:15:20,760 --> 00:15:22,720
Speaker 5: I went over to America and spent some time with

317
00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:25,920
Speaker 5: super Bird during her retirement stuff. I had a real,

318
00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:30,960
Speaker 5: real chill six months or so, and whilst also training

319
00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:33,360
Speaker 5: in the background and being with the kids and just

320
00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:33,920
Speaker 5: being a mum.

321
00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:38,920
Speaker 2: Anyway, bye I reckon.

322
00:15:40,120 --> 00:15:45,000
Speaker 5: By August, I get a call from Southside do you

323
00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:47,000
Speaker 5: want to play? And I was kind of like, I

324
00:15:47,040 --> 00:15:49,080
Speaker 5: don't know if I can or not. It's only been

325
00:15:49,200 --> 00:15:52,520
Speaker 5: sort of six months. And then they said to go

326
00:15:52,560 --> 00:15:54,240
Speaker 5: and see the surgeon and see what he said, and

327
00:15:54,680 --> 00:15:57,400
Speaker 5: he said, look, by Novembu should be able to play

328
00:15:57,400 --> 00:16:02,400
Speaker 5: a game, and then by no brightly, like my confidence

329
00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:05,880
Speaker 5: was completely shot at my feet. But the moral of

330
00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:09,880
Speaker 5: the story is is that Nike. I've been on the

331
00:16:09,880 --> 00:16:16,120
Speaker 5: phone to Brett probably every week or on WhatsApp every

332
00:16:16,160 --> 00:16:20,800
Speaker 5: week since then, since November, saying I need like, like

333
00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:24,400
Speaker 5: shoes that fit me properly, that actually work for my feet,

334
00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:28,840
Speaker 5: that don't hurt me because my feet and have been

335
00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:30,920
Speaker 5: they've taken the biggest toll, Like when I tell you've

336
00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:34,440
Speaker 5: got no tonails left, I have no toneails left, Like

337
00:16:34,720 --> 00:16:37,800
Speaker 5: it's the pain in my feet from the surgeries, from

338
00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:41,840
Speaker 5: the achilles, from just not doing anything for eight years

339
00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:47,600
Speaker 5: has two ruptured plan of fashiers like just everything has

340
00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:50,320
Speaker 5: gone wrong in my feet. The last which it's out

341
00:16:50,320 --> 00:16:51,920
Speaker 5: of my like I've never had a problem with my

342
00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:55,040
Speaker 5: feet before in my life. So shoe wet shoes, getting

343
00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:59,160
Speaker 5: the right basketball shoes has been like this. Oh man,

344
00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:01,600
Speaker 5: They've been so supportive in that, and I like, I

345
00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:06,800
Speaker 5: am eternally grateful because poor Nike. But thank god I've

346
00:17:06,840 --> 00:17:09,359
Speaker 5: got people that actually care about the shoes that I

347
00:17:09,440 --> 00:17:12,040
Speaker 5: wear on court and that they work for me. Because

348
00:17:12,560 --> 00:17:14,840
Speaker 5: it's taken this long to find them, and I found

349
00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:17,320
Speaker 5: the right ones and they've got me at this point, which.

350
00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:20,200
Speaker 2: Is, you know, incredible. So thank you very much for that.

351
00:17:20,200 --> 00:17:21,200
Speaker 2: That's love right there.

352
00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:25,240
Speaker 3: Let me tell you that is It's very important.

353
00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:28,359
Speaker 4: It's so interesting hearing your story talking about that because

354
00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:30,720
Speaker 4: I think, like I remember last time when you reflected

355
00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:33,399
Speaker 4: on the first part of your career, this like it

356
00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:36,760
Speaker 4: was like you were constantly battling through just pushing your body.

357
00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:39,840
Speaker 4: And I think, from an outsider's perspective seen the last

358
00:17:39,880 --> 00:17:42,480
Speaker 4: couple of years, I remember that moment with your achilles

359
00:17:42,520 --> 00:17:45,720
Speaker 4: and just felt heartbroken for you. But just that idea, like,

360
00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:48,000
Speaker 4: have you found it a little bit traumatic in a sense,

361
00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:50,600
Speaker 4: like that feeling again of pushing your body to that

362
00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:52,400
Speaker 4: limit and pushing through those injuries.

363
00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:56,840
Speaker 5: Ah, that was probably the most traumatic thing I've been through.

364
00:17:56,880 --> 00:18:00,280
Speaker 2: I reckon not the achilles. It was the broken foot because.

365
00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:04,640
Speaker 5: I honestly, in my mind believed that it was just arthritis,

366
00:18:04,640 --> 00:18:06,159
Speaker 5: and and in my head I had to wrap my

367
00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:08,880
Speaker 5: head around the fact, well, if this is just sarthritis,

368
00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:10,080
Speaker 5: this is a pain that you're going to have to

369
00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:12,399
Speaker 5: live with if you want to play. So I was

370
00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:13,720
Speaker 5: just trying to make it through to the end of

371
00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:14,240
Speaker 5: the season.

372
00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:17,160
Speaker 2: And that in.

373
00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:19,879
Speaker 5: Itself was so hard because when I tell you, after games,

374
00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:22,160
Speaker 5: I could not go to sleep, like I couldn't sleep.

375
00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:24,199
Speaker 5: It was killing me. And I mean I was on

376
00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:27,520
Speaker 5: so many and inflammatories. I was on painkillers too, because

377
00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:30,880
Speaker 5: it just like it was killing me. But I wanted

378
00:18:30,920 --> 00:18:31,520
Speaker 5: to get through the.

379
00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:32,040
Speaker 2: End of the season.

380
00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:34,600
Speaker 5: I made a commitment, and I couldn't stop saying that

381
00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:38,439
Speaker 5: I had arthritis, like that's not how it's going to

382
00:18:38,520 --> 00:18:41,600
Speaker 5: end for me. So when I found out that it

383
00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:46,240
Speaker 5: was actually like a really significant break in my foot,

384
00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:49,600
Speaker 5: I was so mad. I was so mad at myself.

385
00:18:49,720 --> 00:18:56,000
Speaker 5: I was so mad at the world, probably also at myself.

386
00:18:56,520 --> 00:19:00,320
Speaker 2: But I again like not trusting myself to like to

387
00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:01,080
Speaker 2: make them go back.

388
00:19:01,119 --> 00:19:03,560
Speaker 5: And it's funny because when the doctors went back and

389
00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:06,320
Speaker 5: looked at the original MRI, it was there, but because

390
00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:09,080
Speaker 5: it was over Christmas, they were backed up the radio.

391
00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:14,719
Speaker 5: Nobody read the radiologists report, So that in itself was

392
00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:17,080
Speaker 5: like and I don't look, I don't blame.

393
00:19:16,840 --> 00:19:19,240
Speaker 2: Them, And like I said, I should have trusted myself.

394
00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:22,160
Speaker 5: And pushed it, but I did because because you think

395
00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:23,760
Speaker 5: that you know, people will miss that.

396
00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:27,640
Speaker 2: But again it's that for me at the age where

397
00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:29,160
Speaker 2: I shouldn't know my body well enough.

398
00:19:29,040 --> 00:19:32,199
Speaker 5: Right, So I think the trauma around playing on it,

399
00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:34,680
Speaker 5: having to get up, like the embarrassment of not being

400
00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:37,120
Speaker 5: able to train because I've got arthritis, Like I think

401
00:19:38,240 --> 00:19:42,000
Speaker 5: that was that was brutal, you know. And then yeah,

402
00:19:42,040 --> 00:19:44,439
Speaker 5: and then of course my achilles went. That wasn't the

403
00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:45,960
Speaker 5: heart like, that wasn't the hard.

404
00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:46,359
Speaker 2: Part for me.

405
00:19:46,560 --> 00:19:49,919
Speaker 5: It was the actual for three or six weeks. It

406
00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:51,960
Speaker 5: was before they before that went, you.

407
00:19:51,920 --> 00:19:54,120
Speaker 4: Know, before we go into where your body's at now

408
00:19:54,160 --> 00:19:57,240
Speaker 4: and how you're feeling. I'd love to take a step

409
00:19:57,240 --> 00:19:58,719
Speaker 4: back and look at some of the work you do

410
00:19:58,840 --> 00:20:01,000
Speaker 4: off court and take look at she Hoops.

411
00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:02,680
Speaker 3: Can you tell us a bit about it?

412
00:20:03,760 --> 00:20:04,080
Speaker 4: Well?

413
00:20:04,119 --> 00:20:08,840
Speaker 5: She Hoops originally was it was thought of during COVID,

414
00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:10,840
Speaker 5: So it was a way to connect with people during

415
00:20:10,880 --> 00:20:13,480
Speaker 5: COVID when we couldn't really travel.

416
00:20:13,160 --> 00:20:14,440
Speaker 2: When we couldn't sort of gather.

417
00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:18,000
Speaker 5: It was about it was a platform about connecting grassroots

418
00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:20,240
Speaker 5: with the elites. So during that time it was easier

419
00:20:20,240 --> 00:20:22,359
Speaker 5: for us all to jump on zooms and you know,

420
00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:26,440
Speaker 5: talk women in basketball, talk, administration, coaching, is she eating

421
00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:30,600
Speaker 5: all that sort of stuff. I was really really lucky

422
00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:35,960
Speaker 5: because Basketball Australia supported it. Obviously they wanted the platform

423
00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:40,119
Speaker 5: as well, and and that sort of became like my

424
00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:43,320
Speaker 5: role was the head of women in basketball at at

425
00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:46,439
Speaker 5: that point in time. She Hoops It is still she Hoops,

426
00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:48,640
Speaker 5: trying to build this brand.

427
00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:49,960
Speaker 2: And what it is.

428
00:20:51,359 --> 00:20:54,880
Speaker 5: But we found I guess the last two years or so, well,

429
00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:57,200
Speaker 5: it's really only been going two years, which is fantastic,

430
00:20:57,240 --> 00:21:00,760
Speaker 5: So it's still a baby. So the first year we

431
00:21:00,840 --> 00:21:02,520
Speaker 5: did all right, but a lot of the stuff was

432
00:21:02,520 --> 00:21:05,480
Speaker 5: online and we didn't really actually get out into communities.

433
00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:07,399
Speaker 5: And since then we've been able to get out and

434
00:21:07,520 --> 00:21:11,840
Speaker 5: run like face to face camps and scholarship programs and

435
00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:12,480
Speaker 5: things like that.

436
00:21:13,240 --> 00:21:16,280
Speaker 2: But it's yeah, since.

437
00:21:16,080 --> 00:21:18,200
Speaker 5: It's really grown, it's becoming a bit of a movement

438
00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:20,960
Speaker 5: in women basketball. And what I've really been proud of

439
00:21:21,080 --> 00:21:23,720
Speaker 5: is that the athletes have really embraced it, like they

440
00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:25,240
Speaker 5: want to be a part of it, and it's something

441
00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:28,080
Speaker 5: that they want to push and support. And I think

442
00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:31,160
Speaker 5: that for me has been probably one of the most

443
00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:36,639
Speaker 5: special parts. It's something that yeah, I really am proud

444
00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:39,159
Speaker 5: of and I like to see the potential in but

445
00:21:39,240 --> 00:21:43,160
Speaker 5: the growth that we've already had is significant. And yeah,

446
00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:47,800
Speaker 5: we've been supported obviously by the federal government through the

447
00:21:47,840 --> 00:21:50,600
Speaker 5: legacy funding from the World Cup, which has been great,

448
00:21:51,600 --> 00:21:55,240
Speaker 5: and we've had definitely a lot of support just from

449
00:21:55,359 --> 00:21:59,480
Speaker 5: the basketball community, which is fantastic. Initially as well, Unlike

450
00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:02,959
Speaker 5: he was super supportive of the idea and in that

451
00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:05,600
Speaker 5: first year was really pushing it, which was great.

452
00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:08,600
Speaker 2: Helped us out with some gear and it was brilliant.

453
00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:13,399
Speaker 5: So we've we've had great success, I would say, but

454
00:22:13,440 --> 00:22:16,760
Speaker 5: we're still growing. We're still We've just actually launched a

455
00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:20,720
Speaker 5: fellowship over to Seattle Storm, so we're partnering with Seattle

456
00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:24,360
Speaker 5: Storm to have an administrator, female administrator go over there

457
00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:26,720
Speaker 5: and work with them to try and see how social

458
00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:33,560
Speaker 5: change impacts commercial ability to sell commercially women's sport, and

459
00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:36,840
Speaker 5: I guess just to really understand the inner workings of

460
00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:40,840
Speaker 5: an organization like that. It's amazing to see what the

461
00:22:40,920 --> 00:22:44,840
Speaker 5: WNBA have done, you know, in terms of where they're

462
00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:49,719
Speaker 5: going and the equity between men and women. There's growth,

463
00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:53,600
Speaker 5: it's happening, it's significant, and it's awesome and it's great

464
00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:55,320
Speaker 5: that we get to have administrators over there.

465
00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:57,040
Speaker 2: Learning from the best.

466
00:22:57,359 --> 00:23:00,960
Speaker 4: You know, that gender equity piece something that you are

467
00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:04,639
Speaker 4: really passionate about. What does it mean to have I

468
00:23:04,640 --> 00:23:07,760
Speaker 4: guess an avenue to kind of funnel that energy into

469
00:23:07,880 --> 00:23:09,520
Speaker 4: with something like she hoops.

470
00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:14,639
Speaker 5: Having an avenue to push she hoops through basketball Australia

471
00:23:14,720 --> 00:23:19,440
Speaker 5: is incredible, and I guess their commitment to lifting the

472
00:23:19,480 --> 00:23:24,480
Speaker 5: opportunities and the resources and giving girls and women a

473
00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:29,040
Speaker 5: space to exist in the sport is incredible. I think

474
00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:31,399
Speaker 5: that there is still a long way to go, and

475
00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:35,119
Speaker 5: it's still a grind. You know, people talk about equity

476
00:23:35,760 --> 00:23:39,639
Speaker 5: and equality, people are still not investing in it. And

477
00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:42,080
Speaker 5: this is grassroots right through to the elite. It's not

478
00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:45,760
Speaker 5: just kids programs. It's not just for teenage girls or

479
00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:49,920
Speaker 5: volunteers and administrators and coaches and officials. It's for everyone.

480
00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:51,880
Speaker 5: So a lot of the programs that we run sort

481
00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:55,480
Speaker 5: of cover all the cohorts and we're trying to bring

482
00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:59,800
Speaker 5: everyone together, finding support, like true support for that is,

483
00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:03,600
Speaker 5: you know, and it is like I said, it's still

484
00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:06,639
Speaker 5: it's a grind. Like it's the same with any women's sport.

485
00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:08,280
Speaker 5: You've got to work every.

486
00:24:09,880 --> 00:24:10,400
Speaker 2: Single day.

487
00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:12,560
Speaker 5: You're pushing it and you're trying to get that support,

488
00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:15,200
Speaker 5: and you're trying to.

489
00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:17,040
Speaker 2: I guess, sell the story.

490
00:24:17,119 --> 00:24:19,760
Speaker 5: But unless people are coming for the ride, unless they

491
00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:23,000
Speaker 5: see the vision, like straight up, like it's your's a

492
00:24:23,040 --> 00:24:26,400
Speaker 5: spinning wheel like at the moment, you know. So I'm

493
00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:28,359
Speaker 5: glad that I get to be the one pushing it,

494
00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:32,520
Speaker 5: you know, and begging organizations for support.

495
00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:36,000
Speaker 2: It's humbling, but I'm glad I get to do it.

496
00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:36,960
Speaker 2: You've been.

497
00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:40,639
Speaker 4: You've shared your story a lot about your journey with

498
00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:43,560
Speaker 4: your two boys. You've obviously battled your own body in

499
00:24:43,640 --> 00:24:47,800
Speaker 4: your comeback, but also you've had to battle raising kids

500
00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:50,640
Speaker 4: and dealing with traveling and going overseas, and you've also

501
00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:54,080
Speaker 4: battled this challenge of when you might say one tiny

502
00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:57,119
Speaker 4: quote and then suddenly it's in every news platform making

503
00:24:57,160 --> 00:25:00,439
Speaker 4: your decision for you. What is that process been like

504
00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:01,960
Speaker 4: for you over the last period of time.

505
00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:06,119
Speaker 5: Oh, look, it's been It's been such a mind game.

506
00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:08,840
Speaker 5: I think when you combine like me talking to you

507
00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:11,840
Speaker 5: about my injuries, and then the support I get from

508
00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:15,720
Speaker 5: my personal sponsors, and then my family and my friends,

509
00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:18,639
Speaker 5: and then my teammates, you know, and the teams that

510
00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:22,199
Speaker 5: I play with, it's such a minefield. And then I

511
00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:24,960
Speaker 5: work for Basketball Australia as well, so I've sort of

512
00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:29,160
Speaker 5: I've got to consider all of these different things. Obviously,

513
00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:31,080
Speaker 5: for me, it came down to my family.

514
00:25:32,119 --> 00:25:32,600
Speaker 2: It was.

515
00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:37,879
Speaker 5: It's been a really tough journey for me since I

516
00:25:38,040 --> 00:25:45,760
Speaker 5: came back from my foot surgeries. My feet surgeries, I.

517
00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:45,919
Speaker 2: Look, I reckon. I came back about eight months.

518
00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:50,240
Speaker 5: It took me a good year to get my confidence back,

519
00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:54,919
Speaker 5: to get my timing back to Oh gosh, it was

520
00:25:55,040 --> 00:25:57,120
Speaker 5: just so hard, and I think a lot of people

521
00:25:57,200 --> 00:25:59,520
Speaker 5: had written me off by Christmas time, whereas the people

522
00:25:59,520 --> 00:26:01,439
Speaker 5: that knew, the people that knew my body and what

523
00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:04,280
Speaker 5: I've been through and everything were like, You're not going

524
00:26:04,359 --> 00:26:06,920
Speaker 5: to be yourself until after Christmas. So everyone was saying

525
00:26:06,960 --> 00:26:10,399
Speaker 5: to me, so don't even think about averaging a double

526
00:26:10,440 --> 00:26:15,640
Speaker 5: double until Christmas, because you're not even ten months post surgery.

527
00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:19,960
Speaker 2: Yet you had a massive surgery. And in my head,

528
00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:20,560
Speaker 2: I think the.

529
00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:22,760
Speaker 5: Confidence piece, like I've never had to really battle that,

530
00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:25,560
Speaker 5: I've never had challenges with that, and because I was

531
00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:28,760
Speaker 5: coming from a place to where I wasn't that good anymore.

532
00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:31,320
Speaker 5: Like I'm an older athlete. I can't jump as high,

533
00:26:31,320 --> 00:26:35,440
Speaker 5: I can't run as fast, and my body was really

534
00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:37,840
Speaker 5: really saw that first year in twenty twenty two as well,

535
00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:39,879
Speaker 5: So leading up to it, I just didn't give myself

536
00:26:39,920 --> 00:26:42,399
Speaker 5: the opportunity to get in the best possible shape I

537
00:26:42,440 --> 00:26:44,959
Speaker 5: could be in because I never thought I was going

538
00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:46,639
Speaker 5: to get back there. That was the point, like I

539
00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:48,879
Speaker 5: was just doing it for fun, So it wasn't.

540
00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:50,920
Speaker 2: It was crazy.

541
00:26:51,480 --> 00:26:57,600
Speaker 5: So like I think by Christmas, i'd sort of started

542
00:26:57,640 --> 00:26:59,880
Speaker 5: playing better. But I said to my parents at Christmas time,

543
00:27:00,040 --> 00:27:02,199
Speaker 5: I'm gonna I'm going to call it a day. I'm

544
00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:04,440
Speaker 5: going to retire, like as soon as I start playing better,

545
00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:06,720
Speaker 5: because I could feel it happening too. There was there

546
00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:09,280
Speaker 5: was a game here I know scored ten points in

547
00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:11,520
Speaker 5: and I was like running better and moving better.

548
00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:12,639
Speaker 2: I was rebounding better.

549
00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:14,840
Speaker 5: I might not have been scoring, but I could feel

550
00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:17,400
Speaker 5: my body going, ah, are you getting back like you can?

551
00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:21,960
Speaker 5: So I said, you know, as soon as I start

552
00:27:21,960 --> 00:27:23,919
Speaker 5: playing better, I'm going to call it a day. So

553
00:27:24,760 --> 00:27:27,399
Speaker 5: January I started playing better. I was probably averaging like

554
00:27:27,440 --> 00:27:33,160
Speaker 5: fifteen to some points in January game and I had

555
00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:35,399
Speaker 5: sort of a breakout game against Sydney. I think I

556
00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:37,080
Speaker 5: had like twenty eight points in the game or whatever.

557
00:27:37,119 --> 00:27:40,000
Speaker 5: And I called my agent straight after it. Even during

558
00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:42,040
Speaker 5: the game, I thought, if I get to twenty points,

559
00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:47,040
Speaker 5: this is it. This is the day I'm done. So yeah,

560
00:27:47,119 --> 00:27:48,719
Speaker 5: So that was during the game. This is what I

561
00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:53,560
Speaker 5: was thinking at halftime. So after the game, called my parents,

562
00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:56,040
Speaker 5: called my agent. I was like, I'm done.

563
00:27:56,240 --> 00:27:56,560
Speaker 2: Tomorrow.

564
00:27:56,600 --> 00:27:58,600
Speaker 5: You can send out a press statement saying I'm retiring

565
00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:00,400
Speaker 5: officially from the Australian team and this is.

566
00:28:00,320 --> 00:28:01,040
Speaker 2: My last season.

567
00:28:02,080 --> 00:28:07,760
Speaker 5: And anyway, the next morning, I'm driving home with bottle

568
00:28:07,760 --> 00:28:11,080
Speaker 5: of champagne the kids because I was dropping the kids

569
00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:12,720
Speaker 5: off too. They were going to start school back in

570
00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:15,960
Speaker 5: Aubrey like the following week or something, and that was

571
00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:17,440
Speaker 5: always a plan. They were going to be with me

572
00:28:17,520 --> 00:28:19,840
Speaker 5: up until that point, and Lenny was going to start

573
00:28:19,880 --> 00:28:24,160
Speaker 5: his new school, big school in Aubrey and just get

574
00:28:24,600 --> 00:28:28,879
Speaker 5: comfortable and everything. So I'm on the way home and

575
00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:31,480
Speaker 5: my agent calls and he's like, look, Sandy's going to

576
00:28:31,480 --> 00:28:34,600
Speaker 5: give you a call, and I said, okay, no problem,

577
00:28:34,640 --> 00:28:36,760
Speaker 5: I understand that. So she calls and she's like, we

578
00:28:36,800 --> 00:28:39,640
Speaker 5: want you to reconsider. We'd love you to come to

579
00:28:39,640 --> 00:28:44,920
Speaker 5: the qualifiers. And in my head I was just like

580
00:28:46,720 --> 00:28:50,280
Speaker 5: what why, Like there's no way that they were going

581
00:28:50,320 --> 00:28:52,520
Speaker 5: to select me ten days before that, you know what

582
00:28:52,520 --> 00:28:54,760
Speaker 5: I mean. It was just like anyway. So I got

583
00:28:54,800 --> 00:28:56,960
Speaker 5: home and I told mom and dad, and my mom

584
00:28:57,120 --> 00:28:59,440
Speaker 5: was like that. Both of them looked at me, and

585
00:28:59,440 --> 00:29:01,720
Speaker 5: I think they were like, yeah, what do you want

586
00:29:01,760 --> 00:29:04,720
Speaker 5: to do? And I was like, well, I mean, I

587
00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:08,960
Speaker 5: don't know. And then look, Dad was probably a bit

588
00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:11,160
Speaker 5: more like we'll think of the boys. And Mum was like, well, no,

589
00:29:11,280 --> 00:29:13,400
Speaker 5: it's only two weeks. You're not going to be with

590
00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:16,920
Speaker 5: the boys anyway. You're going to Brazil. It's ten days.

591
00:29:16,960 --> 00:29:19,479
Speaker 5: Like that's it. It's ten days, and then you can

592
00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:21,560
Speaker 5: retire when you get back. You can be done when

593
00:29:21,560 --> 00:29:24,040
Speaker 5: you get over She was like, imagine what would happen

594
00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:25,960
Speaker 5: if you didn't go and they didn't qualify.

595
00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:28,800
Speaker 2: How would you feel that? And I was like, yeah,

596
00:29:28,880 --> 00:29:30,520
Speaker 2: you're right, i'd feel pretty bad.

597
00:29:31,160 --> 00:29:33,320
Speaker 5: Not that I would be you know, not that it

598
00:29:33,360 --> 00:29:35,920
Speaker 5: would wrestle my shoulders, was true, Like you would feel

599
00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:42,160
Speaker 5: crappy if that would happen, Like, and she said, you'd

600
00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:44,400
Speaker 5: feel better if you went over there and you didn't qualify,

601
00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:45,360
Speaker 5: but you were with the.

602
00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:50,720
Speaker 2: Team, and you know it's.

603
00:29:50,560 --> 00:29:52,520
Speaker 5: Not true, but it is true. I don't know, Like,

604
00:29:52,560 --> 00:29:55,000
Speaker 5: I don't know how you would feel. But I just

605
00:29:55,480 --> 00:29:57,080
Speaker 5: in my mind, I was like, she's right, I'm not

606
00:29:57,120 --> 00:29:58,680
Speaker 5: going to be with the kids anyway for two weeks.

607
00:29:58,680 --> 00:30:01,080
Speaker 5: They're going to be at schooling au. I will miss

608
00:30:01,080 --> 00:30:03,880
Speaker 5: my eldest son's birthday and I'll miss my youngest first

609
00:30:03,960 --> 00:30:07,600
Speaker 5: day at school. That were milestones. That was really upsetting,

610
00:30:07,680 --> 00:30:10,800
Speaker 5: but I decided yes. I had twenty four hours to decide,

611
00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:15,239
Speaker 5: and I made the decision and I went. But I

612
00:30:15,320 --> 00:30:17,720
Speaker 5: was highly emotional. I think I didn't have a lot

613
00:30:17,720 --> 00:30:20,000
Speaker 5: of time to really process anything. I I.

614
00:30:21,880 --> 00:30:24,440
Speaker 2: Was not myself at all.

615
00:30:24,520 --> 00:30:27,240
Speaker 5: So when I left, I was really, really, really upset

616
00:30:27,320 --> 00:30:29,000
Speaker 5: that I've done this again, that I was leaving the

617
00:30:29,040 --> 00:30:31,040
Speaker 5: kids again, that I was going to season playing again.

618
00:30:32,080 --> 00:30:35,520
Speaker 5: But in the same mind, I was like, what an opportunity,

619
00:30:35,640 --> 00:30:40,040
Speaker 5: Like how it's like pull push, you know. And I

620
00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:42,800
Speaker 5: got over there and again, I love the girls, the team.

621
00:30:43,040 --> 00:30:46,360
Speaker 5: The girls are gorgeous. They're just such beautiful humans. I

622
00:30:46,440 --> 00:30:48,680
Speaker 5: love going to battle with them. I love being out

623
00:30:48,680 --> 00:30:50,760
Speaker 5: on the court with them. I love supporting them. I

624
00:30:50,800 --> 00:30:55,280
Speaker 5: love being that teammate waving a towel. You know, that's

625
00:30:55,760 --> 00:30:59,240
Speaker 5: I love it. So it was really hard. But yeah,

626
00:30:59,280 --> 00:31:02,160
Speaker 5: it was hard. And then after one of the games,

627
00:31:02,200 --> 00:31:04,320
Speaker 5: I said in the media that yep, I'm done. Now,

628
00:31:04,360 --> 00:31:04,800
Speaker 5: I'm good.

629
00:31:04,840 --> 00:31:09,000
Speaker 2: I can go home to my kids. I'm done, and yeah,

630
00:31:09,160 --> 00:31:11,360
Speaker 2: that went viral.

631
00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:16,720
Speaker 5: And then, look, I didn't expect there to be such

632
00:31:16,720 --> 00:31:17,320
Speaker 5: a big.

633
00:31:17,760 --> 00:31:22,800
Speaker 2: You know, push or whatever. But because I.

634
00:31:22,720 --> 00:31:25,520
Speaker 5: Hadn't spoken really to Sandy or anyone, they, I mean,

635
00:31:25,520 --> 00:31:27,720
Speaker 5: they knew that I was going to retire beforehand, but

636
00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:32,120
Speaker 5: I hadn't spoken about after. So I guess Sandy and

637
00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:35,120
Speaker 5: everybody sort of said to me, look, you know, after

638
00:31:35,120 --> 00:31:37,000
Speaker 5: the season, just take a little bit of time to

639
00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:39,520
Speaker 5: decide if you want to try and go for the Olympics.

640
00:31:40,480 --> 00:31:41,760
Speaker 2: We'll support you.

641
00:31:41,760 --> 00:31:44,960
Speaker 5: You know, your decision either way, but just take some

642
00:31:45,080 --> 00:31:47,680
Speaker 5: time to yourself, go with your kids, go be with

643
00:31:47,720 --> 00:31:48,280
Speaker 5: your family.

644
00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:52,560
Speaker 2: And yeah, so that's what I did.

645
00:31:52,760 --> 00:31:55,600
Speaker 5: I went and took that time through April and I

646
00:31:55,680 --> 00:32:00,440
Speaker 5: kept training, which hopefully this is something that continues long

647
00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:04,040
Speaker 5: after I finished, because then I won't have you know,

648
00:32:04,280 --> 00:32:06,200
Speaker 5: I'll be really happy with myself if I do that.

649
00:32:06,280 --> 00:32:08,040
Speaker 5: But yeah, I just kept training through it, took it

650
00:32:08,120 --> 00:32:11,160
Speaker 5: day by day, and here I am again.

651
00:32:13,480 --> 00:32:15,480
Speaker 3: What do you think more can be done? To support

652
00:32:16,360 --> 00:32:18,240
Speaker 3: women athletes with kids.

653
00:32:18,800 --> 00:32:21,920
Speaker 5: Oh look, I think my case is a very unique

654
00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:25,840
Speaker 5: one because both my kid, like being a single mum

655
00:32:26,240 --> 00:32:29,560
Speaker 5: is very very difficult, and being a professional athlete.

656
00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:30,480
Speaker 2: And I think.

657
00:32:31,800 --> 00:32:34,880
Speaker 5: It's you know, my boys are pretty they're pretty big,

658
00:32:34,920 --> 00:32:36,720
Speaker 5: so seven year old and a five year old, and

659
00:32:36,760 --> 00:32:40,680
Speaker 5: they're big boys. They're smart, like they know what's going on.

660
00:32:43,120 --> 00:32:45,400
Speaker 5: Every single word I say. They like hold on to

661
00:32:45,560 --> 00:32:48,600
Speaker 5: as well. So you know, when I was going through

662
00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:50,200
Speaker 5: all this stuff trying to figure out what to do,

663
00:32:50,480 --> 00:32:53,440
Speaker 5: I remember I said something to Harry and he called

664
00:32:53,440 --> 00:32:55,520
Speaker 5: me a liar. He said, Mum, you're a liar. You

665
00:32:55,560 --> 00:32:58,120
Speaker 5: said you never go overseas again with Austrange. He lied

666
00:32:58,160 --> 00:33:02,680
Speaker 5: to me, like you're choosing them and that's my mom

667
00:33:02,760 --> 00:33:07,440
Speaker 5: was there when he said that, and I honestly I

668
00:33:07,440 --> 00:33:09,360
Speaker 5: had to like run out, like you know, I didn't

669
00:33:09,400 --> 00:33:10,680
Speaker 5: want to cry in front of him, but it was

670
00:33:10,800 --> 00:33:14,040
Speaker 5: just like, God, you know, how do you handle that?

671
00:33:14,760 --> 00:33:18,960
Speaker 5: But I mean even this morning, Okay, here's a story

672
00:33:18,960 --> 00:33:19,200
Speaker 5: for you.

673
00:33:20,240 --> 00:33:21,360
Speaker 2: I'm over at Mom and dads.

674
00:33:21,360 --> 00:33:24,520
Speaker 5: This morning, I get a text message from Harry's coach saying,

675
00:33:25,120 --> 00:33:26,720
Speaker 5: the boys have got to buy this Friday.

676
00:33:27,440 --> 00:33:31,640
Speaker 2: But we played the last game next Friday, and Harry's

677
00:33:31,680 --> 00:33:33,080
Speaker 2: like yeah, and I said.

678
00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:35,360
Speaker 5: No, darling, mummy's got to play against China. We find

679
00:33:35,400 --> 00:33:36,880
Speaker 5: out about the Olympic team that night.

680
00:33:37,640 --> 00:33:40,320
Speaker 2: He's like no, and I was like what. He's like,

681
00:33:40,360 --> 00:33:42,440
Speaker 2: you don't even want to play in the Olympics. And

682
00:33:42,480 --> 00:33:44,360
Speaker 2: I looked at him and I was like, where do

683
00:33:44,360 --> 00:33:45,960
Speaker 2: you think I'm training the way I am? And he goes,

684
00:33:45,960 --> 00:33:47,240
Speaker 2: you don't even want to do it. I want to

685
00:33:47,280 --> 00:33:49,600
Speaker 2: be here, I want to be with my friends. He's like,

686
00:33:49,640 --> 00:33:50,960
Speaker 2: You've got to let me do it. And I looked

687
00:33:50,960 --> 00:33:52,520
Speaker 2: at him and I was like, are you kidding me?

688
00:33:52,640 --> 00:33:53,080
Speaker 2: Right now?

689
00:33:55,520 --> 00:33:58,000
Speaker 5: There's just no awareness about how important it is. And

690
00:33:58,040 --> 00:34:00,560
Speaker 5: I think in that moment it kind of clicked and

691
00:34:00,600 --> 00:34:04,480
Speaker 5: I was like, you know, maybe I'm the silly one

692
00:34:04,520 --> 00:34:09,200
Speaker 5: for like letting me be manipulated by a seven year

693
00:34:09,239 --> 00:34:10,200
Speaker 5: old and a five year old.

694
00:34:12,560 --> 00:34:14,520
Speaker 2: It's me for sure, so clean.

695
00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:21,240
Speaker 4: It's complicated though, right It's probably harder when they're older

696
00:34:21,280 --> 00:34:23,560
Speaker 4: because they get it and can say things like they're

697
00:34:23,560 --> 00:34:25,880
Speaker 4: not a little toddler who's just like being strapped to

698
00:34:25,920 --> 00:34:26,640
Speaker 4: you wherever you go.

699
00:34:27,360 --> 00:34:29,719
Speaker 5: Yeah, he well, that's the thing, and I think he

700
00:34:29,760 --> 00:34:31,279
Speaker 5: doesn't realize the normality of it.

701
00:34:31,320 --> 00:34:32,720
Speaker 2: They don't, both of them don't.

702
00:34:32,840 --> 00:34:36,160
Speaker 5: I think, you know, they know that I've been to

703
00:34:36,200 --> 00:34:39,440
Speaker 5: an Olympics before, they know that I've but they don't know.

704
00:34:40,440 --> 00:34:44,759
Speaker 5: I guess the difference this time is the preparation and

705
00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:46,799
Speaker 5: the work that I've had to put in to get here.

706
00:34:47,040 --> 00:34:52,240
Speaker 5: Like it's just been like if I had have trained

707
00:34:52,280 --> 00:34:56,279
Speaker 5: like this when I was young, I I hate to

708
00:34:56,280 --> 00:34:58,040
Speaker 5: think of how good I would have been, you know,

709
00:34:58,160 --> 00:34:59,080
Speaker 5: like I really would.

710
00:34:59,680 --> 00:35:00,879
Speaker 2: It's I'm scary, but.

711
00:35:02,560 --> 00:35:05,719
Speaker 5: Yeah, I'm glad, I guess to be to be here

712
00:35:05,800 --> 00:35:08,759
Speaker 5: right now, like in this having this opportunity in front

713
00:35:08,800 --> 00:35:10,880
Speaker 5: of me, even though I haven't been selected yet, it

714
00:35:11,400 --> 00:35:15,440
Speaker 5: still is. It has been the most incredible journey in

715
00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:18,759
Speaker 5: my life because I've proved to myself so much. And

716
00:35:18,840 --> 00:35:20,759
Speaker 5: I think that one day my boys are going to

717
00:35:20,840 --> 00:35:24,960
Speaker 5: be like, well, she did that, you know, one day,

718
00:35:24,960 --> 00:35:27,040
Speaker 5: I think they'll do that. I think that's pretty cool.

719
00:35:28,160 --> 00:35:29,800
Speaker 3: What have you proved to yourself?

720
00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:33,400
Speaker 5: That I can commit to a process, that I can

721
00:35:33,600 --> 00:35:36,320
Speaker 5: that I can be consistent with training, that I can

722
00:35:37,080 --> 00:35:40,520
Speaker 5: be healthy, and that I can do it. Like, you know,

723
00:35:40,640 --> 00:35:45,600
Speaker 5: I think for so long I had in my mind that, oh, well,

724
00:35:45,640 --> 00:35:48,080
Speaker 5: I've got my kids now, you know, I've got my job.

725
00:35:48,280 --> 00:35:50,400
Speaker 2: It was just easy, like easy street.

726
00:35:50,840 --> 00:35:52,680
Speaker 5: And I don't get me wrong, I love that and

727
00:35:52,760 --> 00:35:55,120
Speaker 5: I cannot wait for it to go back to normal.

728
00:35:56,560 --> 00:35:59,600
Speaker 5: But the fact that I've been able to do this,

729
00:35:59,640 --> 00:36:02,360
Speaker 5: I would I've been able to do without my parents obviously,

730
00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:04,640
Speaker 5: and the support of the people, like the people that

731
00:36:04,680 --> 00:36:06,879
Speaker 5: have been close to me in my little circle, which

732
00:36:06,920 --> 00:36:10,120
Speaker 5: is Nike, which is my mom and dad, which is

733
00:36:10,520 --> 00:36:15,440
Speaker 5: the organizations that have supported me through my career Signet Jacob,

734
00:36:15,520 --> 00:36:20,000
Speaker 5: It's been incredible, Like I've had great support, but I

735
00:36:20,040 --> 00:36:22,359
Speaker 5: couldn't have done it without them or my parents, like

736
00:36:23,320 --> 00:36:26,239
Speaker 5: they've been incredible. But I guess the moral of the

737
00:36:26,320 --> 00:36:29,280
Speaker 5: story is the consistency through the training, Like even the rehab.

738
00:36:29,480 --> 00:36:33,359
Speaker 5: The rehab last year was just brutal, and I even

739
00:36:33,440 --> 00:36:35,480
Speaker 5: I had to do a three minute there's this test

740
00:36:35,520 --> 00:36:39,839
Speaker 5: that you do with basketball and it's like a three

741
00:36:39,840 --> 00:36:46,359
Speaker 5: minute test, but for me, like I beat my last time.

742
00:36:46,400 --> 00:36:48,920
Speaker 5: I did it by like six lengths of a court,

743
00:36:49,040 --> 00:36:51,719
Speaker 5: which means that I'm like getting so much fitter and

744
00:36:51,760 --> 00:36:55,919
Speaker 5: so much stronger than what I've ever been And to me, that.

745
00:36:56,640 --> 00:37:00,279
Speaker 2: Says a lot. You know it says a lot, and

746
00:37:01,880 --> 00:37:03,799
Speaker 2: I wish I had just committed to it like this

747
00:37:03,920 --> 00:37:04,719
Speaker 2: when I was a kid.

748
00:37:05,360 --> 00:37:08,880
Speaker 4: Yeah, isn't it interesting? How does it feel like the

749
00:37:08,920 --> 00:37:12,000
Speaker 4: headspace that you're in now? You dropped fifty points in

750
00:37:12,160 --> 00:37:15,839
Speaker 4: NBL one the other day to be preparing, let's let's

751
00:37:15,880 --> 00:37:19,120
Speaker 4: say manifesting you've been selected in the Olympic team. At

752
00:37:19,160 --> 00:37:21,239
Speaker 4: the time of recording, the team hasn't been picked. But

753
00:37:21,440 --> 00:37:23,719
Speaker 4: how does it feel to be preparing for such a

754
00:37:23,800 --> 00:37:26,160
Speaker 4: huge tournament, to be going to the Olympics again, and

755
00:37:26,760 --> 00:37:31,040
Speaker 4: to be in such incredible form.

756
00:37:31,080 --> 00:37:36,040
Speaker 5: It's a head game. Still, there's anxiety. Absolutely. I think

757
00:37:36,160 --> 00:37:39,920
Speaker 5: the pressure has been real. I think that's been driving

758
00:37:39,920 --> 00:37:43,719
Speaker 5: me probably more than anything, is just the pressure of

759
00:37:43,760 --> 00:37:48,279
Speaker 5: having to make a team. And then whereas you know,

760
00:37:48,320 --> 00:37:50,440
Speaker 5: when I was younger, I knew I was going to

761
00:37:50,440 --> 00:37:51,719
Speaker 5: be on that squad. I knew I was going to

762
00:37:51,719 --> 00:37:54,200
Speaker 5: be on that team no matter what. Whereas now like

763
00:37:54,280 --> 00:37:57,440
Speaker 5: having to actually commit to something and commit to a

764
00:37:57,480 --> 00:38:00,439
Speaker 5: process and then commit to the training to to get

765
00:38:00,440 --> 00:38:04,040
Speaker 5: myself as good as I possibly could get myself.

766
00:38:04,120 --> 00:38:08,000
Speaker 2: I guess physically and physically I'm there.

767
00:38:08,040 --> 00:38:11,880
Speaker 5: I think mentally I am I overthink I'm overthinking the

768
00:38:11,880 --> 00:38:13,480
Speaker 5: process and I need to get back to what I

769
00:38:13,520 --> 00:38:16,000
Speaker 5: was talking about before, like each day, take each day

770
00:38:16,040 --> 00:38:17,880
Speaker 5: as it comes, because if you look too far ahead,

771
00:38:17,880 --> 00:38:21,200
Speaker 5: that's when you lose your mind. And I am quite

772
00:38:21,680 --> 00:38:24,280
Speaker 5: capable of losing my mind in any given moment.

773
00:38:24,440 --> 00:38:25,719
Speaker 2: So it's just about.

774
00:38:25,440 --> 00:38:27,520
Speaker 5: Sort of raining my brain in and like just trying

775
00:38:27,560 --> 00:38:30,200
Speaker 5: to stay focused. And the great thing about in my

776
00:38:30,280 --> 00:38:32,719
Speaker 5: life now is when I have my children. So as

777
00:38:32,719 --> 00:38:34,480
Speaker 5: soon as I pick those kids up, it is not

778
00:38:34,520 --> 00:38:37,160
Speaker 5: about me anymore. It's not about training. It is about

779
00:38:37,360 --> 00:38:39,400
Speaker 5: those two and what they want.

780
00:38:39,760 --> 00:38:40,480
Speaker 2: At all times.

781
00:38:40,719 --> 00:38:45,080
Speaker 5: So it's that has been a blessing in disguise, no

782
00:38:45,200 --> 00:38:50,520
Speaker 5: doubt that that's really helped. Yeah, but it's been hard,

783
00:38:50,640 --> 00:38:53,480
Speaker 5: Like it is hard. The pressure is hard, which I've

784
00:38:53,480 --> 00:38:55,960
Speaker 5: never had to really deal with before, like that pressure

785
00:38:56,000 --> 00:38:56,760
Speaker 5: of making something.

786
00:38:56,840 --> 00:39:01,240
Speaker 3: Yeah, what is your favorite failure?

787
00:39:04,200 --> 00:39:05,360
Speaker 2: My favorite failure?

788
00:39:07,680 --> 00:39:10,920
Speaker 5: Look, I've failed at a lot of things a lot

789
00:39:10,960 --> 00:39:13,759
Speaker 5: of times, whether it's like having a bad game. You know,

790
00:39:14,760 --> 00:39:17,600
Speaker 5: on Saturday night we had to play Hills and honestly

791
00:39:18,880 --> 00:39:19,480
Speaker 5: I failed.

792
00:39:20,360 --> 00:39:24,480
Speaker 2: I failed miserably. I had a terrible way, and I

793
00:39:24,920 --> 00:39:25,600
Speaker 2: was tired.

794
00:39:25,680 --> 00:39:28,840
Speaker 5: I think the training like I am training a lot,

795
00:39:28,880 --> 00:39:31,200
Speaker 5: like I'm conditioning every day and waits every day.

796
00:39:31,200 --> 00:39:32,239
Speaker 2: I'm on the court every day.

797
00:39:33,040 --> 00:39:35,600
Speaker 5: So I think by Saturday I was just tired. My

798
00:39:35,719 --> 00:39:37,800
Speaker 5: knee was sore. I was like, I cannot, I just

799
00:39:37,840 --> 00:39:39,520
Speaker 5: don't be here. This is killing me.

800
00:39:39,640 --> 00:39:43,200
Speaker 2: The rest weren't calling anything my way, and I just wasn't.

801
00:39:43,040 --> 00:39:46,520
Speaker 5: Making any baskets and honestly, all I wanted to do

802
00:39:46,640 --> 00:39:47,920
Speaker 5: was go a bit. We've been on a bus for

803
00:39:47,960 --> 00:39:49,719
Speaker 5: seven hours to get to Sydney and my child was

804
00:39:49,719 --> 00:39:52,520
Speaker 5: sitting there on top of me. There was no other

805
00:39:52,560 --> 00:39:56,239
Speaker 5: seats on the bus. It just felt like horrible. My

806
00:39:56,680 --> 00:39:59,560
Speaker 5: life just felt horrible on Saturday. So I had a

807
00:39:59,640 --> 00:40:02,920
Speaker 5: terrible game. We still won, but I still, for my standards,

808
00:40:02,920 --> 00:40:05,560
Speaker 5: played terrible. And then I decided not to play in

809
00:40:05,560 --> 00:40:07,839
Speaker 5: the fourth quarter, which is no problem because our team

810
00:40:08,120 --> 00:40:11,239
Speaker 5: was up by thirty points. The girls have got to

811
00:40:11,239 --> 00:40:14,560
Speaker 5: win without me anyway, because I'm not playing anymore. So

812
00:40:15,040 --> 00:40:19,440
Speaker 5: it was fine anyhow, Yeah, felt like a complete failure.

813
00:40:19,840 --> 00:40:23,200
Speaker 5: Texted Mom, don't know if I can do this, feel like,

814
00:40:23,719 --> 00:40:25,879
Speaker 5: you know, maybe it's all going to come falling down,

815
00:40:26,239 --> 00:40:29,400
Speaker 5: you know, And Mum's like, stop it. You're overthinking things again,

816
00:40:30,160 --> 00:40:34,440
Speaker 5: Like just relax and then yeah, Sunday was Sunday was

817
00:40:34,440 --> 00:40:41,239
Speaker 5: a different story. But it's it's interesting. It's every day

818
00:40:41,239 --> 00:40:44,680
Speaker 5: I fail, missing out on job opportunities, you know, like

819
00:40:45,360 --> 00:40:47,160
Speaker 5: it happens to all of us. You've just got to

820
00:40:47,200 --> 00:40:50,400
Speaker 5: get back on the bus and keep going. You know,

821
00:40:51,760 --> 00:40:54,480
Speaker 5: that's life. It's you get some, you win some, you

822
00:40:54,560 --> 00:40:54,880
Speaker 5: lose some.

823
00:40:55,080 --> 00:40:59,719
Speaker 3: You know, what does Paris look like for the opals?

824
00:41:00,960 --> 00:41:02,120
Speaker 2: Oh, it's exciting.

825
00:41:02,360 --> 00:41:05,960
Speaker 5: I think the opals with the girls that we've got

826
00:41:05,960 --> 00:41:10,600
Speaker 5: overseas in the WNBA at the moment, are really mixing

827
00:41:10,640 --> 00:41:12,479
Speaker 5: it with the best of them, you know, as he's

828
00:41:12,560 --> 00:41:15,400
Speaker 5: really coming into her own. She's probably going to be

829
00:41:15,440 --> 00:41:19,480
Speaker 5: an All Star again this year. She's just phenomenal. I

830
00:41:19,560 --> 00:41:21,719
Speaker 5: sent her a message and I truly believe this, But

831
00:41:21,840 --> 00:41:25,000
Speaker 5: I honestly think she's going to become one of, if

832
00:41:25,040 --> 00:41:26,399
Speaker 5: not the best defender in the world.

833
00:41:26,520 --> 00:41:27,600
Speaker 2: Like I truly believe that.

834
00:41:27,719 --> 00:41:31,480
Speaker 5: Just her athleticism and her dominance defensively is something that

835
00:41:31,640 --> 00:41:34,319
Speaker 5: is just incredible and it's so.

836
00:41:34,360 --> 00:41:37,560
Speaker 2: Fun to watch. So I'm really excited about her.

837
00:41:38,080 --> 00:41:43,640
Speaker 5: Rebecca Allen, great steps coming along the girls, Jade Melbourne.

838
00:41:44,120 --> 00:41:46,520
Speaker 5: You know, they're all coming into their own, so We've

839
00:41:46,520 --> 00:41:50,759
Speaker 5: got like a great group of girls over there, and

840
00:41:50,800 --> 00:41:54,640
Speaker 5: then you know, back here, we've got experience, we've got leadership,

841
00:41:54,640 --> 00:41:57,600
Speaker 5: we've got consistency, and then we've got the youth, the

842
00:41:57,840 --> 00:42:00,840
Speaker 5: really young ones coming through. So there's like a great mix.

843
00:42:02,120 --> 00:42:04,439
Speaker 5: But on top of that, there's a great culture. It's

844
00:42:04,680 --> 00:42:08,360
Speaker 5: a great group of girls that are supportive. Whether we win, lose,

845
00:42:08,480 --> 00:42:13,239
Speaker 5: or whatever. I know that those girls are going to

846
00:42:13,280 --> 00:42:16,320
Speaker 5: come together and be okay through it. So I feel

847
00:42:16,320 --> 00:42:18,799
Speaker 5: like Paris is going to be a really really good

848
00:42:18,800 --> 00:42:19,320
Speaker 5: tournament for you.

849
00:42:20,640 --> 00:42:23,160
Speaker 4: Yeah, I cannot wait to watch to finish us off.

850
00:42:23,440 --> 00:42:26,640
Speaker 4: Who has had the biggest impact on you as a person.

851
00:42:27,320 --> 00:42:30,160
Speaker 5: Oh, I need to do I even need to say

852
00:42:30,200 --> 00:42:33,560
Speaker 5: this my mother. I would say, my mum is the one.

853
00:42:33,719 --> 00:42:37,600
Speaker 5: She's still the one that probably the only person that

854
00:42:37,640 --> 00:42:42,480
Speaker 5: can truly like calm me down and speak rationally to me,

855
00:42:42,680 --> 00:42:46,040
Speaker 5: and she just knows me so well, you know what

856
00:42:46,120 --> 00:42:48,319
Speaker 5: I mean. And I guess for my mum too. I

857
00:42:48,360 --> 00:42:50,200
Speaker 5: look at her and I want to be like her

858
00:42:50,360 --> 00:42:52,480
Speaker 5: still to this day. I want to have her kindness,

859
00:42:52,520 --> 00:42:54,600
Speaker 5: I want to have her strength.

860
00:42:55,680 --> 00:42:58,880
Speaker 2: She's not at all vulnerable, so I'm definitely not like

861
00:42:58,960 --> 00:42:59,440
Speaker 2: her in that.

862
00:43:01,400 --> 00:43:04,359
Speaker 5: I've never want to seen her be vulnerable, but she's

863
00:43:04,400 --> 00:43:08,480
Speaker 5: a strong bugg. Yeah, so I bet she's as kind

864
00:43:08,520 --> 00:43:10,680
Speaker 5: as anything, and I think that's something that I just

865
00:43:10,840 --> 00:43:17,200
Speaker 5: absolutely admire in her. And yeah, she's I mean, she

866
00:43:17,320 --> 00:43:19,640
Speaker 5: was Captain of the Ogles once too. So for me,

867
00:43:20,200 --> 00:43:22,920
Speaker 5: I've got my idol, my role model in my mum. Absolutely,

868
00:43:23,000 --> 00:43:25,600
Speaker 5: I can see her every day and fight with her

869
00:43:25,600 --> 00:43:26,879
Speaker 5: every day and she'll still win.

870
00:43:27,000 --> 00:43:27,680
Speaker 2: She's amazing.

871
00:43:28,920 --> 00:43:32,839
Speaker 4: That's really special. Thank you so much for your time

872
00:43:32,880 --> 00:43:37,279
Speaker 4: again today, Lauren, and for your candidness and your vulnerability,

873
00:43:37,320 --> 00:43:37,920
Speaker 4: even though.

874
00:43:37,719 --> 00:43:39,399
Speaker 3: It's opposite to your mother.

875
00:43:40,320 --> 00:43:42,320
Speaker 4: It's really special to have the chance to chat to

876
00:43:42,320 --> 00:43:44,279
Speaker 4: you again and hear more about the last couple of

877
00:43:44,400 --> 00:43:47,480
Speaker 4: years and crossing fingers and toes and everything that we'll

878
00:43:47,480 --> 00:43:48,960
Speaker 4: see you on the plane over to Paris.

879
00:43:49,440 --> 00:43:50,520
Speaker 2: Yeah, thank you very.

880
00:43:50,400 --> 00:43:52,320
Speaker 3: Much, Thanks so much for listening.

881
00:43:52,640 --> 00:43:54,680
Speaker 4: If you got something out of this episode, I would

882
00:43:54,680 --> 00:43:56,759
Speaker 4: absolutely love it if you could send it on to

883
00:43:56,880 --> 00:44:00,839
Speaker 4: one person who you think might enjoy it. Otherwise, subscribe,

884
00:44:01,000 --> 00:44:02,960
Speaker 4: give us a review, and make sure you follow us

885
00:44:03,000 --> 00:44:05,799
Speaker 4: on Instagram at the Female Athlete Project to stay up

886
00:44:05,840 --> 00:44:09,040
Speaker 4: to date with podcast episodes, merch drops, and of course

887
00:44:09,480 --> 00:44:12,160
Speaker 4: news and stories about epic female athletes,