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Speaker 1: This episode is brought to you by Victoria Police. Are

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Speaker 1: you made for more search police careers? To find out

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Speaker 1: this week on the podcast, We've Got Double Trouble. We've

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Speaker 1: got two incredible basketballers who are real trailblazers in the

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Speaker 1: women's basketball space. Firstly, Rachel Jarry Grace the WNBL for

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Speaker 1: over a decade, claiming championships with the Bullying Boomers.

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Speaker 2: And Southside Flyers.

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Speaker 1: She was a WNBA champion with the Minnesota Lynks in

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Speaker 1: twenty thirteen. She also represented Australia the London and Rio Olympics,

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Speaker 1: earning bronze medals missus Stella career. She joined Victoria Police

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Speaker 1: Academy at twenty nineteen and she's still working there, currently

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Speaker 1: on spondment with the unit. Dim Butler is absolutely incredible.

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Speaker 1: She made history with the first WNBL championship winning AIS

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Speaker 1: team and went on to a steller thirteen year WNBL career.

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Speaker 1: Her impact is undeniable. She played two hundred and fifty

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Speaker 1: one game sent her life membership. She balanced full time

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Speaker 1: shift work at Victoria Police with a thriving basketball career.

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Speaker 1: She represented the Opals in two thousand and five, the

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Speaker 1: China Tours and the Feeble World Cup qualifiers. Post retirement,

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Speaker 1: she ventured into coaching, achieving success in various leagues and

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Speaker 1: even securing a fever scout role at the Tokyo.

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Speaker 2: Olympics and the Women's World Cup in Sydney.

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Speaker 1: These two are absolutely incredible athletes and people. As a

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Speaker 1: former basketball and myself, I love the chance to sit

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Speaker 1: down and chat with them both. I hope you enjoy it.

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Speaker 1: See and Rach, welcome to the Female Athlete Project. Thanks

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Speaker 1: for having They're in sync already, We've only just started

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Speaker 1: in there, alreadience.

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Speaker 2: This is going to be a fun chat.

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Speaker 1: I'm really really looking forward to having a chat to

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Speaker 1: you both today. Both have had similar careers across basketball

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Speaker 1: and now the police, but very different journeys to get

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Speaker 1: to where you are.

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Speaker 2: Rach, we might start with you.

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Speaker 1: Can you tell us a little bit about you as

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Speaker 1: a little kid and how you found a love for basketball?

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Speaker 2: Yeah?

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Speaker 3: Sure, I guess. I was always a tall kid. So

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Speaker 3: my mum, who played a little bit of basketball he

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Speaker 3: was younger as well, decided that basketball would be good

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Speaker 3: for me and got me into it, got me interested

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Speaker 3: and I started a whole domestic club when I was

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Speaker 3: in grade. Club I mean sorry, in prep when I

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Speaker 3: was five or six so I could start playing. So

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Speaker 3: I formally remember playing under eight with there was two

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Speaker 3: boys on our team and they would only pass the

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Speaker 3: ball to each other. So I learned to play defense

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Speaker 3: from a very young age. So yeah, and just progress

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Speaker 3: through there. Yeah, into my teenage years, I started kind

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Speaker 3: of taking it a little bit more seriously.

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Speaker 1: Well can you go more into detail about how your

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Speaker 1: mum started that so that you could have a chance

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Speaker 1: to play.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, Well, just the area that I lived in, we

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Speaker 3: didn't have like a local domestic club. So mum just

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Speaker 3: approached my primary school and asked if she could start

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Speaker 3: a club using their name made out of there, and

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Speaker 3: they said yes.

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Speaker 4: So we had like the first under eighth.

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Speaker 3: Team, and I think this year, I think I was

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Speaker 3: invited to the twenty five year celebration for that club,

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Speaker 3: which is now one of the really strongest domestic clubs

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Speaker 3: in the Inner West.

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Speaker 4: So it's pretty special.

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Speaker 3: Ye have your mom like start that for you, It's

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Speaker 3: pretty pretty awesome.

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Speaker 2: That's really cool.

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Speaker 1: And when was it from there that you kind of

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Speaker 1: worked out that you might have a real crack at basketball.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, As I got older, I joined El Trona for

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Speaker 3: red basketball, a lot of long Friday nights down in

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Speaker 3: the car all over Victoria. And then when I was fourteen,

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Speaker 3: made my first state team for VIC Metro.

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Speaker 4: And made state teams from there.

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Speaker 3: Never lost a game at Nationals Sotro.

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Speaker 2: I hated playing Vic Metro.

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Speaker 3: I still I like to say that all the time,

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Speaker 3: but yeah, everyone hates. I had a very good team.

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Speaker 3: I'm not gonna lie, but yeah, we didn't lose game.

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Speaker 1: So your whole, your whole career through national change, you

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Speaker 1: never lost a game as VIC Meetro.

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Speaker 4: Never.

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Speaker 2: Oh it must be nice.

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Speaker 3: I think we had a couple of overtime games, but

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Speaker 3: we've never lost. And yeah, I guess from there, I

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Speaker 3: was chose then to go up to the Institute of Sport,

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Speaker 3: got a scholarship up there, did year eleven and twelve

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Speaker 3: at like College, which a lot.

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Speaker 4: Of girls.

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Speaker 3: Have gone through there and know the drill, and yeah,

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Speaker 3: just progressed from there into WBL.

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Speaker 1: And what was it like when you first got into

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Speaker 1: the WNBL.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, it was, you know, pretty special.

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Speaker 3: I'd been the development player for Daninong WNBL, so I've

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Speaker 3: been around, I guess sort of that professional environment and

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Speaker 3: seeing some girls that I've grown up watching and loved

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Speaker 3: to see play, and then going into the Institute of

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Speaker 3: Sport where you're, you know, kind of all a bunch

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Speaker 3: of babies really trying to trying to play against women.

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Speaker 3: And I obviously had a very experienced different experience to

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Speaker 3: D playing against women and pretty much getting flogged every week.

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Speaker 3: But she's won a couple of games, which we really

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Speaker 3: enjoyed and celebrated hard. But it was a massive warning

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Speaker 3: experience that grateful to play against so many amazing players.

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Speaker 1: How do you look back on that time in your

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Speaker 1: life When I imagine being the tut it's pretty all consuming,

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Speaker 1: right because you're kind of picked out as a really

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Speaker 1: talented basketballer who has potential to play professionally.

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Speaker 2: In the game.

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Speaker 1: But what is it like to be pretty young and

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Speaker 1: to kind of have your life consumed by the game.

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Speaker 3: It was really hard because I was a bit of

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Speaker 3: a rebel and I would get grounded every weekend, so

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Speaker 3: all the silliest things, and so it was it was

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Speaker 3: a massive change for me. Maybe not even sneak out

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Speaker 3: like I would just go out without signing out. And

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Speaker 3: I understand why underratings would have to tell people where

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Speaker 3: they are, but still I thought it was silly at

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Speaker 3: the time, but it ended up taking away my weekends,

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Speaker 3: which meant that I spent more time in my room,

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Speaker 3: which didn't help. But yeah, it was obviously a massive

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Speaker 3: learning experience. I didn't know anything different from being at

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Speaker 3: home with mum and dad, so to go and live

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Speaker 3: at the two, you know, with people you're in age,

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Speaker 3: it is. It is a learning experience. And yeah, it's

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Speaker 3: consumed by basketball. But I think you know, some people

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Speaker 3: can go either way, and you can get distracted by

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Speaker 3: you know, having so many friends there other sports that

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Speaker 3: kind of thing, or you can really concentrate on basketball.

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Speaker 3: I probably had a nice mix of both, I think.

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Speaker 3: But I definitely learned a lot both in life and

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Speaker 3: in basketball, And yeah, managed to get to the other

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Speaker 3: end and definitely had improved my basketball journey and probably

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Speaker 3: came out a better person in the end of cuff.

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Speaker 1: Do you think there was a point in your career

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Speaker 1: kind of as you as you got older and got

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Speaker 1: more basketball experience, where you tipped over from being less

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Speaker 1: of a rebel or is it still something that you

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Speaker 1: hold onto these days?

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Speaker 2: Oh?

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Speaker 3: I think yeah, Like, yeah, I mean I am a

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Speaker 3: cop now, so I can't.

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Speaker 4: Really be a rebel anymore like I was a job.

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Speaker 3: But I think i'd always been a little bit. I

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Speaker 3: don't know, yeah, I've never I've not always been a rebel.

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Speaker 3: I guess probably just plumped in a bit silly and

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Speaker 3: all that kind of thing, a little bit blonde and

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Speaker 3: have had my moments over the years. But no, I

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Speaker 3: think once I got sort of into making Australian teams

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Speaker 3: and you know, trying to make those Olympic teams, and

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Speaker 3: that's when I really, I guess, knuckled down and thought,

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Speaker 3: you know, this is a career I can have without

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Speaker 3: having a grind away nine to five every day. So

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Speaker 3: I think that's really what changed my mindset.

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Speaker 1: Yeah cool, we might head across to you before we

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Speaker 1: get into more of Rachel's story. Can you tell us

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Speaker 1: your your entry into basketball was a little bit different again.

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Speaker 1: Can you take us back to when you first founded

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Speaker 1: and you was a kid.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, well, I grew up Country Victoria, so we didn't

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Speaker 5: like Big Metro at all.

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Speaker 4: And I must say we did win a.

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Speaker 5: Championship, so we did beat Big Metro, so I.

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Speaker 2: Had to slide that one in there.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, I grew up, you know, on a farm in

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Speaker 5: country Victoria, so two and a half hours from Melbourne,

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Speaker 5: very small primary school. No one in my family played basketball,

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Speaker 5: let alone played sports. So for being in the country,

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Speaker 5: you sort of try to find things to do. And

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Speaker 5: my rep teacher was actually involved in basketball and wang

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Speaker 5: grata and yeah, and I could see she was, you know,

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Speaker 5: her daughter and a couple others in my primary school

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Speaker 5: were playing basketball, but I had to wait till grade three.

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Speaker 5: So because it was sort of always around and you

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Speaker 5: saw them doing some training every now and then on

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Speaker 5: the outdoor basketball court at our primary school, sort of

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Speaker 5: was something I decided I wanted to be involved in.

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Speaker 5: So there was no under eights or on the teens

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Speaker 5: when I was playing, so I joined, like I.

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Speaker 4: Think I was eight or grade three.

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Speaker 5: So we just got flogged by sixty eighty points every

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Speaker 5: game until I got to sort of top age under twelve.

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Speaker 5: But by that age, yeah, then I and I just

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Speaker 5: loved it, like it was just something that, yeah, I

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Speaker 5: just clicked with and really wanted to be better at.

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Speaker 5: And then yeah, I started making rep teams in Wane

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Speaker 5: Greda so because I was probably.

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Speaker 4: The only point guard. So I'm very.

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Speaker 5: Different to Rachel was I actually was the tallest in

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Speaker 5: my team HL, but then didn't grow much after that.

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Speaker 5: And then, yeah, so I sort of played under twelve

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Speaker 5: and under fourteens, so I was playing sort of rep

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Speaker 5: in both. So we'd go away to tournaments, you know,

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Speaker 5: I know, my friends would go to the shopping center

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Speaker 5: or go swimming the pool, but my mom would take

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Speaker 5: me to a park with my pillow and I'd sleep

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Speaker 5: because I was playing double the amount of games in

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Speaker 5: the tournament. So I was sort of a little bit

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Speaker 5: different to some of the other kids. I'd get pretty

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Speaker 5: tired because I was playing so much, but I just

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Speaker 5: loved it. So yeah, a little bit different start with rage,

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Speaker 5: but sort of a similar pathway through the state state

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Speaker 5: program made Country VIC. Yeah, and really quite raw in

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Speaker 5: terms of that coaching didn't get exploded like our courts weren't.

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Speaker 4: I mean, I thought that was great, but.

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Speaker 5: Obviously when take up to the get straight into sport,

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Speaker 5: I realized, oh, this is what a nut watch being.

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Speaker 4: But you know, very different.

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Speaker 5: But you know, like didn't take anything for granted, you know,

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Speaker 5: And I think that's probably a bit of that country

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Speaker 5: upbringing in a lot for my mum as well. But yeah,

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Speaker 5: just yeah, it was lucky and fortunate enough to get

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Speaker 5: a scholarship at this training into sports, so very similar

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Speaker 5: to rach went to Lake Jinidia year eleven and twelve

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Speaker 5: two year scholarship.

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Speaker 4: So yeah, the staying beginning.

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Speaker 1: I guess eventually we will chat a bit about your

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Speaker 1: experience at the institute being slightly different to that of Raches.

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Speaker 1: But I'm just interested in that point you touched on

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Speaker 1: about not taking things for granted. I think in women's

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Speaker 1: sport it's always this really tricky balance right where you

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Speaker 1: kind of like you're so thankful for opportunities and to

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Speaker 1: get access to things, but then you're often told when

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Speaker 1: you ask for more, just to be grateful for what

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Speaker 1: you already have.

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Speaker 2: Where do you sit with where do you sit with that?

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Speaker 1: Now that you've had such an incredible career over so

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Speaker 1: many years.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, well, I mean I'm coaching now, so I see

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Speaker 5: it a very different demographic to when I was growing up.

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Speaker 5: Like for me, you know, to travel to anything, or

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Speaker 5: to go to a hills camp or a shooting camp or.

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Speaker 4: To a tryout was always.

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Speaker 5: A commitment, you know, And I think I remember I

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Speaker 5: went to a skills camp at Banella and I didn't.

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Speaker 4: Know anything about State.

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Speaker 5: I didn't even know it was a thing representing your

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Speaker 5: state in basketball. And the state coach, just so you know,

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Speaker 5: happened to be at this camp and came up to

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Speaker 5: me and said he wanted me to come to the trials,

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Speaker 5: but I needed to.

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Speaker 4: Learn how to do a jump shot, and I didn't

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Speaker 4: know what a jump shot was.

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Speaker 5: And my mom and my mum gat I got for

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Speaker 5: my birthday Andrew Gay's Basketball, The Andrew Gays Way, and

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Speaker 5: it was a book that I learned how to like,

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Speaker 5: and there was talk about shooting technique and everything in

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Speaker 5: this book, and so I read it and then he

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Speaker 5: showed me, like said, you need to be dribbling up

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Speaker 5: to a bin and you've got to learn not to

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Speaker 5: fall into the bin. So it was all being vertical

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Speaker 5: on your jump shot, and so I cut up my.

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Speaker 4: Shins hurting them on this bin.

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Speaker 5: But I learned how to do a jump shot, and

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Speaker 5: I went to the state trials and I made the

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Speaker 5: state team. But he was really surprised that i'd make

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Speaker 5: so I was. I think there was a bit of

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Speaker 5: that determination instilled, but I don't think it was anything

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Speaker 5: other than just probably a bit of the upbringing. But

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Speaker 5: I look now, because I didn't have access to even

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Speaker 5: basketball Victorian qualified coaches. So you know now that they've

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Speaker 5: done such a great job of rolling out coaching clinics

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Speaker 5: and programs for coaches and development pathways across the state

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Speaker 5: and have really accessed a lot of those smaller communities,

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Speaker 5: which is really good. But sort of when I was

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Speaker 5: growing up, that sort of didn't happen. So I you know,

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Speaker 5: I had great junior coaches that I'm still in touch with,

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Speaker 5: but you know, probably that access to the the facilities

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Speaker 5: and also the I guess, you know, teaching techniques that

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Speaker 5: you know, we take for granted now, and I had

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Speaker 5: to do it on myself. Like now, the athletes I'm coaching,

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Speaker 5: a lot of them, you know, they put in work

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Speaker 5: by themselves, but a lot of them won't work unless

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Speaker 5: the coach is taking them like you know, forcing them

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Speaker 5: or expecting them to do individual training. So it's very different.

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Speaker 5: So I think that was just instilled early and it

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Speaker 5: was just something that I didn't.

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Speaker 4: Know any different.

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Speaker 2: Have you ever told Gayesy that story that that's how

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Speaker 2: you know?

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Speaker 5: And I got him to sign it too, you know,

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Speaker 5: I've got it, I know, Yeah, I do need to

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Speaker 5: let him know.

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Speaker 4: But yeah, it's it was pretty cool.

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Speaker 5: Like I read it, it was warm, like I read

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Speaker 5: it hard this book like because I just, yeah, I

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Speaker 5: was really raw. When I went to the Australian Into

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Speaker 5: Institute of Sport, there was terminology that I didn't know,

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Speaker 5: you know, and I think, yeah, we talked about aos experiences,

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Speaker 5: you know, with Lauren Jackson and Penny Taylor and Shuzy Bakovic,

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Speaker 5: christ Wielan's coach in the wl now Blue the Snell

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Speaker 5: like freakish team laws were sponsored by Nike at the time,

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Speaker 5: so you know, she was getting all this gear and

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Speaker 5: you know, I was on a Center Links day away,

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Speaker 5: live away from home allowance or something because you know,

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Speaker 5: like I just it was just a really for me.

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Speaker 4: I was just a really different experience.

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Speaker 5: But I was just in my dream being able to

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Speaker 5: live eat brief basketball at the OOS.

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Speaker 1: When you look back on that level of drive you

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Speaker 1: had that probably is a little bit different from some

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Speaker 1: of the younger kids that come through today. What was

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Speaker 1: it that made you want to keep going and be

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Speaker 1: better and graise your shins on the bin while you're

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Speaker 1: learning your judgment?

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Speaker 4: Yeah, I don't know.

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Speaker 5: I just I just think because I loved it, you know,

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Speaker 5: and I knew again my you know, my mum was

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Speaker 5: like a real physical person, Like she was always outdoors

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Speaker 5: and she worked out doors and really hard worker. And

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Speaker 5: I think it was just something that my sister and

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Speaker 5: I had sort of grown up with. But yeah, it's

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Speaker 5: sort of I've noticed as I've turned into coaching, it

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Speaker 5: frustrates me somewhat. So I'm really self aware if players

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Speaker 5: don't have that drive that it is a kind of

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Speaker 5: a natural thing as well, but it can be developed.

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Speaker 5: So yeah, I'm mindful of that. But yeah, there's there's

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Speaker 5: things in basketball. I think because you know, I started

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Speaker 5: seeing improvements and you know, i'd started getting awards, it

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Speaker 5: sort of just made me the desire even more. And

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Speaker 5: you know, getting injuries a setback still didn't sort of

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Speaker 5: stop that drive until I got to the point where

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Speaker 5: I can ali walk. So but you know, like it's

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Speaker 5: sort of yeah, I don't know, it just yeah, just

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Speaker 5: was something.

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Speaker 4: It was a great thing to do, and I just yeah,

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Speaker 4: I loved it.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. Cool.

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Speaker 1: You both had the opportunity in your careers to head

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Speaker 1: over and play overseas raat What was your time like

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Speaker 1: in the WNBA in particular, and the fact that you

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Speaker 1: were a WNBL champion and then had the chance to

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Speaker 1: do the same over in the US.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it was pretty a special. I was twenty one

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Speaker 3: and went over there and it was just a massive

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Speaker 3: shock to the system, a whole different kind of culture.

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Speaker 3: But when I really liked obviously played for Minnesota and

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Speaker 3: they were powerhouse of the late two thousands and then

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Speaker 3: on wood, So they had an amazing culture in their team,

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Speaker 3: which is not something like the girls I've spoken to

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Speaker 3: have played over in the w NBA.

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Speaker 4: Probably haven't always said that about every team.

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Speaker 3: There can be a lot of egos and that kind

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Speaker 3: of thing, you know, trying to impress to get your

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Speaker 3: own contract.

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Speaker 4: But the team I played in was amazing, just all

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Speaker 4: wanted to win, so competitive.

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Speaker 3: Every training session was like a blood bath, which you

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Speaker 3: would absolutely go to win, and then you know, you'd

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Speaker 3: go out for dinner all together later that night and

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Speaker 3: everything would be fine. And so that's the kind of,

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Speaker 3: you know, special environment to be in. And I think

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Speaker 3: do you probably agree that when you look up on

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Speaker 3: your career, you can think of like those few teams

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Speaker 3: which are like not every team, but it's just something

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Speaker 3: special about it that whether we won or lost that year,

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Speaker 3: going to have special memories about that team. Yeah, but

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Speaker 3: like the whole experience, it's just amazing playing against the

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Speaker 3: best in the world every second day and playing in

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Speaker 3: front of the crowds and traveling around and kind of

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Speaker 3: it's feeling a little bit like a rock star.

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Speaker 4: It's pretty special.

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Speaker 1: Get more from your job with a career at Victoria Police.

365
00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:20,000
Speaker 1: The freedom to go on more holidays with nine weeks

366
00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:23,280
Speaker 1: and you'll leave, more connection with your community where you'll

367
00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:26,160
Speaker 1: make a difference every day, the chance to meet more

368
00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:28,440
Speaker 1: people where workmates become your best mates.

369
00:18:28,960 --> 00:18:30,160
Speaker 2: Get all of this and.

370
00:18:30,119 --> 00:18:33,600
Speaker 1: More with a career at Victoria Police. Search Police careers

371
00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:36,880
Speaker 1: today authorized by the Victorian Government, Melbourne.

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Speaker 2: It's interesting and touching on that idea.

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Speaker 1: I think even in my sporting career, I kind of

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Speaker 1: like when I went from Ossie sevens and to I

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Speaker 1: now play with the Giants in AFLW. I had this

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Speaker 1: experience where the coach asked me, like, you guys had

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Speaker 1: success with Ozzie sevens, what was some of the things

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Speaker 1: that you did in terms of your team culture, Like

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Speaker 1: could we try it? And we kind of tried to

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Speaker 1: copy and paste it with this specific example, and it

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Speaker 1: just completely failed.

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Speaker 2: And it's just this really interesting learning experience.

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Speaker 1: Like I feel like so many people in sport and

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Speaker 1: business almost like want to bottle up the successful culture

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Speaker 1: and then carry it across, but it just doesn't work

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Speaker 1: like that.

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Speaker 4: No, it's very specific.

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Speaker 3: I think to like who's been there and the characters

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Speaker 3: that you have, and whether everyone can buy into what

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Speaker 3: the common goal is. And there's no step way to

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Speaker 3: do that. It's just who wants to do that, who

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Speaker 3: wants to win? Who wants to be the bed?

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Speaker 2: Do you think d from your own? Do you reckon?

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Speaker 1: That's one of the biggest things, is everyone being driven

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Speaker 1: to that same goal that buy in.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, oh, it's a huge factor in it. But at

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Speaker 5: the same time, you know the right character of people.

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Speaker 5: You know, there might be players that aren't elite or there,

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Speaker 5: but their heart's genuine and they're the right type of person,

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Speaker 5: and you know, if they have that commitment and buy

401
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Speaker 5: into the group, it just it shifts.

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Speaker 4: And I think if you've got.

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Speaker 5: Individuals that have an ulterior motive or you know they're

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Speaker 5: there for other reasons, it makes it really challenging, you know,

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Speaker 5: and I think being able to have peer expectations, being

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Speaker 5: able to, you know, as players hold each other to

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Speaker 5: account rather just being coach driven. That I think every

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Speaker 5: team that I've played in that has had a good culture,

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Speaker 5: it's because it's been peer driven. And I guess that's

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Speaker 5: probably the same with work. That certainly crossed over for

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Speaker 5: me with policing. Any team environment, being peer driven or

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Speaker 5: that culture I sort of driven within the group just

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Speaker 5: makes such a big difference, And I guess it relies

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Speaker 5: a lot on the character and people understanding that everyone's

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Speaker 5: got different roles to play. You know, everyone's got different strengths,

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Speaker 5: everyone's got different weakness weaknesses, and recognizing that and being

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Speaker 5: able to work with that and.

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Speaker 4: Celebrate them rather than sort of using them against each other.

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Speaker 5: So which I've been in teams that that's happened as well,

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Speaker 5: And it's really it's they're they're the sad memories or

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Speaker 5: the memories that you're like, nah, that wasn't enjoyable. And

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Speaker 5: when that happens, you don't play your best sport either.

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Speaker 5: You don't play best basketball when you're not happy and

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Speaker 5: you're not doing it. So I guess that's also crossed

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Speaker 5: over into when I've been coaching now, particularly something that

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Speaker 5: I'm really conscious of doing because I know when athletes

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Speaker 5: aren't happy, they're.

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Speaker 4: Not playing the best basketball.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, is that something with your coaching you really work

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Speaker 1: hard and I think going away from that idea of

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Speaker 1: like fitting everyone into this one box and this is

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Speaker 1: exactly how you should behave and perform to be an

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Speaker 1: elite athlete.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, one hundred percent.

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Speaker 5: And I think you know, I like even just raging

436
00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:25,119
Speaker 5: us too, like our journeys even though we kind of

437
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Speaker 5: I mean, Rache ended a lot higher than me, but

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Speaker 5: you know, we still got We both got to the

439
00:21:29,840 --> 00:21:31,840
Speaker 5: ost and we both got to the dub and Bill.

440
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Speaker 4: But it's so different.

441
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Speaker 5: And having an appreciation for those different journeys I think

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Speaker 5: bring different experience, you know, and different factors that have

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Speaker 5: shaped your talent. I think being able to recognize that

444
00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:49,520
Speaker 5: you know, and also being honest and genuine with each

445
00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:49,920
Speaker 5: other too.

446
00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:51,960
Speaker 4: I think when you've got players that are in genuine,

447
00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:54,479
Speaker 4: it makes it really really tricky to manage.

448
00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:58,520
Speaker 5: But yeah, I think it's something I spend so much

449
00:21:58,560 --> 00:22:01,000
Speaker 5: time on it now as a coach. Big is it's

450
00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:03,639
Speaker 5: just as a play it's probably I can only remember

451
00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:06,520
Speaker 5: and have enjoyed the teams where the culture has been positive.

452
00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:09,040
Speaker 5: It's really obvious now the older I've got.

453
00:22:10,359 --> 00:22:12,359
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's such a big part of it. How do

454
00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:14,879
Speaker 1: you reflect on your time at the Opals? I think

455
00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:17,000
Speaker 1: it was two thousand and five. Did you stay abute

456
00:22:17,040 --> 00:22:17,640
Speaker 1: to the Opals?

457
00:22:17,640 --> 00:22:19,520
Speaker 2: What was it like? It was this bodysuit days?

458
00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:25,720
Speaker 5: Yes, certainly, Yeah, I actually I actually went through. Yeah,

459
00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:28,400
Speaker 5: my husband used me a lot of stick now because

460
00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:31,560
Speaker 5: I have so many bags. Still have uniforms and I've

461
00:22:31,600 --> 00:22:34,040
Speaker 5: been slowly coloring them and getting rid of but there's

462
00:22:34,119 --> 00:22:36,080
Speaker 5: my favorite ones that I'm obviously keeping.

463
00:22:36,119 --> 00:22:39,679
Speaker 4: But yeah, definite bodysuit bodysuits.

464
00:22:39,119 --> 00:22:41,439
Speaker 5: For training camps as well, so you know, we couldn't

465
00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:44,240
Speaker 5: even train and see some T shirts we had training bodysuits,

466
00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:47,119
Speaker 5: so kind of ridiculous. But yeah, I was really lucky

467
00:22:47,119 --> 00:22:50,880
Speaker 5: two thousand and five, Yeah, after the season that I'd

468
00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:53,560
Speaker 5: had got selected in the Opal. So Jance Sterling was

469
00:22:53,560 --> 00:22:57,280
Speaker 5: a coach at that time, and obviously two thousand and

470
00:22:57,280 --> 00:22:59,680
Speaker 5: six was Comealth Games and also World Cup year.

471
00:23:01,359 --> 00:23:02,720
Speaker 4: But a lot of the app a lot of.

472
00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:05,760
Speaker 5: The players unavailable though in the NBA or playing overseas,

473
00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:08,680
Speaker 5: so it was a great opportunity for rookies to get

474
00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:10,560
Speaker 5: to go. So yeah, I had a couple of training

475
00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:13,359
Speaker 5: camps and went to China and then also that was

476
00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:16,800
Speaker 5: when Australia had to go through Oceania qualifications. Now it's

477
00:23:16,840 --> 00:23:19,960
Speaker 5: through Asia Cup as well, but yeah, I went over

478
00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:22,040
Speaker 5: to New Zealand for a three game series against them

479
00:23:22,040 --> 00:23:25,320
Speaker 5: to qualify for the World Cup next year. The following year,

480
00:23:25,440 --> 00:23:31,800
Speaker 5: so yeah, amazing opportunity. Struggled with a little shin problem

481
00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:34,880
Speaker 5: that I picked up playing in Spain, so I sort

482
00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:36,480
Speaker 5: of hobbled through it a little bit. So there's a

483
00:23:36,520 --> 00:23:40,160
Speaker 5: few not regrets, but you know, the what ifs, which

484
00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:42,280
Speaker 5: is frustrating. And then sort of yeah, whether the dub

485
00:23:42,359 --> 00:23:45,800
Speaker 5: and bl season started, whether the shin problem impacted or not.

486
00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:49,600
Speaker 5: But I hope my knee so that probably instigated some

487
00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:51,679
Speaker 5: chronic knee issues that I had from that point on.

488
00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:54,760
Speaker 2: Is that something that still impacts you now with yourne Oh?

489
00:23:54,800 --> 00:24:00,640
Speaker 5: Yeah, the weather changes on these, ach know, like I'm

490
00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:03,480
Speaker 5: sort of a redeving two or three years, I get

491
00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:04,160
Speaker 5: them cleaned out.

492
00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:06,040
Speaker 4: I've got to have them both replace There's not much

493
00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:06,800
Speaker 4: cartilage left.

494
00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:09,800
Speaker 5: But you know, I think it was something I was

495
00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:11,760
Speaker 5: able to manage, and I did a pretty good job

496
00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:13,159
Speaker 5: of managing them.

497
00:24:13,359 --> 00:24:16,240
Speaker 4: They're sort of tearing deteriorating in.

498
00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:19,280
Speaker 5: The same fashion unfortunately at the moment, but you know,

499
00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:22,639
Speaker 5: I've sort of learned to deal with it. You know,

500
00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:26,119
Speaker 5: I was sort of a less pain now, which is

501
00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:28,200
Speaker 5: quite good. But I know when it starts getting to it,

502
00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:30,280
Speaker 5: it's probably time to get a little clean out. So

503
00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:33,560
Speaker 5: I'll keep tinkering along with that until they get replaced

504
00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:35,600
Speaker 5: or technology gives me new knees, and then I'll be

505
00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:36,040
Speaker 5: back playing.

506
00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:40,280
Speaker 2: Oh great, so you're out there, Rachel. What was that

507
00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:41,680
Speaker 2: experience like for you?

508
00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:44,960
Speaker 1: Getting to represent your country and following the footsteps of

509
00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:49,239
Speaker 1: Opal's royalty that really set up this, you know, this

510
00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:51,800
Speaker 1: next few years for the generations to come.

511
00:24:52,400 --> 00:24:52,720
Speaker 4: Yeah.

512
00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:56,840
Speaker 3: Well, I got selected in my first Opal squad I

513
00:24:56,840 --> 00:25:00,960
Speaker 3: think just twenty eleven, just before obviously in the lead

514
00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:02,479
Speaker 3: up to twenty eleven.

515
00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:03,960
Speaker 4: Yeah, twenty eleven.

516
00:25:05,160 --> 00:25:07,159
Speaker 2: It's been a long day. I was.

517
00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:09,560
Speaker 4: Ten then.

518
00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:17,520
Speaker 3: Years Yeah, no, twenty eleven, but that year I was

519
00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:20,240
Speaker 3: injured with my niece as well, which is again called

520
00:25:20,359 --> 00:25:24,520
Speaker 3: me life long issues, I'm sure. So I didn't actually

521
00:25:24,520 --> 00:25:26,920
Speaker 3: get to go do any training camps that year or

522
00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:31,600
Speaker 3: anything like that, which was disappointing. But I got put

523
00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:35,560
Speaker 3: in touch with the Basketball Australia strength conditioning guy at

524
00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:38,000
Speaker 3: the time, which was Bone and babcheck down out to Bono.

525
00:25:38,040 --> 00:25:43,680
Speaker 4: We listened absolute legend. So I remember Christy.

526
00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:46,280
Speaker 3: Harra was seeing him at the time and her and

527
00:25:46,280 --> 00:25:49,919
Speaker 3: I would go down to the park with him like

528
00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:54,240
Speaker 3: three times a week running doing all this stuff around

529
00:25:54,280 --> 00:25:57,320
Speaker 3: knees and just all these different work And that was

530
00:25:57,359 --> 00:25:59,320
Speaker 3: probably a switch in my head where I was like, oh,

531
00:25:59,440 --> 00:26:02,920
Speaker 3: this is what it like. Christy Harroway was here three

532
00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:05,680
Speaker 3: days a week on top of everything else she's doing

533
00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:09,960
Speaker 3: for basketball to make that team when she's probably she's

534
00:26:09,960 --> 00:26:13,080
Speaker 3: a lot like she is our best point guard. So

535
00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:16,800
Speaker 3: that was kind of an inspiration to me. And then

536
00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:19,639
Speaker 3: I had a really good WBL season leading into twenty

537
00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:25,920
Speaker 3: twelve and just as I guess, lucky enough to make

538
00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:30,760
Speaker 3: the Olympics, and yeah, it was just it was a

539
00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:34,360
Speaker 3: it was a really hard time because I guess when

540
00:26:34,359 --> 00:26:36,680
Speaker 3: you're on that fringe and you're really fighting to try

541
00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:39,919
Speaker 3: and make a team, especially as a twenty.

542
00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:42,360
Speaker 4: Year old, I was.

543
00:26:42,640 --> 00:26:44,560
Speaker 3: I was really shy when I was younger, so it

544
00:26:44,600 --> 00:26:46,560
Speaker 3: was hard to kind of go into that environment where

545
00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:49,800
Speaker 3: all these women are like in awe of and have

546
00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:54,480
Speaker 3: been watching, you know, growing up. I remember, I think

547
00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:58,240
Speaker 3: mumbled out like a drawing i'd done when I was

548
00:26:58,320 --> 00:27:03,680
Speaker 3: in when the Athens Olympics, the something was on and

549
00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:07,040
Speaker 3: or maybe Sydney or something, and it was like, I

550
00:27:07,080 --> 00:27:08,919
Speaker 3: want to be like Lauren Jackson when I'm older. And

551
00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:10,800
Speaker 3: then all of a sudden, Carr I am like trying

552
00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:12,879
Speaker 3: to make a team where she's the captain of and

553
00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:16,080
Speaker 3: ends up trying to flag for Australia. So it was

554
00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:18,479
Speaker 3: kind of daunting, but I managed to get through that

555
00:27:19,160 --> 00:27:23,480
Speaker 3: made the team, which was so special and just to yeah,

556
00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:27,160
Speaker 3: do it alongside such such amazing players as we really

557
00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:27,960
Speaker 3: do in my heart.

558
00:27:28,160 --> 00:27:31,280
Speaker 1: When you look back on the injury journey, if you

559
00:27:31,320 --> 00:27:35,400
Speaker 1: could tell eighteen year old rach what what you would

560
00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:37,879
Speaker 1: do again if you got injured as a as a kid, like,

561
00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:39,240
Speaker 1: what what do you think the biggest thing you've learned

562
00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:39,760
Speaker 1: from it is?

563
00:27:40,960 --> 00:27:42,919
Speaker 4: Oh god, I wouldn't think that properly.

564
00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:46,800
Speaker 3: Yeah, I would have both up so hard as an

565
00:27:46,800 --> 00:27:49,800
Speaker 3: eighteen year old and just get my squads so strong.

566
00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:53,560
Speaker 4: I think if we got through it, you're kind of like, no,

567
00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:54,720
Speaker 4: I'm sure I'll be right.

568
00:27:54,920 --> 00:27:59,800
Speaker 3: But yeah, now, yeah, it would just be the rehab

569
00:28:00,119 --> 00:28:04,760
Speaker 3: the pre harbors the professionals call it now, really trying

570
00:28:04,760 --> 00:28:07,480
Speaker 3: to look after your whole body. Like basketballs so hard

571
00:28:07,520 --> 00:28:09,960
Speaker 3: on the knees that pretty much most girls get to

572
00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:12,000
Speaker 3: the end and they've got any issues.

573
00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:15,440
Speaker 4: Which can't a weak being prevented.

574
00:28:15,560 --> 00:28:21,040
Speaker 3: But yeah, it's just taking that rehab strength and conditioning seriously.

575
00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:24,000
Speaker 4: From when I was a rebel at the Institute.

576
00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:30,280
Speaker 1: Rebel to cop T, can you tell us a little

577
00:28:30,320 --> 00:28:33,399
Speaker 1: bit about how you first started working with the police

578
00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:34,760
Speaker 1: and how you first got involved.

579
00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:39,520
Speaker 5: Well, it's kind of ridiculous when I look back now

580
00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:42,840
Speaker 5: because I should have waited, but I joined Big Pol

581
00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:43,680
Speaker 5: when I was nineteen.

582
00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:46,960
Speaker 4: So yeah, I graduated from the AOS.

583
00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:50,280
Speaker 5: I wasn't sure where I was going to play, so

584
00:28:50,480 --> 00:28:53,719
Speaker 5: at the time, AOS don't play in the Dubin Bill anymore,

585
00:28:53,720 --> 00:28:55,440
Speaker 5: but we were playing in the Dubbin Bill, so we

586
00:28:55,520 --> 00:29:00,480
Speaker 5: had coaches would actually fly up pre season and meet

587
00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:02,400
Speaker 5: with all the players that they wanted to try and recruit.

588
00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:03,320
Speaker 4: So there's kind of this.

589
00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:06,200
Speaker 5: Recruiting couple of days where you'd have meetings and so

590
00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:09,440
Speaker 5: I applied for UNI across the country. So I had

591
00:29:09,440 --> 00:29:12,160
Speaker 5: that and I applied for criminal justice studies because it

592
00:29:12,240 --> 00:29:15,600
Speaker 5: was kind of a theme that I liked, but I

593
00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:17,240
Speaker 5: wasn't sure what I wanted to do, and I deferred.

594
00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:19,800
Speaker 5: I got in a couple of different states, but as

595
00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:23,720
Speaker 5: it turned out, I signed with Daniel Rangers, and yeah,

596
00:29:23,840 --> 00:29:26,680
Speaker 5: came down. So I was doing pre season with them,

597
00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:30,680
Speaker 5: and then obviously our season started and one of our

598
00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:33,480
Speaker 5: training players was actually in dig Pole at the time,

599
00:29:33,520 --> 00:29:36,120
Speaker 5: and one of the assistant coaches was a police officer

600
00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:37,160
Speaker 5: as well, so I.

601
00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:40,600
Speaker 4: Was hearing all these cool police stories. Yeah, so I

602
00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:42,320
Speaker 4: think I'd always had it in the back of my mind.

603
00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:45,480
Speaker 5: My mum again big influence and sort of planning that

604
00:29:45,520 --> 00:29:47,240
Speaker 5: seat a little bit because she'd wanted to be when

605
00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:47,840
Speaker 5: she was younger.

606
00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:50,160
Speaker 4: So I decided to buy the bullet and just give

607
00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:50,560
Speaker 4: it a girl.

608
00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:51,600
Speaker 2: Yeah.

609
00:29:51,640 --> 00:29:54,760
Speaker 5: Both the assistant coach and teammate was sort of saying, yeah,

610
00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:56,840
Speaker 5: you can do both, So yeah, I.

611
00:29:56,840 --> 00:29:57,560
Speaker 4: Had to give it a go.

612
00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:03,479
Speaker 5: And then I actually joined fifteenth of January two thousand

613
00:30:03,560 --> 00:30:07,040
Speaker 5: and one, mid season, so mid like right in the

614
00:30:07,040 --> 00:30:13,640
Speaker 5: middle of WL season, and yeah, it was exhausting, so i'd,

615
00:30:13,720 --> 00:30:17,040
Speaker 5: you know, we train we trained practice, team practice, and

616
00:30:17,120 --> 00:30:18,719
Speaker 5: I mean it's very different to now because they can

617
00:30:18,800 --> 00:30:22,200
Speaker 5: train during the day. But because you didn't get paid enough,

618
00:30:22,560 --> 00:30:24,960
Speaker 5: it was always training in the evening. So I'd be

619
00:30:25,040 --> 00:30:27,600
Speaker 5: in the academy, you know, wake up six thirty, start

620
00:30:28,080 --> 00:30:30,840
Speaker 5: finish at four point thirty. I'd have my training bag

621
00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:33,200
Speaker 5: ready to go. I'd go to training five thirty till

622
00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:35,560
Speaker 5: seven thirty. By the time you do recovery, I'd get

623
00:30:35,600 --> 00:30:38,080
Speaker 5: back just after eight or eight thirty, back to the academy,

624
00:30:38,600 --> 00:30:41,960
Speaker 5: and I had a squatty that would get my dinner

625
00:30:41,960 --> 00:30:43,320
Speaker 5: for me and put it in the fridge. So I'd

626
00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:46,240
Speaker 5: sit by myself and smash my meal, and then and

627
00:30:46,280 --> 00:30:48,240
Speaker 5: then i'd bring someone and go where are you studying?

628
00:30:48,280 --> 00:30:49,880
Speaker 5: And then I'd go and try and just cram a

629
00:30:49,920 --> 00:30:51,880
Speaker 5: little bit and then go to sleep and then do

630
00:30:51,920 --> 00:30:54,840
Speaker 5: it all again the next day, you know. And then

631
00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:57,720
Speaker 5: and then on the weekend's play so wherever we were going,

632
00:30:57,720 --> 00:30:59,880
Speaker 5: so interstate trips or home game.

633
00:31:01,040 --> 00:31:04,840
Speaker 4: I remember it was week when did you firearms? We tend.

634
00:31:06,360 --> 00:31:09,160
Speaker 5: And it was leading into finals, and so we had

635
00:31:09,160 --> 00:31:11,360
Speaker 5: a final so bad thinking of it now, but we

636
00:31:11,400 --> 00:31:14,240
Speaker 5: had a final in Sydney Friday, afternoon and it was

637
00:31:14,280 --> 00:31:20,240
Speaker 5: at out at Home Bush so and it was yeah,

638
00:31:20,320 --> 00:31:22,960
Speaker 5: Friday afternoon, and it was firearms week, so we had

639
00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:26,200
Speaker 5: to get to qualify, like Thursday or Friday was when

640
00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:30,400
Speaker 5: you're sort of qualified and cleared the week. And I

641
00:31:30,400 --> 00:31:32,760
Speaker 5: remember like I was a bit of a Benchi player

642
00:31:32,760 --> 00:31:36,440
Speaker 5: for Dan Non. You know, we had started team, but

643
00:31:36,520 --> 00:31:40,200
Speaker 5: we've made yeah, we made this final. And my coach

644
00:31:40,280 --> 00:31:43,160
Speaker 5: kept saying, you know, we're leaving Friday morning, like a

645
00:31:43,200 --> 00:31:44,720
Speaker 5: you know, are you able to come?

646
00:31:44,760 --> 00:31:46,480
Speaker 4: And I'm like, I can't leave early.

647
00:31:46,560 --> 00:31:49,280
Speaker 5: And next minute I get called to a superintendent at

648
00:31:49,320 --> 00:31:53,120
Speaker 5: the police Academy his office, which back then you never

649
00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:55,440
Speaker 5: spoke you never really spoke to a c sergeant, let

650
00:31:55,480 --> 00:31:57,360
Speaker 5: alone inspector, let alone a superintendent.

651
00:31:57,480 --> 00:31:58,480
Speaker 4: So there was a big deal.

652
00:31:59,200 --> 00:32:01,240
Speaker 5: And I was ninety so I was merely crying walking

653
00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:04,640
Speaker 5: into this meeting. And apparently, and I didn't know, but

654
00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:07,280
Speaker 5: the club Dan and I had put through this request

655
00:32:07,640 --> 00:32:11,360
Speaker 5: through to request that I, yeah, I can be released

656
00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:14,080
Speaker 5: early on the Friday so I could fly to suit

657
00:32:14,160 --> 00:32:16,360
Speaker 5: me for this game, so you can imagine. And then

658
00:32:16,640 --> 00:32:20,720
Speaker 5: so so as it turns out, the firearms instructors being

659
00:32:20,760 --> 00:32:24,040
Speaker 5: told and they said if I passed on the Thursday.

660
00:32:24,120 --> 00:32:25,280
Speaker 4: Then I was allowed to go.

661
00:32:25,200 --> 00:32:29,280
Speaker 5: So no pressure on passing firearms early, so I remember,

662
00:32:29,440 --> 00:32:34,000
Speaker 5: but the you know, without naming names, the firearms instructor

663
00:32:34,040 --> 00:32:36,760
Speaker 5: then took it upon himself to make it really difficult

664
00:32:36,840 --> 00:32:39,080
Speaker 5: for me for the rest of the week, you know,

665
00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:41,440
Speaker 5: getting my face going, are you here to play basketball?

666
00:32:41,520 --> 00:32:42,280
Speaker 5: You here to be a cop?

667
00:32:42,320 --> 00:32:45,960
Speaker 4: And I'm like, you know, so it was really it

668
00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:48,920
Speaker 4: was really intimidating. But as it turned out, I passed on.

669
00:32:48,880 --> 00:32:53,720
Speaker 5: The Thursday, and I flew up on the Friday, and

670
00:32:53,800 --> 00:32:57,160
Speaker 5: my squatties and everyone was really really supportive. And it

671
00:32:57,200 --> 00:33:01,040
Speaker 5: was when basketball ABC Basketball Saturday afternoon, three o'clock on TV,

672
00:33:01,240 --> 00:33:06,120
Speaker 5: the final. Yeah yeah, and so yeah fly up, I remember,

673
00:33:06,160 --> 00:33:07,480
Speaker 5: and I just had to go do it.

674
00:33:07,560 --> 00:33:09,280
Speaker 4: Got a taxi shaped to the game.

675
00:33:09,360 --> 00:33:11,720
Speaker 5: I'm sitting in the chain rooms Timsey I think might

676
00:33:11,720 --> 00:33:13,880
Speaker 5: have been commentating or something or she came in at

677
00:33:13,920 --> 00:33:19,040
Speaker 5: one point and then yeah, and then we played and

678
00:33:19,080 --> 00:33:19,680
Speaker 5: I didn't get on.

679
00:33:21,360 --> 00:33:22,960
Speaker 4: I didn't get one time.

680
00:33:23,600 --> 00:33:26,240
Speaker 5: And then I was mortified because my whole squad sat

681
00:33:26,280 --> 00:33:30,880
Speaker 5: down to watch me play and it was mortifying.

682
00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:32,960
Speaker 4: So then I had to go back to the academy.

683
00:33:32,520 --> 00:33:37,760
Speaker 5: Monday morning, faks everyone for the whole deal for me

684
00:33:37,880 --> 00:33:39,720
Speaker 5: to get to get me away for this game.

685
00:33:39,760 --> 00:33:42,640
Speaker 4: But you know it was, Yeah, it was pretty full.

686
00:33:42,840 --> 00:33:43,200
Speaker 2: Like I was.

687
00:33:43,240 --> 00:33:44,960
Speaker 5: I was pretty tired, but at the same time got

688
00:33:44,960 --> 00:33:49,080
Speaker 5: through yeah and yeah, got through the rest of the

689
00:33:49,080 --> 00:33:51,040
Speaker 5: academy unscathed.

690
00:33:50,440 --> 00:33:52,480
Speaker 4: And got on my placement into the city.

691
00:33:52,920 --> 00:33:55,480
Speaker 1: And you had a time when you had a pretty

692
00:33:55,720 --> 00:33:59,200
Speaker 1: last minute contract signing over in Italy where you also

693
00:33:59,200 --> 00:34:01,920
Speaker 1: had a bit of flexible he provided by your boss.

694
00:34:01,920 --> 00:34:03,600
Speaker 1: Can you tell us a bit about that one.

695
00:34:03,880 --> 00:34:06,800
Speaker 4: Yeah, I'd actually so I transferred.

696
00:34:07,280 --> 00:34:09,759
Speaker 5: I'd been playing for Bendigo in the off season, so

697
00:34:09,800 --> 00:34:12,440
Speaker 5: I was working here in the city and then or

698
00:34:12,560 --> 00:34:16,319
Speaker 5: in Eastern Suburbs, actually living Eastern Suburbs, and I'd played

699
00:34:16,360 --> 00:34:18,440
Speaker 5: for Bendigo. So it's a little bit silly because I

700
00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:21,160
Speaker 5: travel up and back and get home at midnight and

701
00:34:21,239 --> 00:34:23,439
Speaker 5: six am van the next day, and so then again

702
00:34:23,600 --> 00:34:25,399
Speaker 5: getting pretty tired and run down.

703
00:34:25,719 --> 00:34:27,440
Speaker 4: So I'm like and Bendigo.

704
00:34:27,560 --> 00:34:29,839
Speaker 5: My Bendigo coach at the time was Christy Harrow was dad,

705
00:34:29,880 --> 00:34:31,759
Speaker 5: so Christy Harrow was in the team as well, so

706
00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:35,319
Speaker 5: he was applying for a winbo license. So Christy had

707
00:34:35,320 --> 00:34:37,279
Speaker 5: somewhere to come home to retire to because at that

708
00:34:37,320 --> 00:34:39,960
Speaker 5: time she was playing a lot in Europe. And then

709
00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:42,160
Speaker 5: he got this license and so he's like, get up

710
00:34:42,239 --> 00:34:44,160
Speaker 5: here to see if you can transfer. And Bendigo had

711
00:34:44,200 --> 00:34:46,880
Speaker 5: actually built a whole new police station. It was beautiful,

712
00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:48,920
Speaker 5: but it was it was larger. So they actually had

713
00:34:48,960 --> 00:34:52,040
Speaker 5: a bit of a recruiting phase. People had been on

714
00:34:52,040 --> 00:34:53,640
Speaker 5: the list for Bendigo for a couple of years, and

715
00:34:53,680 --> 00:34:55,160
Speaker 5: as it turned out, I went on the list and

716
00:34:55,200 --> 00:34:56,879
Speaker 5: not long after I got the phone call to say

717
00:34:56,920 --> 00:35:00,160
Speaker 5: that I've been matched to a position. So anytime you

718
00:35:00,200 --> 00:35:03,359
Speaker 5: transfer regionally, vic Pole helped you with the removalist and

719
00:35:03,440 --> 00:35:06,200
Speaker 5: cover costs of moving. So I'm moving into this house

720
00:35:06,200 --> 00:35:10,000
Speaker 5: with another teammate and the removalist was there, and my

721
00:35:10,080 --> 00:35:13,440
Speaker 5: agent calls. At the time, Alice would cook tranquilly, so

722
00:35:14,239 --> 00:35:15,200
Speaker 5: shout out to Cookie.

723
00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:17,080
Speaker 4: So she rings and she's like, Gee, I've got this

724
00:35:17,120 --> 00:35:18,239
Speaker 4: gig in Italy. You've got to go.

725
00:35:18,520 --> 00:35:20,879
Speaker 5: It's you can't say no, And I'm like, I haven't

726
00:35:20,920 --> 00:35:23,920
Speaker 5: even done one shift here in Bendigo at all. And

727
00:35:24,440 --> 00:35:26,520
Speaker 5: so I had a cut off of when I had

728
00:35:26,520 --> 00:35:28,640
Speaker 5: to sign the contract, and I think it was about

729
00:35:28,719 --> 00:35:31,560
Speaker 5: three weeks time, and I hadn't worked at all for

730
00:35:31,640 --> 00:35:35,880
Speaker 5: Bendi Go. I knew maybe one two people in Bendigo.

731
00:35:37,080 --> 00:35:39,040
Speaker 5: So I said, look, i'll see what I can do.

732
00:35:39,080 --> 00:35:40,920
Speaker 5: And she's like, no, You've got to do it, like

733
00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:42,920
Speaker 5: you can't say no, and I said, i'll get back

734
00:35:42,960 --> 00:35:46,440
Speaker 5: to you. So I literally worked two weeks and I thought,

735
00:35:46,480 --> 00:35:48,640
Speaker 5: I'll give it two weeks and then i'll make it,

736
00:35:48,800 --> 00:35:51,560
Speaker 5: you know, suss out what it's going to look like.

737
00:35:51,640 --> 00:35:53,759
Speaker 5: And as it turned out, the seior sergeant that was

738
00:35:53,800 --> 00:35:56,399
Speaker 5: at Bendy at the time was a massive basketball fan,

739
00:35:57,480 --> 00:36:01,080
Speaker 5: played basketball himself, kids played basketball. There were a lot

740
00:36:01,120 --> 00:36:05,160
Speaker 5: of basketball fans in that worked at Bendigo, which was

741
00:36:05,280 --> 00:36:08,799
Speaker 5: just the best. And yeah, and they and being a

742
00:36:08,800 --> 00:36:12,560
Speaker 5: country town too, they supported sport a lot too, and

743
00:36:12,600 --> 00:36:15,839
Speaker 5: it was really big in the media up there. And yeah.

744
00:36:15,880 --> 00:36:17,520
Speaker 5: So I waited two weeks and then I went into

745
00:36:17,560 --> 00:36:20,000
Speaker 5: his office and sort of said, look, I've got this opportunity.

746
00:36:20,080 --> 00:36:22,440
Speaker 5: And he didn't even hesitate, he just said you got

747
00:36:22,480 --> 00:36:26,719
Speaker 5: to go. So yeah, really really lucky and fortunate to

748
00:36:27,160 --> 00:36:29,760
Speaker 5: have that support. So I put all my pavedwork, believe

749
00:36:29,880 --> 00:36:32,479
Speaker 5: that pay, and off I went to Italy for nine

750
00:36:32,480 --> 00:36:35,560
Speaker 5: months yeah, which was incredible, and I was I was

751
00:36:36,440 --> 00:36:38,200
Speaker 5: I had some new people that I'd only just met

752
00:36:38,239 --> 00:36:40,080
Speaker 5: that were reaching out, that email me every now and

753
00:36:40,080 --> 00:36:42,680
Speaker 5: then just to check in, and sort of they followed

754
00:36:42,680 --> 00:36:44,400
Speaker 5: me while I was over there, which was really cool.

755
00:36:45,080 --> 00:36:45,360
Speaker 2: Yeah.

756
00:36:45,360 --> 00:36:48,200
Speaker 5: And then yeah, trip of a lifetime. He won the

757
00:36:48,239 --> 00:36:50,279
Speaker 5: Italian Chamship and won the euro Cup. So I was

758
00:36:50,360 --> 00:36:53,000
Speaker 5: very lucky. I was in a pretty cool, pretty cool team.

759
00:36:53,080 --> 00:36:53,680
Speaker 4: I was stacked.

760
00:36:54,480 --> 00:36:56,160
Speaker 2: Have you got a favorite story to share?

761
00:36:56,520 --> 00:37:00,239
Speaker 4: Oh, I don't know. We were talking about this before. Yeah,

762
00:37:00,239 --> 00:37:02,560
Speaker 4: I don't know, like a lot of a lot of

763
00:37:02,600 --> 00:37:06,360
Speaker 4: stories that we've got. Have seen your car on the

764
00:37:06,440 --> 00:37:08,319
Speaker 4: car one? Yeah, I've got.

765
00:37:08,719 --> 00:37:13,759
Speaker 5: So when I was playing, and we talk about you know,

766
00:37:13,880 --> 00:37:16,719
Speaker 5: strength and conditioning training, So when I played, I was

767
00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:21,480
Speaker 5: quite naturally strong. So especially when I was playing for

768
00:37:21,560 --> 00:37:25,960
Speaker 5: dan Andong, we had a really significant weights program. So

769
00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:28,160
Speaker 5: I was probably the fittest and strongest I've ever been,

770
00:37:28,840 --> 00:37:31,719
Speaker 5: probably rolling out my first couple of years in vic poll.

771
00:37:31,960 --> 00:37:33,840
Speaker 4: And so when.

772
00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:36,359
Speaker 5: Especially rookie well, now a lot of young people they

773
00:37:36,360 --> 00:37:41,279
Speaker 5: can't work together, you know, as training like dtws can't

774
00:37:41,320 --> 00:37:44,319
Speaker 5: work together. But when I was in the city, you

775
00:37:44,320 --> 00:37:47,840
Speaker 5: can have quite a couple of young young constables on

776
00:37:47,880 --> 00:37:51,160
Speaker 5: the van together often, but one of you obviously had

777
00:37:51,200 --> 00:37:54,239
Speaker 5: to go through drive training or driver training, and I

778
00:37:54,320 --> 00:37:56,719
Speaker 5: couldn't get on the list for ages, so I wasn't

779
00:37:56,719 --> 00:37:57,319
Speaker 5: allowed to drive.

780
00:37:57,400 --> 00:37:58,160
Speaker 4: So I was with this.

781
00:37:58,080 --> 00:38:01,400
Speaker 5: Guy who's now in our special Operations group, who was

782
00:38:01,440 --> 00:38:05,520
Speaker 5: extremely fit, strong, and he was training then, so a

783
00:38:05,520 --> 00:38:06,800
Speaker 5: bit of an athlete himself.

784
00:38:07,680 --> 00:38:10,560
Speaker 4: And back when Flinders Street.

785
00:38:11,000 --> 00:38:13,319
Speaker 5: Had the King Street overpass, so I don't know whether

786
00:38:13,320 --> 00:38:15,000
Speaker 5: you remember, it was a bridge kind of thing. Flinner

787
00:38:15,040 --> 00:38:16,560
Speaker 5: Street continued and it was a bit of a rise

788
00:38:16,600 --> 00:38:18,959
Speaker 5: that a car had broken down and so we would

789
00:38:18,960 --> 00:38:22,200
Speaker 5: just happen were driving past. So he was driving, so

790
00:38:22,280 --> 00:38:24,000
Speaker 5: I kind of jump out because his car had to

791
00:38:24,040 --> 00:38:26,120
Speaker 5: be moved off, but it was on the incline, so

792
00:38:26,160 --> 00:38:28,080
Speaker 5: I got out and just started pushing this car.

793
00:38:29,480 --> 00:38:31,160
Speaker 4: I know I wouldn't want.

794
00:38:31,080 --> 00:38:32,600
Speaker 5: To do it now, but I'm just like, yeah, whatever,

795
00:38:32,640 --> 00:38:35,200
Speaker 5: and I just pushed his car up the hill off

796
00:38:35,200 --> 00:38:37,480
Speaker 5: to the side of the road, and it was right

797
00:38:37,480 --> 00:38:40,479
Speaker 5: near a tram stop, and all these people started using

798
00:38:40,520 --> 00:38:43,680
Speaker 5: my offside. Because he's this big, strong early man, He's like, yeah,

799
00:38:43,719 --> 00:38:44,600
Speaker 5: I'll help her.

800
00:38:44,719 --> 00:38:46,839
Speaker 4: And he's obviously got the lights on and he's trying

801
00:38:46,840 --> 00:38:49,600
Speaker 4: to part the car. Yeah, and I managed to get

802
00:38:49,600 --> 00:38:52,000
Speaker 4: this car. He didn't even help, and he's like, she's fine.

803
00:38:52,440 --> 00:38:54,080
Speaker 5: And then as soon as we sort of got the

804
00:38:54,120 --> 00:38:55,920
Speaker 5: car secured and everything, there was like this whole standing

805
00:38:56,000 --> 00:39:00,440
Speaker 5: ovation from the tram stop that gave away you know,

806
00:39:00,480 --> 00:39:03,160
Speaker 5: we drove off. But yeah, there's been I mean, there's

807
00:39:03,160 --> 00:39:06,560
Speaker 5: obviously been some tragic stories and glory stories and everything

808
00:39:06,560 --> 00:39:09,600
Speaker 5: through vic bole that I think I've really been able

809
00:39:09,640 --> 00:39:12,440
Speaker 5: to a lot of fun too, Like, you know, a

810
00:39:12,440 --> 00:39:15,960
Speaker 5: lot of great memories, great friendships, you know, funny little

811
00:39:16,000 --> 00:39:18,240
Speaker 5: stories like that that just you know, sticking in mind

812
00:39:18,239 --> 00:39:20,480
Speaker 5: that just because at the time too, you know, it

813
00:39:20,600 --> 00:39:24,160
Speaker 5: was odd to see Copper just out just.

814
00:39:24,080 --> 00:39:25,200
Speaker 4: Pushing a car upper hill.

815
00:39:26,160 --> 00:39:31,240
Speaker 5: But yeah, I think particularly you know, for me, having

816
00:39:31,280 --> 00:39:33,719
Speaker 5: the two basketball was my outlet. Like I'd have some

817
00:39:33,800 --> 00:39:37,240
Speaker 5: shocking days and then I'd go to Dublin Bill training

818
00:39:37,320 --> 00:39:39,480
Speaker 5: and you know, it just gave me something a different

819
00:39:39,480 --> 00:39:43,160
Speaker 5: outlet and something else to concentrate and focus on. You know,

820
00:39:43,600 --> 00:39:45,799
Speaker 5: whether whether I'd still be able to do it this

821
00:39:45,880 --> 00:39:47,960
Speaker 5: day and age or not, or whether they'd allow me

822
00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:49,960
Speaker 5: to do it, you know, I don't know, but for me,

823
00:39:50,040 --> 00:39:53,440
Speaker 5: it actually really helped being able to have two outlets

824
00:39:53,520 --> 00:39:55,160
Speaker 5: essentially run parallel.

825
00:39:56,680 --> 00:39:59,080
Speaker 2: That was was that pre social media days, you could

826
00:39:59,080 --> 00:39:59,520
Speaker 2: have been like a.

827
00:39:59,560 --> 00:40:04,120
Speaker 5: Viral, oh mate, definitely, yeah, it would have been like

828
00:40:04,280 --> 00:40:07,160
Speaker 5: two thousand and one, two thousand and one, it probably

829
00:40:07,160 --> 00:40:13,240
Speaker 5: would have been Yeah, so yeah, luckily yeah bones, Yeah.

830
00:40:14,440 --> 00:40:17,640
Speaker 1: Rach We chatted last week before recording the podcast, and

831
00:40:17,960 --> 00:40:20,680
Speaker 1: one of the components one of the reasons why you

832
00:40:20,800 --> 00:40:22,920
Speaker 1: ended up joining the police was partly an experience that

833
00:40:22,960 --> 00:40:24,920
Speaker 1: you had I think when you were in your early twenties,

834
00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:25,279
Speaker 1: was it.

835
00:40:26,080 --> 00:40:29,520
Speaker 3: Yeah, when I was twenty, I was just out with

836
00:40:29,600 --> 00:40:34,000
Speaker 3: a friend in the city and walking back to my car,

837
00:40:34,680 --> 00:40:36,880
Speaker 3: and then we were approached by a group and robbed

838
00:40:36,920 --> 00:40:44,120
Speaker 3: and beaten up pretty badly, which is terrible, and I

839
00:40:44,120 --> 00:40:46,120
Speaker 3: guess now on the other side, I see it from

840
00:40:46,160 --> 00:40:47,160
Speaker 3: a cop perspective.

841
00:40:47,239 --> 00:40:50,400
Speaker 4: But we went back to I think Melbourne.

842
00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:53,280
Speaker 3: East Police station at the time, and Dee was working

843
00:40:53,520 --> 00:40:57,719
Speaker 3: that night, so d I think called me the next

844
00:40:57,760 --> 00:41:00,640
Speaker 3: day to check in on me after hearing what happened,

845
00:41:00,880 --> 00:41:05,360
Speaker 3: and you know, just having that kind of bond. I

846
00:41:05,360 --> 00:41:08,520
Speaker 3: don't even think we'd really probably met or anything, but

847
00:41:08,760 --> 00:41:12,800
Speaker 3: just knew each other obviously through basketball and just to

848
00:41:12,880 --> 00:41:16,200
Speaker 3: kind of have people's back like that was a really

849
00:41:16,360 --> 00:41:20,520
Speaker 3: amazing thing for me. And then the detectives who handled

850
00:41:20,560 --> 00:41:23,640
Speaker 3: what happened kept me informed of everything about what was

851
00:41:23,680 --> 00:41:27,960
Speaker 3: going on. You know, that kind of experience, that good

852
00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:30,440
Speaker 3: experience with police really had an impact on me and

853
00:41:30,800 --> 00:41:33,719
Speaker 3: helped me get through that. So it was something that

854
00:41:33,760 --> 00:41:37,360
Speaker 3: I wanted to kind of, you know, do for other people.

855
00:41:37,400 --> 00:41:40,040
Speaker 4: It's something that really got me interested in the job.

856
00:41:40,520 --> 00:41:43,959
Speaker 1: How is it getting to that point of like being

857
00:41:44,000 --> 00:41:47,920
Speaker 1: comfortable to say, I think think my body's done.

858
00:41:47,880 --> 00:41:49,279
Speaker 4: Oh so hard.

859
00:41:50,520 --> 00:41:54,600
Speaker 3: Because I guess you don't want to Yeah, you don't

860
00:41:54,640 --> 00:41:57,520
Speaker 3: want to like leave anything out there, but also you

861
00:41:57,520 --> 00:42:01,919
Speaker 3: don't want to go until you absolutely a shot and

862
00:42:02,080 --> 00:42:04,480
Speaker 3: your tea. You can't even help your teammates anymore. So

863
00:42:05,160 --> 00:42:08,120
Speaker 3: I think I just got to the end of my

864
00:42:08,560 --> 00:42:13,759
Speaker 3: last season and I was exhausted, and then I went

865
00:42:13,800 --> 00:42:17,440
Speaker 3: into an NBR one season and I just I couldn't

866
00:42:17,480 --> 00:42:20,640
Speaker 3: train really anymore. When training was hard. I think that

867
00:42:20,800 --> 00:42:23,799
Speaker 3: was I used to like love going to training, love

868
00:42:24,040 --> 00:42:27,680
Speaker 3: being with my teammates. He loved trying to win every

869
00:42:27,880 --> 00:42:31,600
Speaker 3: drill at training, But the training got really hard and

870
00:42:31,640 --> 00:42:34,000
Speaker 3: it was a chore, and I didn't really want to go,

871
00:42:34,160 --> 00:42:38,400
Speaker 3: And that's kind of when I realized my priorities have

872
00:42:38,520 --> 00:42:42,120
Speaker 3: changed and it's not bringing me as much joy as

873
00:42:42,120 --> 00:42:42,520
Speaker 3: it did.

874
00:42:43,160 --> 00:42:45,520
Speaker 4: And that's not an easy.

875
00:42:45,280 --> 00:42:48,080
Speaker 3: Realization to come to when basketball's been your whole life

876
00:42:48,160 --> 00:42:49,480
Speaker 3: pretty much since you were five.

877
00:42:49,680 --> 00:42:51,919
Speaker 4: So it was a hard time.

878
00:42:51,960 --> 00:42:54,879
Speaker 3: But you know, some amazing friends and family that's called

879
00:42:54,920 --> 00:42:57,360
Speaker 3: me through that, and I think, you know, having a

880
00:42:57,400 --> 00:43:01,399
Speaker 3: career outside of basketball really immensely as well.

881
00:43:01,440 --> 00:43:06,280
Speaker 4: It was not like what now, kind of feeling empty.

882
00:43:06,440 --> 00:43:08,799
Speaker 3: It was at least I've got something else I can

883
00:43:08,880 --> 00:43:12,960
Speaker 3: focus on, you know, and put my time into.

884
00:43:13,480 --> 00:43:15,920
Speaker 1: I could keep talking to you guys for a good

885
00:43:15,960 --> 00:43:19,440
Speaker 1: couple of hours. But I've really loved getting to know

886
00:43:19,520 --> 00:43:21,840
Speaker 1: each of you and a bit more about your stories.

887
00:43:21,880 --> 00:43:24,840
Speaker 1: I've watched you for many, many years and admired what

888
00:43:24,920 --> 00:43:26,520
Speaker 1: you did on the court, but really cool to kind

889
00:43:26,520 --> 00:43:27,879
Speaker 1: of get to know a bit more about you guys

890
00:43:27,880 --> 00:43:29,399
Speaker 1: off the court as well. So thank you so much

891
00:43:29,440 --> 00:43:31,360
Speaker 1: for your time and good luck for the rest of

892
00:43:31,360 --> 00:43:34,880
Speaker 1: your careers. Hope the Theeds hold up a little bit longer.

893
00:43:36,560 --> 00:43:40,920
Speaker 4: No, they're they're fine, Big Pole, They're fine. I can

894
00:43:41,000 --> 00:43:42,040
Speaker 4: chase Crooks.

895
00:43:44,520 --> 00:43:51,440
Speaker 2: Amazing. Thanks so much, guys, thank thanks so much for listening.

896
00:43:51,760 --> 00:43:53,799
Speaker 1: If you got something out of this episode, I would

897
00:43:53,800 --> 00:43:55,920
Speaker 1: absolutely love it if you could send it on to

898
00:43:56,000 --> 00:43:59,960
Speaker 1: one person who you think might enjoy it. Otherwise, subscribe,

899
00:44:00,160 --> 00:44:02,080
Speaker 1: give us a review, and make sure you follow us

900
00:44:02,120 --> 00:44:04,960
Speaker 1: on Instagram at the Female Athlete Project to stay up

901
00:44:04,960 --> 00:44:08,160
Speaker 1: to date with podcast episodes, merch drops, and of course

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00:44:08,640 --> 00:44:11,320
Speaker 1: news and stories about epic female athletes