For us our sport, it was always, you thought, you'll finish up
between 27 and 30, and you'd settle down, have kids. But for
a lot of women, they hold off, hold off, hold off. And if those
things are in place women in their mid-20s, if they're really
in a settled relationship, and they're at that stage where
they'd like to have a family but they still want to play
competitively, that there is that pathway there for them. For
me, it was just hard to commit to something that was quite
unknown.
Initially, my plan was always to try and make three Olympic Games
campaigns and go through that and then settle down and have a
family. I hadn't really given much thought about anything
beyond that, and it was basically a conversation that I
had with our coach at the time straight after my third Olympic
campaign. Everyone knew my intent to step away and have a
family. But yeah, he'd sat me down and said 'have you thought
about playing on beyond that?' And it was never something that
I had really considered. But I guess with the Commonwealth
Games in the Gold Coast as well, that was something that was
playing in the back of my mind, whether or not I could make it
back for that. I knew if that was to happen, I was going to
have to fall pregnant pretty quickly with Harvey to make it
I went into the meeting expecting that there would be a
achievable.
set plan like this is what we can offer you, this is what it's
going to look like. But it was very blasé, there was nothing
set in stone. So I think from our perspective, and as a mum
you need things to be sorted, you need plans to be in place.
You need to know what's gonna happen during training, what are
you going to do for support to look after the child if you need
to step away or can you bring the child to training? So lots
of those things in terms of travelling and going overseas,
and there was just nothing concrete set in. Or there was
nothing even said that would make me hope that there was
anything going to come about of it.
I just didn't feel like there was kind of that much support
from the sporting body itself. And I think it's grown, with
Jodie who's returned with her son, I think they've learnt a
lot and have now started to get things in place. But as a semi
professional sport it is quite d fficult when you don't have th
funds there to be able to offe females like myself and mums re
urning to sport a clear pathway and something set. But had the
e have been more of a set pat , then I think I would have be
n either definitely one way or efinitely not. But I was kind of
left in the middle.
It was going to be six month turnaround to try and get back
for that tournament. Because for me, I knew it was too long out
of the program, there was going to be no favours and nor should
there be. But I was going to have to compete at that
tournament if I was to throw my hat in the ring for Tokyo.
I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it but I also wanted
to, in time, have the boys be proud of something that their
mum did. And I think for me like Tokyo as well, that was always I
wanted them to see that mums are strong and they can set their
minds and do something. And not putting myself forward for Tokyo
that was kind of, I felt like I was almost letting them down a
little bit. But I feel like just what I went through in the lead
up and the build-up to get to that point, hopefully they'll
look back at one stage and be quite proud.
For him to be able to share that time, his remaining time with
Harvey, and Lewis was only young, he was about six or seven
months at the time. But Dad had some of his best memories and
moments with Harvey in his last part of his life. Fortunate that
we made that decision. And if I had of committed to the program,
there would be no way that he would have spent that quality
time with them. Or that I would have got to have spent that much
quality time with him too. So, yeah, great memories and I think
you have no regrets basically. And that's what I wanted, I
wanted the whole time to have no regrets and that's where I'm at.