The incredible juggling act of multi-sport female athletes

Updated

Thought Ellyse Perry was the only multi-code athlete in women's sport? Think again. A string of athletes performing career juggling acts dominate women's sport across the board.

Ellyse Perry is the definition of renowned. Debuting for her country in both cricket and soccer at 16, she has represented the Matildas at a World Cup and at 25 already won more silverware for the Southern Stars than most could dream of in an entire career; the quintessential role model.

But her capacity to make it in more than one sport isn't unique. A host of less-heralded Australian sportswomen are thriving in multiple codes as a product of the semi-professional era.

Naturally the high profile examples win the headlines. WTA tour member Ash Barty traded in her tennis racquet for a Brisbane Heat cricket bat in the inaugural season of the Women's Big Bash, while Southern Stars batsman Jessica Cameron did the opposite, relinquishing the willow to throw on a guernsey in the upcoming Victorian Football League (VFL).

But the juggling act is evident in nearly every team you choose to examine.

Another dual-international, Nicole Richardson, won bronze in softball at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics before claiming Commonwealth Games Gold in netball just six years later.

Richardson says until women are paid more professionally, they are going to keep pursuing multi-code careers.

"Kids are getting drafted into the AFL at such a young age now and once drafted into something like that, they're considered full-time athletes," explains Richardson, now a netball defensive coach for the West Coast Fever.

"Until women's sports are in the position where they can pay our athletes similar to that of football players, then girls are going to be in a position where they are chasing varying different sporting careers to assist from a financial aspect."

Multiple sports and study provide a good life balance: Thwaites

With schedules crammed into more intensive windows in the calendar, sportswomen are more readily able to pursue concurrent careers.

Aussie Diamonds shooter Caitlin Thwaites recognises and welcomes this balance, which extends to study too.

"Semi-professionalism is being able to have that work-life balance and not putting all your eggs in one basket," said Thwaites, who once pursued an Olympic volleyball dream before netball came calling - a switch that saw her earn Commonwealth Gold.

"Being a well-rounded person comes as a result of that; pursuing careers outside of sport."

Thwaites supports the ongoing campaign for full-time contracts, but hopes tertiary education and post-career professions will still be regarded with high importance when the day comes.

"That's probably fallen by the way-side a little bit in some of the male dominated sports," she said.

"They get thrown into it at such a young age and get to the end of their career in their 30s and wonder 'well what am I going to do now?'."

Australia's recent cross-code athletes Ebony-Rose Antonio (basketball, AFL)

Mackenzie Arnold (soccer, AFL)

Ash Barty (tennis, cricket)

Ash Brazill (netball, AFL)

Kirby Bentley (AFL, netball)

Jessica Cameron (cricket, AFL)

Charlotte Caslick (touch football, rugby 7s)

Emilee Cherry (touch football, rugby 7s)

Ellie Cole (Paralympic swimming, wheelchair basketball)

Alexandra Croak (gymnastics, diving)

Chloe Dalton (basketball, rugby 7s)

Brianna Davey (soccer, AFL)

Jessica Gallagher (Paralympic alpine skiing, athletics and tandem cycling)

Mo'onia Gerrard (netball, rugby 7s)

Ellia Green (athletics, rugby 7s)

Amber Halliday (rowing, cycling)

Alyssa Healy (cricket, hockey)

Emma Kearney (cricket, AFL)

Kirsty Lamb (AFL, cricket)

Meg Lanning (cricket, hockey)

Jenna McCormick (soccer, AFL)

Tiana Penitani (athletics, rugby 7s)

Ellyse Perry (cricket, soccer)

Jana Pitman (athletics, bobsleigh)

Alicia Quirk (touch football, rugby 7s)

Nicole Richardson (softball, netball)

Casey Samuels (basketball, AFL)

Caitlin Thwaites (volleyball, netball)

Gretel Tippet – (basketball, netball)

Ellyse Villani (cricket, AFL)

From Matildas, to AFL, to W-League champion

For Brianna Davey, formerly a Matildas goalkeeper, the closing of one door led to another. Dropped from the Australian squad in the lead up to the FIFA Women's World Cup last May, she turned back to AFL, the game she played as a child.

After a mere seven games in the VFL season, Davey was the number one pick in the 2015 AFL women's draft.

"The explosive side as a bigger bodied midfielder, contesting for the ball and breaking out of packs, really came quite naturally with all the explosive work I do with goalkeeping," Davey said.

Having kept fit in the off-season with a new set of tricks up her sleeve, she then became a key signing for Melbourne City, who pulled off the premiership-championship double in their inaugural W-League season.

"What happened with the World Cup was obviously quite devastating but picking up the footy and being drafted, and then going back into the W-League and having such a successful season, I would definitely put that down as a success," Davey said.

Tippett shines in basketball and netball

Gretel Tippett is another who has switched codes, trading a promising career in basketball for netball.

Tippett, the sister of AFL star Kurt, represented Australia in three junior world championships, was signed twice to different teams in two WNBL seasons and won the 2011 Rookie of the Year award.

But an interest developed watching the trans-Tasman netball championship, so at the age of 18 she made the switch having never played netball before.

"It was hard to make that final decision. I felt like I'd let my parents down, my coaches as well as my team-mates, but at the end of the day I just wanted to be happy," she said.

"After I played my first game of netball and got 13 air balls, stepped five times and only played one half of netball, I was [thinking] 'what have I done?' But it was what I wanted so I just kept ticking away at it and training really hard."

Tippett's lay-up shooting style has made her famous with fans and infamous among defenders in the domestic competition; attention that helped her nab a spot in the Diamonds squad and a debut in last year's Constellation Cup.

"Lay-ups have been drilled into me since I was seven, so they come so naturally," she says, adding that she loves being "unpredictable and a bit unorthodox."

AFL wants women's game to emulate WBBL success

The array of opportunities in women's sport continue to grow and cultivate - in some sports, faster than others.

The launch of the Women's Big Bash was an emphatic success that highlighted to many for the first time the class of cricket on display, with games regularly beamed into living rooms.

This is a reception the AFL is hoping its inaugural women's competition will emulate, scheduled to commence in early 2017.

Daisy Pearce, Melbourne Football Club skipper, midfielder and ambassador for women's AFL, has been closely involved with the nationwide talent search.

In early 2016 the organisation ran clinics from coast to coast to recruit prospective players, freely encouraging players from other sports to try out.

Australian Rules is already a popular choice for female athletes to engage with in their off-seasons and by feeding off this, the organisation aims to raise the bar.

"The talent search was something that came about after we identified a lot of girls out there in their mid 20s might have loved the game and had a bit of a taste at junior level or in the backyard, but haven't pursued the sport because there wasn't a pathway to the elite level," Pearce said.

Coming from a background where dedication and a high commitment to training is required, Pearce argues that the skills other athletes bring will not only be entertaining, but increase the intensity of competition.

"That's great to watch as a football fan - you think back to Nic Naitanui, when he first came into the AFL. He was super athletic, he made a lot of mistakes, but even his errors were good to watch, and I think some of these girls might bring something like that," she said.

Female cricketers growing the AFL talent pool

Jess Cameron's decision to take an indefinite break from cricket wasn't made with the looming AFL league in mind, yet she's already noticed the quantity of other sportswomen picking up the Sherrin.

"There were more opportunities for cricketers, especially women cricketers - you didn't hear much about women's football after the under 12s," Cameron said.

"A lot of people in that academy are dual sports people. Emma Kearney - who plays for the Melbourne Stars and the Victoria Spirit in cricket - she's also doing the academy. I think we're going to find a lot of crossovers."

Each of these women agree it will only become tougher to pursue multiple codes as they surge towards the world of full professionalism. Indeed, Rugby Sevens players already have clauses integrated in their contracts that restrict them from playing anything else; some cricketers too.

Even Perry was forced to make a very public decision between the W-League grand final and the Southern Stars' T20 international against India in January this year, when both sporting events were scheduled the same day.

This was certainly not the first or likely the last code-clash for her, nor will it be for others as schedules expand. The crunch will come, so multi-code sportswomen should be celebrated while we still can.

Topics: cricket, netball, soccer, australian-football-league, sport, australia

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