The Opportunist
Road to the top of netball
It’s pretty much inevitable to find yourself playing netball at some point as a young girl in Australia. For me it was running around my local grass courts on a Saturday morning in the middle of winter. We were only allowed to wear our netball skirts and t-shirts. My little legs would freeze but I was having too much fun to realise how cold it was. And if your brush with netball pulled you in like it did for me then your memories will no doubt be of Liz Ellis. The hero of Australian sport in the 90s, the hero for young girls all around the country. I will never forget when Liz Ellis came to the Illawarra and ran one of her netball clinics. Liz was the captain of the Sydney Swifts at the time. I remember recognising her from TV and I couldn’t believe I was at her netball clinic getting my t-shirt signed by her. I was hooked, I might not have realised on that Saturday morning but netball was going to be a huge part of my life from that moment on.
“I knew I had to get out of my comfort zone if I wanted to be competitive.”
As I started to get older netball’s grip did not loosen. I wanted to give myself every opportunity to be exposed to the top level. Living in the Illawarra (about 90 minutes South of Sydney) meant deciding to play in the State League competition in Sydney’s city. I was still young but knew I had to get out of my comfort zone if I wanted to be competitive. It paid off. I was identified and given a spot in the NSWIS Netball program. For the first time I was exposed to what it was like to train with elite netballers and to be an elite netballer. Through NSWIS I was selected in the NSW Waratah’s team to play in the Australian Netball League. This was the second tier competition to the premier ANZ Championships. I was so excited to get picked in the team, I was one of the youngest in the team and couldn’t believe I would be travelling across Australia to play netball!
I was in the NSWIS netball program for 7 years, an amazing pathway for young athletes to be exposed to netball at the elite level. I was chipping away year by year, training and playing well. But all the while, out of the corner of my eye I was watching the ANZ competition. I would watch it on TV, imagining myself out there, willing myself further, continuing to train, never letting up until I made it to the top.
Then, in 2014 the moment I had been working towards since those early Saturday mornings as a kid presented itself. I was given the opportunity to train with the NSW Swifts. I will never forget how nervous I was before walking into that session. I got there 30 minutes early and sat in the car. I get very nervous and anxious before any big moment or game. However, this was the most nervous I had ever been. I felt sick, I couldn’t sit still and I was watching the clock tick over and kept telling myself I had to get out of the car at some point and walk in there. The time came, and I forced myself out of the car. I walked over to the team, I went to introduce myself, but they already knew my name and who I was. I was so shocked, how did they know my name? These were the players I had been watching with envy for years and they knew my name! Instantly my nerves went away as we started to warm up. In the warm-up I looked across from me and couldn’t believe I was running alongside them!
I trained really well and couldn’t wipe the smile off my face for the rest of the week. I was asked to come back to their sessions to continue training with them, it was incredible. This was the moment I knew I was on the right track and that this was exactly what I wanted.
“This was the moment I knew that this was exactly what I wanted. ”
Netball teams at that level consist of 12 spots, 7 on court and 5 on the bench. They are tough, tight units to crack into and sometimes the only way to do this is when an opportunity presents itself. A few weeks later that opportunity came. Unfortunately, one of the girls in the team had done her knee at training. I got a phone call from the assistant coach, she told me that I had been picked to be a replacement player for their next game. I couldn’t believe it, I told her how excited I was and that I would be ready. Only after that phone call did I register that the game would be in New Zealand. I didn’t even have a passport! I rang Mum straight away and told her we needed to get one and we had 5 days to do it. It was the most stressful week, however, I got my passport two days before leaving and I was good to go! (To this day none of them knew that I agreed to play an international game with no passport, unless of course, they are reading this now.)
The trip to Christchurch was incredible. Although I knew it would be a very slim chance that I would take the court, I needed to be ready at any moment! I sat on the bench with nerves in my belly the whole game, warming up every couple of minutes just in case I was needed. I didn’t get to take the court that day but I knew my role, ready to support the team and whatever I did, even if I was sitting on the bench, I wanted to be the best at it.
The following week I was asked again to be a replacement player for the Swifts against the Adelaide Thunderbirds. I was ecstatic to get another opportunity and I wanted to be ready and embrace every moment. During the game, I sat on the bench and watched the game play out. I was nervous but excited at the same time. As I was watching a few players came off with injuries, the coach looked down to the bench and told me to go and warm up. It took me a second to register but it meant I was actually about to take the court and play. I will never forget the moments before stepping out on the court. I was warming up to the side and my heart was racing out of my chest, I felt like I was going to be sick. I kept looking over to the coaches waiting for them to tell me to take the court. Before I knew it, I heard my name called by the coaches. I ran over and put a WA bib on. I remember the coaches telling me something, but I couldn’t concentrate, and I still don’t know what they said. I ran onto the court and took a deep breath, it was our centre pass and my job to get the ball and get it to our shooters, that’s all I kept telling myself, catch the ball and get it to them.
“I played for four minutes.”
Four minutes into making my debut, I went up to intercept the ball, I had two hands on it and came down to land. One of the Adelaide players was also going for the ball and I landed awkwardly. I instantly felt this horrendous pain in my knee as I landed, I let go of the ball, cradled my right knee into my chest, rolled onto my side and tried to breathe. The physio came over and after a few minutes, he carried me over to the bench. I sat there with my leg up, a few tears rolling down my face unsure of what had just happened. Little did I know I had done my ACL and I would be out for 12 months. It was a whirlwind of emotions, I had just been picked in the U21 Australian squad, made my elite netball debut, I played for four minutes. All of my hard work and years of trying to make the top-level had paid off, and then ripped away within a few minutes. I couldn’t believe it. All of my family was watching on TV at home, and my phone was going off, so many messages congratulating me on my debut and also hoping my knee was okay. I didn’t know how to respond, I didn’t reply to most of the messages, I just didn’t know what to say, I was gutted.
Surgery, 12 months of physio, rehab, ups and downs, self-doubt, starting to run again, and everything in between. I was working so hard to get myself back up to the elite level and it paid off. I was offered a contract for the 2015 NSW Swifts team and I was so relieved. I’d worked so hard to earn a contract and I’d finally done it. I would be given another chance to chase my dreams and get back on the court. But it was a challenging year for me, I sat on the bench for most of it, only playing a few minutes during the whole season.
At the end of the season, I received a phone call that I will never forget. The coach called to let me know I wouldn’t be offered anything for the following year. It was tough. I broke down at the end of that call, I was gutted. Everything I had worked for came crashing down and I started to doubt if I would ever be able to play like I did before doing my knee.
The beginning of Giants
An opportunity presented itself in 2017. The Giants Netball team was announced to be added to the nation wide comp and I was to be part of the inaugural team. To be part of something from the very start is something special that not many athletes get to do. I trained hard, I loved being around the team and tried to embrace every moment. I learned so much but once again I found myself sitting on the bench for a lot of the season.
“I remember going into our changerooms and went over to my old locker. We have our names and playing numbers right in the middle of the lockers in big bold letters. As I walked towards it, I realised my name had been removed and all past players had their initials at the bottom of the locker.”
The following year, I was dropped down to a training partner. I found this tough. I wanted to be grateful to be part of the team. However, it was challenging. I remember going into our changerooms and went over to my old locker. We have our names and playing numbers right in the middle of the lockers in big bold letters. As I walked towards it, I realised my name had been removed and all past players had their initials at the bottom of the locker. My name had been moved from the middle, in big letters, down to the bottom, just my initials in small writing with all the other past players. It was such a small thing, yet it hit me so hard. I am a very positive and upbeat person, who always tries to find the good in any situation. However, at this moment, I couldn’t. I ran to the toilet and cried. It hurt so much, for years on the bench, injured, pushing so hard to get to the top and I had kept myself together. I had remained so positive and always told myself that I needed to be grateful for the opportunities, although, at this moment I allowed myself to feel disappointed, angry, frustrated, confused, and sad. With not many better ways to put it, it absolutely sucked.
Giants AFLW
I found myself sitting in a meeting after that netball season to be told that I would be offered nothing for the following season. That meeting was tough. I sat there listening to the explanation as to why I wouldn’t be playing any more while only really focusing on trying not to cry. It was the moment it all hit, the years of training, doing my knee, sitting on the bench for most of my career and now it felt like it was the end.
While sitting there trying not to cry vaguely taking in what I was being told something broke through and caught my attention. “Sorry?”... my coach repeated herself, “would you be interested in having a kick with the Giants AFLW coach?” All I could think was “what the fuck?”. I could hardly register what I was hearing. I hadn’t even processed the end of my career at Giants Netball let alone considered playing a different sport. My emotions were all over the place, I didn’t know what to think or feel. I got in the car after that meeting and the whole drive home I cried. I allowed myself to feel disappointed, sad and I felt so confused about what to do.
I sat on the news about netball and thought about the strange opportunity to meet an AFLW coach for a few days. Finally I thought, what do I have to lose? Of everything I have gone through in my career, I have always been proud of the way I have tried to embrace any opportunity that has come my way, and no matter what, I have always given it my all. So that’s exactly what I did, I called Alan McConnell and said I would meet him for a kick. I was so nervous, on my way to meet Al I just kept thinking “what am I doing”. When I met Al, I picked up a football for the first time, and I mean, the first time. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I remember kicking the footy and it was going everywhere. I was telling myself “I hope he isn’t regretting meeting me for a kick.” After our kick, he showed me a few skills that I could practise at home. I went home that night and practised. I had no idea what I was doing but I tried. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it all, here I was running around a field, kicking and chasing a ball that was going no where I intended it to. I was so far out of my comfort zone yet for the first time in a long time I was excited about the unknown.
A few weeks of practising my skills at home, googling the rules of AFLW and a few meetings, I was offered a rookie contract. In hindsight this has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. From my experiences in netball I know how hard it is to get an opportunity to play at the elite level. I wanted to embrace it and I was determined to improve my skills and learn a new sport.
I can’t tell you how nervous, anxious, and scared I was at my first few training sessions. I was terrified and so scared of doing something wrong, stuffing up my kick, not knowing where to run or what to do on the field. However, I’ve learnt that you need to allow yourself to be vulnerable and as long as you put in the work and give your all, you will have the respect and support of your teammates.
“In my first session, I didn’t even have footy boots. I think every single player offered me their pair.”
It’s taken me three years (I’m still learning and developing my skills and knowledge of the game each week) to get my kicks going straight, to get a better understanding of the game, to understand what stoppages are and where I am supposed to position myself, amongst 100 other things! Although it can be challenging and tough, I have never felt so supported by my teammates. The girls and coaches have been incredible, when I first transitioned to AFLW I had no idea what the players would think. In my first session, I didn’t even have footy boots. I think every single player offered me their pair. I knew I had made the right decision and I was going to give my best for my teammates and myself. I knew if I made a mistake, as long as I was going hard, I had the support from my teammates.
The thing that has frustrated me the most during my transition across to AFLW, is when people say “Oh, you still play netball?” or ask “What are you going to choose?”. It frustrates me because I love doing both sports and I still have a goal to get back to the elite level in netball and to continue this football journey.
I’m still that little girl running around on the netball court on a freezing Saturday morning, dreaming of playing like my hero Liz Ellis. But I’m also Tay Davies, an AFLW player for the Giants, and I’m so proud of how far I’ve come as a footballer over the past 3 years. I’ve experienced how brutal elite sport can be, but throughout my career I’ve learned how important it is to roll with the punches and take opportunities as they come. At the moment, I'm living out my dream as a professional female athlete, however, not in the sport that I originally envisioned for myself growing up as a young girl in the Illawarra. Netball will always be a huge passion of mine, yet here I am, loving every minute as an AFLW player. Going for a kick with Alan McConnell 3 years ago, turned out to be a moment that has changed my life.
