IN the first edition of a brand new Player Diary series, we hear from New South Wales AFL Women’s draft hopeful Keiley Mead. The 21-year-old has faced more obstacles than most over the last few years, but with a clean run over preseason thus far, the Sydney University recruit is looking to take that next step. Here is her journey to now, in her own words.

Introduction:

I came into football in a bit of an unconventional way. In 2016, after winning the National Championship with the NSW U16 Girls baseball team, I got very unwell and was in and out of hospital for a few months with a ‘mystery illness’.

After years of being a cross-code athlete in various sports at a high level, I was suddenly left in a wheelchair for about six months due to severe fatigue, pain, and an essential tremor. Multiple surgeries, specialists and tests later, and we still didn’t have many answers, but it had gotten to the point where a specialist told us that I should never expect to return to competitive sport and I would be ‘lucky’ to run again. 

Over the next year or so, I worked incredibly hard with a growing team of specialists. I learnt to walk again. I learnt to use cutlery again. I did a lot of desensitisation therapy, and as I continued to improve, I began to run again. To start with it was only 50m, then 100m, then faster and longer as time went on. I vividly remember running a 10km fun run in Sydney six months after I had this specialist appointment – I sent him a photo of my medal along with a huge thank you for getting me back up and running. 

Despite the improvements, my return to high level baseball wasn’t so smooth and I often grew frustrated with the game that I wasn’t performing at the same level consistently compared to pre-illness. My throwing was off, I struggled to stand still to bat and I wasn’t in love with the game anymore. I went back to one of my specialists and we came up with a bit of a game plan to try to get me back on track and enjoying my sport again.

We decided that I would continue to coach baseball (and I did for many years after this), but I would try a sport that I had never seriously played that I was able to ‘get bumped around,’ so we could continue my desensitisation training. Whilst I grew up as a die-hard Dragons fan watching the NRL with my family, it seemed like a likely option to pick up League, but I had a friend who was playing at the local AFL club, and she convinced me to come and give it a go during pre-season in the U18s side before I decided.

2018

Year 1, Southern Power – Sydney Harbour U18 Girls Division 1 & 2

I joined up with Southern Power AFC, located in Sutherland at the start of 2018 after my first training session when I had so much fun at that session. I was lucky enough to play two games most weekends in Division 1 and Division 2.

In my first year, we had a strong season and ended up winning the premiership. Not only had I found a sport that I had fallen in love with once again, but I had gotten my life back. I was back in sport, had some amazing new friends and was loving the journey of working back to elite sport.

2019

Year 2, Southern Power – Sydney Harbour U18 Girls Division 1  [Keiley’s top-age year]

My second year at football, I came into the U18s competition in the Sydney Harbour Division 1 competition. Much better prepared and with a full pre-season under my belt, I had cemented my spot in the team as a medium defender, and we were coming in as a top-age team. Once again, we had a very successful campaign and won the premiership that year. This year I finished my HSC at Caringbah High School, and had a great year getting back into representative softball, baseball, and javelin much sooner than I had anticipated. 

2020

Year 3, Southern Power – Sydney Women’s Premier Division

2020 was a massive year for me, much like everyone across the country. I started university in a Bachelor of Applied Science (Diagnostic Radiography) at the University of Sydney. Whilst I continued to train twice a day, the entire competition was managing COVID-19 restrictions and trying to fit work and uni around this was a massive adjustment. Whilst we looked promising this year, the disrupted season combined with injuries and work for a lot of players left us in third place with a disappointing finals series due to a shortened season. 

2021

Year 4, Southern Power – Sydney Women’s Premier Division

Looking to come back in 2021 for a full season, the Power were ready to show up this year to contest for the top spot. Unfortunately in Round 1, I went up for a mark in the final quarter against east coast and had a nasty tackle where I partially tore my ATFL and CFL in my ankle. After 14 weeks of rehab and recovery, I was ready to go stronger than before. Unfortunately COVID-19 restrictions came back into place and the season was shut down. I spent a lot of the off season this year focusing on my university studies but also building my strength and speed. I was working out twice a day, often training with a tri-athlete so I could push my aerobic capacity, and I ended up fitter and faster than before I did my ankle. 

2022

Year 5, Southern Power – Sydney Women’s Premier Division

After a few disappointing years of injuries and COVID that interfered with footy, I was so excited for the 2022 season. I was right into pre-season and working incredibly hard to be at the top of my game. The Sydney Swans had just announced their Open Athlete Trials and Summer Series coming up with scouts looking into some games across the country.

In January 2022 while walking around at Oztag, I stepped into a pothole and my ACL snapped, fracturing my tibia in the process. A seemingly ‘nothing,’ injury that would rule me out of the season before it even started. I knew what ACL injuries meant for athletes, after seeing so many of my teammates struggle with surgeries and the incredibly long rehab.

As soon as I did my ACL, I was put into contact with a sports medicine doctor by the name of Dr Tom Cross at the Stadium Sports Clinic who was conducting a clinical trial looking to non-operatively repair ACL injuries in athletes.

I had incredible success with him alongside working with my physiotherapists at Physio Focus Rehab & Performance Centre in Caringbah, returning to sport at the nine-month mark, at least three months ahead of the standard rehabilitation pathway. With a great recovery under my belt, I started to look for a fresh start in 2023 and got into contact with Sydney University, applying for their elite athlete program and was accepted in early 2023.

2023

Year 6, Sydney University – Sydney Women’s Premier Division

In 2023, I am coming into my last year of university studying a Bachelor of Applied Science (Diagnostic Radiography) (Honours) at the University of Sydney, so I had some big decisions to make about the future. With a lot of my friends from Southern Power choosing to move down to Melbourne, I decided to make the switch across for a fresh start.

The improvements in not only my own game since coming into the USYD program, but all of the girls’ games, have been amazing to see – once as a competitor and now as a team mate! I am so incredibly excited about what our coach, Jon Dyster, is building at the club and I hope everyone has their eye on us this year in the Sydney League. 

My plans for the future are currently fluid. I am really enjoying settling into my new team; I have felt so welcomed and am learning and growing as a player at each and every training session. I can’t wait to see how we develop as a team and ideally come away with the premiership at the end of the season.

As I move forward, I have plans this year to play in Sydney University’s Uni Nationals Team in 2023 set to be held in Queensland, and I will continue to be open to any interstate or local opportunities that arise. I think that my story, whilst unconventional and disrupted, is not too different to others.

The determination to achieve in high level sport drives me and I think that these disruptions have not only made me physically stronger and faster but mentally much tougher. Combining that with a love for footy, I’m confident that these experiences to date will help me in all of my future endeavours and allow me to be the best footballer and athlete I can be. I am incredibly excited for what is to come in the coming years!