{"id":39410,"date":"2018-08-29T19:28:52","date_gmt":"2018-08-29T09:28:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.afldraftcentral.com.au\/?p=39410"},"modified":"2020-04-23T06:59:21","modified_gmt":"2020-04-22T20:59:21","slug":"from-not-trying-out-for-state-to-being-a-key-player-sergeant-flourishes-in-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/2018\/08\/29\/from-not-trying-out-for-state-to-being-a-key-player-sergeant-flourishes-in-football\/","title":{"rendered":"From not trying out for state to being a key player: Sergeant flourishes in football"},"content":{"rendered":"

LAST year, Western Australia\u2019s (WA) <\/span>Matilda Sergeant <\/b>did not try out for the state side, despite coming up the ranks in Auskick, Youth Girls and League football. <\/span><\/p>\n

Sergeant was instead asked to be a part of the side, and is so glad that she was approached to do so. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI did not actually try out (for the WA state side) because I just thought I wasn\u2019t really ready for that,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I had a couple of coaches that I knew that were part of it and they said we really want you to come down. \u201cI was like I may as well give it a shot and I\u2019m so glad I did. \u201cLast year\u2019s carnival was so much fun. \u201cThe jump from last year to this year has just been huge and if I hadn’t done it last year, I wouldn\u2019t have been here today I don\u2019t reckon.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In just her second year of the state program, Sergeant already sees the opportunity to progress further with the sport. She attributes this belief to the booming state of the AFL Women\u2019s competition, admitting that it gives her and many others motivation to perform well in the sport. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like we have so much opportunity,\u201d the top-ager said. \u201cI feel like now\u2019s the time to really pursue it. \u201cI was just playing footy for fun and there wasn\u2019t a league. \u201cThen when it got to be the AFLW a couple of years ago, I was like this is something that I can actually really have a crack at and have a go.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This has meant that Sergeant has been able to get closer to achieving her childhood dream. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they ask you want you want to be when you grow up in Grade 6, I always used to say I want to do a sport professionally,\u201d she said. \u201cI thought footy was something you could take to the next level.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sergeant did not think the same about basketball, a sport which she has played since she was a five years old. Although she played at a high level, she sees more of an opportunity to play Australian Rules professionally. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI played almost 15 years of basketball,\u201d the Western Australian said. \u201cI played at a reasonably high level but then once I got into footy, I\u2019ve always loved footy, and I just thought there was a bit more opportunity with footy. \u201cIt was just something exciting and new. \u201cI think basketball\u2019s just a really fun hobby but footy is something that I want to do for a while.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite this, Sergeant is still playing basketball and coaches a team. She still does enjoy the sport, but it certainly puts a lot on her plate. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have a day off basically,\u201d the 19 year-old said. \u201cSo basically my life is just wake up, uni (university), work, footy and then repeat. \u201cIt\u2019s alright, I really really enjoy both sports and I feel like both complement each other. \u201cI think to see the next level and an end goal, it just keeps you motivated.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Not only is the Western Australian focused on football, but she is also working hard to be a physical education teacher, currently studying at The University of Notre Dame in Fremantle. Although she admits the balance between football and studies can be stressful sometimes, she overcomes that because she is really committed to being a teacher. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m second year uni (university), I\u2019m doing a Bachelor of Health and Phys Ed (physical education) so I want to be a teacher,\u201d Sergeant said. \u201cIt\u2019s really good actually, it can be a bit stressful with footy and uni work but it\u2019s alright, it\u2019s something I really want to do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sergeant also wanted to get her name out at the AFL Women\u2019s Under 18 Championships. She did so successfully, earning a place in the All Australian squad after a consistent tournament. The 19 year-old not only had personal goals, but was committed to getting the results as a team. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI just hope to get my name out there,\u201d Sergeant said. \u201cI think it\u2019s a really good opportunity for a lot of guys to watch you and watch what you can do. \u201cI mean obviously we want to win games, we\u2019ve worked really hard as a team. \u201cI think our team this year has been one of the strongest, like it\u2019s been a really cohesive team. \u201cPersonally for me, I just want to get my name talking amongst people really. \u201cI just want to show what I can do on the footy field and how I can help the team.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LAST year, Western Australia\u2019s (WA) Matilda Sergeant did not try out for the state side, despite coming up the ranks in Auskick, Youth Girls and League football. Sergeant was instead asked to be a part of the side, and is so glad that she was approached to do so. \u201cI did not actually try out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":38209,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11607,278,8,3131,137],"tags":[5351,553,5833,1921,11630],"class_list":["post-39410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-claremont","category-feature-articles","category-news","category-western-australia","category-womens","tag-afl-womens-under-18-championships","tag-claremont","tag-matilda-sergeant","tag-western-australia","tag-western-australia-features"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39410"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39410\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}