Richmond VFLW player Courtney Wakefield combining motherhood with playingMay 23, 2018 8:53pm
by Matt Balmer
FOX SPORTSIMAGINE travelling seven hours just for one game of football — and then driving all the way back again.
That’s exactly what Richmond VFL squad member Courtney Wakefield does every single week.
The 31-year-old mother of two, travels to Melbourne on Thursday, before training with the Tigers on Friday night, playing a game on Saturday, before making the 600km trek back to her home — ending a 1200km round trip over four days to play a game of footy.
In an intriguing interview with Fox Footy’s On The Mark, aired on Wednesday evening, Wakefield spoke about her journey from motherhood to the football field, having returned to the game after a 20 year hiatus.
“There just weren’t those opportunities around to play women’s football and when it started up again, I thought I could do it,” Wakefield said.
“I thought — who cares if you’ve got two kids and are 31 or you live 600km away from Melbourne, I can still do it.”
Without an invite, Wakefield turned up “with a baby on the hip” to a Richmond VFLW training run in Bendigo, impressing coach Tom Hunter.
“I needed to stop halfway (through training) to feed the little fella,” Wakefield explained.
“The following week I got a message from Kate (Sheahan) to give Tommy a call, I gave him a call and he offered me a spot on the preseason squad to try out.”
Living on a farm, the size of 25,000 MCG grounds, gives the Tiger plenty of space to kick the footy around.
“I always get around in my runners and sports bra, so if he (Husband Tom) happens to sneak in the door for a break, I just palm off the kids and I’m out the door to do my 45 minutes of exercise.” Wakefield said.
After gaining a spot on the list and with family watching on, Wakefield’s journey was cut short after an elbow injury “about three minutes” into a practice match in Bendigo in March.
“I think until up to that stage I’d travelled 10 and a half thousand kilometres and got three minutes of game time,” Wakefield said.
“Initially I thought there goes my season, it was painful, it was actually more painful than childbirth.”
Living over 1000km away from Punt Road presents its challenges, but Wakefield takes it in her stride with crucial support from husband Tom.
“It wouldn’t be possible without his support, he said you’ve had two kids so you need to do something for yourself, but he probably didn’t have this in mind.”
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/womens-afl/richmond-vflw-player-courtney-wakefield-combining-motherhood-with-playing/news-story/83a37598a1eeb2d6000b569288cc698f
