A cupboard brimming with trophies and medals it becomes blazingly clear that when it comes to sport, Rosie is one of the greats. From being the youngest person to represent Australia in the soccer world cup to joining the Hockeyroos and taking part in the Olympic Games, there is without a doubt in my mind that when it comes to living boldly Rosie exemplifies. With tenacity at the forefront, and an innate ability to push herself to fitness limits some of us would only dream of, we sit down with Rosie to chat all things bold moves, the setbacks along the way and how she makes time to remind herself of the ‘why’ – ensuring she stays grounded, whilst continuing to push herself out of her comfort zone.
“Growing up in the gold coast hinterland amongst the rainforest I was the second youngest in a family of five kids raised solely by my mum. A flare of competitiveness was born when I discovered my older brothers playing sport, determined not to be left behind I continuously proved that I could be as strong, fast, or tough as they both were, and as that seed planted it grew, as I grew.”
Planting the seed of determination saw me chase my dreams - My mum worked hard to support our family of five, and she would often sacrifice her all to ensure we had what we needed in order to thrive and chase our dreams, our days were filled with sports and I really gave everything my 110%, if it wasn’t hockey it was soccer, then touch football, AFL, athletics and or cross country and nippers, you name it, I did it. But it was watching my mum make those continuous sacrifices that planted the seed of determination, I wanted to make the people who had helped me proud, so once I was out on the sports field, my grit was to prove that I could be the best.
“By the age of fifteen, I had represented QLD 10 times across 3 different sports, playing at an international level. Today, I can say I am an Olympian, Commonwealth Games medalist, World Cup medalist and have played for Australia over 70 times as a Hockeyroo – it’s been quite the journey!”
You can either sit with your vision or run with it - I think that inside us all, somewhere deep down we all know what we’re truly capable of in this lifetime. That feeling that sits with you throughout life - you can either run with it, or let it sit there forever. Often, people ask me what I want to do next, and I always say to them, I want to achieve what I know I’m truly capable of because when I get to the end of my life, I don’t want to wonder what else I could have achieved, or if I could have worked a little harder, committing to each passion.
With courage and passion, comes setbacks – I was 12 years old standing in a massive crown when it was announced that the Gold Coast had won the bit to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games, I turned to my mum and said “I’m going to be playing in those games” – I was determined and at all costs would do what I had to do. Fast forward to 2018, it was January, and I was debuting for the Hockeyroos series against Spain, knowing there was two spots to be filled for the GC games and knowing I was the youngest on the field I hoped I would be selected, unfortunately, I was not. A game that I had dreamt of for 8 years and now been ripped from under my feet, it was during this time that I learnt the importance of taking time to essentially rediscover ‘my why’, what my end goal was – this created a huge mindset shift for me, it was a realisation that with passion comes setbacks, and you can’t control every outcome, instead celebrate the wins and enjoy the moments.
“To take people on that journey with me, I am conscious of sharing all the moments, the strains and the setbacks, people need to feel like they can relate to you – the need to see the whole story, not just the happy ending.”
Being bold means; you are true to yourself; you never doubt your capabilities and you have the courage to create your own path – Throughout my journey I have had times where I have lost my identity, trying to fit in with everyone else and the system, just to survive. Surrounded by high pressure moments and having a sporting passion turn into some kind of full-time job was when I knew I needed to shift my thinking, I didn’t want to survive, I wanted to thrive – and it was shifting my mind boldly and re-identifying my capabilities that got me there.
My top three habits to maintains success are –
- Visualisation and mindfulness, I do this before every game, when I wake up in the morning, when I am injured or if I need a moment to re-focus.
- Goal setting, this keeps me motivated, and the fire in my belly burning.
- Joy and laughter, you need to bring energy into your passions, if you’re not having fun and loving what your doing, you won’t feel the fruits of your success.