The Price You Pay

14: How Rowing Transformed Chad Willett's Life Ambitions

• Natalie Cook • Season 2 • Episode 14

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From a small rural town in Queensland to the grand stage of national rowing, Chad Willett's story is one of ambition, grit, and heart. 

In our latest episode, we are joined by 19-year-old rowing sensation Chad Gillett, his Mum Raylene and his Dad to discover his love of various sports, the family's collective sacrifices, and an honest glimpse of what it takes for an athlete in rural Australia to strive for excellence.

Just the shift from his hometown alone to the bustling environs of a boarding school in Brisbane was not just a geographical change for Chad, but a transformative experience that shaped his athletic and personal life. We explore the challenges of homesickness, the balancing act between sport and education, and the doors that opened following a significant state championship victory. 

Financial hurdles often shadow the dreams of rural athletes:

  • covering international training trips
  • hefty seat fees
  • and the broader narrative of rural athletes’ struggles. 

Chad's transition to a refrigeration and air conditioning apprenticeship is another layer of his multifaceted journey, showcasing the importance of community connections. Listen in to the overall sacrifice an athlete and their family makes to excel at the highest level.

Become a part of our athletes' success stories: Whether its a personal donation, a corporate partnership, a round of golf, or simply by spreading the word, your support has the power to uplift our athletes and inspire countless others!

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Taliqua Clancy:

My name is Talika Clancy and I'm a proud Wiliwili woman, and I wish to acknowledge the land on which the Price you Pay podcast is being recorded Minnijin Country. We pay homage to the tradition of storytelling when we share athlete journeys and we extend our respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Nat Cook:

I'm Nat Cook, five-time Olympian and gold medalist. Welcome to season two of the Price you Pay podcast, where we explore the hidden costs and barriers young athletes face in their pursuit of sporting greatness. Come with us as we delve into the lives of young athletes and their families to better understand what it truly takes to reach their dreams.

Sarah Maxwell :

We welcome 19-year-old rowing prodigy Chad Willett onto the Price you Pay podcast today. He won his first Nationals in 2021 in the under-17s by more than 27 seconds, which changed the course of his life literally Until that moment, this sporty teen had planned to finish school and join the army. He loved all kinds of sport, but until rowing, he had never imagined it could be the plan for his life. Rowing would have him travel to Italy with the under-19 Australian team and he would compete at the World Juniors in Paris, all the while trying to figure out a way to complete his schooling at boarding school.

Sarah Maxwell :

But all of this takes money. His parents, raylene and George, are joining the conversation today, which sets the scene for what it really takes for a rowing prodigy to make it on the world stage. Massive support from your parents that's what it takes, working tirelessly on the farm in rural North Queensland to pay things like his yearly seat fee of $7,950, which is only just a part of the cost to get Chad competing on the world stage. Welcome Will it family to the Price you Pay podcast. We so appreciate your finding a time to share your story with us, because I know you're busy. So thank you.

Dad:

You're welcome. Thank you for having us.

Sarah Maxwell :

All right. So, chad, you're going to get the first question. Your parents are going to be very patient. They've already been before we press the go button, so I know it's been a big transition year for you. You've graduated from high school, you started an apprenticeship. You live on your own now. You're training hard in the boat, but how is your life different now than what it was when you were at boarding school?

Chad Willett:

Well, a lot less chaos, maybe um well, a lot less chaos, maybe um living in the boarding in at nudgee we had 315 other borders okay, so it was lots of, lots of boys and chaos. So lots of boys means chaos yeah, like um trying to get stuff done or going to bed early enough because be waking up at like 3 15 in the morning. Boys won't go to sleep till nearly 10 ish, so yeah hold on.

Chad Willett:

You were waking up at 3 15 for training yeah, some mornings to get from nudgy all the way over to where I was training on the river oh my goodness.

Sarah Maxwell :

Well, I bet they're probably pretty glad to get rid of you too, then up at 3 15, waking people up. But okay, so you're feeling a lot more peaceful in how your life is going at the moment since you've finished school yeah okay, and so was I right. Are you living? So you're living on your own now, and how's the apprenticeship going? Is that what it's even called? Am I using the right words?

Chad Willett:

yeah, it is. It's a refrigeration and air conditioning apprenticeship okay, how did you choose that? Um, I actually just got offered it when I got the offer to go to nudgy the head of rowing. Um, when I went to, nudgy is mates with the boss, so he just asked me. He's like do you want an apprenticeship as well? And I'm, I was starting to look towards doing any sort of apprenticeship, so I just took what I could get and then yeah, wow, interesting.

Sarah Maxwell :

It's cool, isn't it like it's often like that who you know and people helping people out, so that's really cool. Okay, really, you're. First, I want a glimpse. Give us a glimpse of mini Chad, like when he was growing up and his love of sport, like sort of give us a vision of what that looked like.

Mum Raylene:

Definitely Chad's always been sporty outdoors. He loved anything with water, anything long distance. He gave team sports a crack so it was like athletics, water polo, touch. He just did a great big variety of stuff and yeah, from when he was little and then when he got to high school and then it's, you know, the possibility of perhaps football or rugby league, and we weren't very keen on the idea of that. So I sort of steered him towards having a crack at rowing and rowing just all fell into place.

Sarah Maxwell :

Okay, I will say in looking into chat a little further, it came up like one million times about how mum was not having rugby. So what is it about rugby that you were not having mum?

Mum Raylene:

I didn't want him to be injured.

Dad:

I think it may have come around from me. I played rugby league growing up, um and into my teens and then um when we first got married and everything and just too many injuries, um. I'm paying for it very much now in my life. So we didn't want him to go through those same sorts of things.

Sarah Maxwell :

Got it. Thank you for that. I did think I'm like there's something specific about this. She's onto it. It's really interesting to hear how you don't know right, you don't know whether he would have found himself in the boat anyway, but just to hear that that was was a powerful force, like he really expressed that a lot as well that mum was having none of it. So I don't know if that's good job, dad, but your injuries, yeah, it really made him have a second look at rowing. So that's cool at least. Um, so, chad, where did your dream? I was quite curious about this whole joining the Army dream. Where did that come from?

Chad Willett:

I'm not really sure. I can't always find an entrance in it.

Sarah Maxwell :

Did you read a book about it? Do you know someone who's in the Army?

Chad Willett:

No, not really. I remember when we moved to Rocky I was looking at cadets and then when I got into Rocky Grammar it took me a year to convince mom to let me join cadets.

Sarah Maxwell :

OK, mom, you're a force, I love it. Mom's like what is this? Got it? So the army, OK. So you didn't really know that much about it, but yet it seemed like you were pretty sure that this was your life path, that you would finish school and join the army. So you were pretty locked in before the rowing thing came in.

Chad Willett:

Yeah, I was.

Sarah Maxwell :

All right, we're going to come back to that because I think that's quite interesting, because I know things have shifted for you. But, george, so I hear about there's a busy farm, there's lots going on. How have you managed to support Chad's dream of competing at the highest level in sport?

Dad:

Well, we've got the farm. I also project manage in a coal mine, so yeah, we've got a secondary income at the moment, so that definitely does help us out. So pretty much with regards to that.

Sarah Maxwell :

Yeah, the farm's sort of a back burner um rallying looks after it while I go to work got it and was that did you always have the two jobs, or has that a newer thing, since there's more demand from chad's career?

Dad:

no, we've sort of had the, the two um the farm sort of come along later on in our life, like we've always had little bits and pieces and working with agricultural and that. But it's only in the later years that we've managed to purchase our own farm and go from there.

Sarah Maxwell :

I guess that kind of all of a sudden, as I imagine you on this farm and doing the other work as well. And yet I know that you know Chad's now in Brisbane and he went to boarding school. So, raylene, tell me a little bit about your son in boarding school, like what, what tell? Talk to me a little bit about the decision for that and how that was as a family.

Mum Raylene:

It was Chad needed to go to boarding school. It was a combination of the opportunities in Brisbane with regards to rowing, but also the really high training schedules. So, like you said, you know he's up at 3 o'clock in the morning, they train before school, they train after school. It's just a really huge demand on his time as well as attend school. So, yeah, boarding school sort of made it a little bit tighter. So, like he was on site for school, on site, you know, with the rowing teams and yeah. So it was beneficial for him to be at boarding school to do his rowing but that's logic, mom.

Sarah Maxwell :

Yes, so tell me. So that's the logical correct choice. What was it really like, though?

Mum Raylene:

it's really hard, um chad, being so far away from us. The distance makes organizing stuff really hard. His busy schedule makes it hard to be in contact with him.

Sarah Maxwell :

Yeah, so it is hard being so far away and he did share um right about how he was quite homesick. So how were those phone calls when he's really homesick and really hard.

Mum Raylene:

So I get off the phone from Chad, like you know I can, I come home, I you know I didn't get enough breakfast this morning or I'm running late for class or it was. It was really hard and then. So I get off the phone from Chad and then jump on the phone to George and offload to him and you know it's all right and, um, yeah, he's there for a reason and you know we do whatever we can from a distance to try and make everything work for him did you ever consider moving?

Sarah Maxwell :

not that you should have, I just wondered did you ever consider all moving?

Mum Raylene:

not really. No, not with george's job up here in the farm up here. And I don't think chad would also like to not like. We always say to him you know, yes, you're down there for a reason, but you've always got home to come home to and to look forward to. So yeah, I don't think if we, I don't think he'd want us to sell the farm and move our lives to Brisbane.

Sarah Maxwell :

Chad's doing lots of head movements while mum's talking Chad, would you say that it was, even though you were homesick. Do you see that?

Chad Willett:

it was the only way for your dream, definitely yeah, I would not be where I am now if I had stayed in Rocky in the program there. Yeah, just the amount of benefits I've gotten coming down to Brisbane with, like training-wise, being part of QIS now, wouldn't have happened if I was up north.

Sarah Maxwell :

Yeah, and I suppose, like just hearing that story, is that's the kind of sacrifices that people don't always realize they're. Actually that was the only real solution, that if he was going to do that and I think sometimes when you're from a big city, you take that for granted. If you're, you know, when you're more rural or from a smaller town, you understand those sacrifices You're either driving really big distances all the time, so you're sacrificing time, or like this, like so were you. What age did you go? Chad, 15, no.

Chad Willett:

I was 16 16 when I um left school at Rocky okay on that Chad, so give me a glimpse a little bit.

Sarah Maxwell :

So this means this was just prior to you going. So you're 15 years old, you're competing at the under 17 and under 19s for the state championships for the first time and you eclipse the field. You win by like an incredible margin and I mean you talk in seconds, but I'm just visualizing even the look like what that would look like to win by that much. So what did that do for you in terms of what you started to imagine was possible for yourself in this sport?

Chad Willett:

Well, after having that success at Nationals, when we were still down there, having a lot of like the older boys from like the schools, well, in the big cities, like coming up to you. They're like, oh, watch the race you did. Well, you know our school was interested in you and I had um also had john bows, which is he takes care of a lot of the top end rowing Australia programs with the States as well, like getting Aussie kids over to the States. And he came up to me and gave me his card and he's like you know, if you need anything, reach out to him.

Sarah Maxwell :

Yeah, so that's interesting. So rowing is very much about what I'm getting from you is that at that level there's like scholarships or like opportunities even at that young age. You know, sometimes we think of that more in university, but you're saying at this age you were being offered chances to go to different schools or even to the US because of this incredible performance.

Dad:

Yeah.

Sarah Maxwell :

And you'd achieved that all in your local, like in a club that was closer to home, correct. So when that happened and all of a sudden you're getting all these cards and everyone wants a bit of Chad, you know they want a piece of you. What did that start doing to your dreams at night, Like you used to dream about school army? What's happening inside of you when all that change is going on?

Chad Willett:

Oh well, opened a lot more doors, like being able to be a professional athlete Also. Well, finishing school. I was nearly looking at dropping out by that stage, so I ended up doing an extra year of school with the program I had to do at Nudgee. And then scholarship down here, apprenticeship Just a lot more doors and opportunities.

Sarah Maxwell :

I feel like Dan wants to say something. Dad, do you want to say something about? No, I want to hear because I'm getting this vibe that school was not chad's favorite thing oh, definitely not.

Dad:

School was not something that he wanted to be doing. Um, it was. It was a conversation very regularly around. You know, you need to finish school, you need to finish school. Um, it's like, well, I can either get a trade or I can go to the army. Um, you know he talked about the army. He we we'd taken him to um army nights at rockhampton and you know he'd sat and gone through and, you know, discussed with all the recruitments for the Army, so like he was pretty much going to just walk out of school and go to the Army. Yeah, wow. So doing what he has done, you know he's been a credit on himself Because, like it's very hard for rural kids there's a lot of talented rural kids in in in australia but getting that opportunity to to move on and and go to a bigger city to have that now he's done very well in himself to get there that's cool.

Sarah Maxwell :

Yeah, I'm getting the sense. Thank you for that, because you're starting to get a picture of what sport is in your life, like how it's really helped you stay in this educational stream for longer and, like you said, more doors opening like that's really interesting. And I mean again, there's like more and more coming for you. But I did, george, I did want to ask if you, if mom might interrupt, but maybe not. When Chad won the Green and Gold Scholarship money, how did that financial assistance help the family?

Dad:

Any sort of assistance, helps with any sort of types of bills or anything. Like you said, you know his seat fee was around about $8,000 each year. That's just the seat fee. That doesn't include. You know they go overseas for a month of training inside that. So then they've got their own expenses and everything else, and you know he's done it twice now. So that's two years' worth of seat fees, two years of being over in Italy at the training for a month.

Sarah Maxwell :

Yeah, it's quite a big cost and when money comes in, is that how you guys do it as a family? Because it sounds like you pay for that seat fee, for example. So when you win that Chad, does that money go? How does that work? How do you do it? You go, they get, they just hand over the check, or how does it all work?

Dad:

how'd that work?

Sarah Maxwell :

oh, everyone's looking at someone. Mom, what?

Dad:

happened at my mom's what?

Mum Raylene:

happened. So, like that, chad has competitions you know all season and then when you make the, the australian team. So for the two, the previous two years when he was in the under 19 team, which is considered the junior teams, and they he had- world championships two years in a row. That was the um. When you make the team, that's when you you know you have to pay for the seat fee okay to to rowing australia to, you know, as part of their costs.

Sarah Maxwell :

Just that. Okay, this was going to be a question for Chad, but let's stay with you for a sec. Mum, when you talk about seat fee, firstly, I've never heard of that. So that is sort of like I think when you dream about sport, you don't really know about that. So did you guys know that there was a seat fee? And what's that? Like paying it two years in a row, mum? Like what's that been like?

Mum Raylene:

Yeah, so it's a large expense and you just you know you do what you've got to do to make it all happen for Chad to do what he's got to do. Yeah.

Sarah Maxwell :

Yeah, because I think there's like, again, this is what we want to do on he's got to do yeah. Yeah, because I think there's like, again, this is what we want to do on the podcast is be able to share. I feel like there's this narrative that people have that watch sport and it's not that real, like it's not close to reality, meaning nobody thinks, oh wow, you've made the team, like, congratulations, pay your seat fee. Everyone thinks that you get all the stuff and then, like you know, streamers come down and money starts going, flowing towards you and and it doesn't sound like. That's the experience exactly no, definitely not.

Dad:

and and the fact that you know like it's the seat fee, but it's, then okay, okay, you've made the team, okay, the team's. In the first year, the team was in South Australia.

Chad Willett:

Where are the boys from?

Dad:

Victoria, victoria. So then it's training day, so you then got to organise flights, so you got to fly into Victoria for training sessions, and then the same again last year. You know it's training, so you fly to Sydney. You accommodate. None of that's paid for out of being part of that team, so the CFE is just a slight part of it.

Sarah Maxwell :

Thank you for sharing that. We want to get real, we want to share what it really takes and we want to share how not everyone can do it because, like you're saying, not only are you flying like, let's say, you're from Brisbane, then you're still flying to Victoria, you're still flying to see if those flights, but on top of it you guys have that extra little jump rural, you know, coming from where you're, if you're ever going to watch him, I mean, is that even an option? Do you guys even imagine that you could watch him compete, or is it too?

Mum Raylene:

expensive. We don't regularly go and watch Chad compete at rowing competitions, but we did make the decision, as he was still underage when he went to Italy. We went on that one and went to Paris last year. But, um, if he had made the under 23 team this year, which was a jump up from his proper age group, um, that was Canada. We made the decision that, whether he made the team or not, this year we wouldn't be going.

Dad:

I just couldn't afford that, not three years in a row.

Sarah Maxwell :

Gosh, I'm Canadian, so the seats it's expensive. There's a seat fee. Let me tell you they're getting expensive. It's all expensive, though you know, like you said, going to Paris, going to Italy. Thank you for sharing that and we want to for sharing that, and I and with I want, we want to talk about that and we also want to understand a little bit Chad, more about your sport, because sometimes I get confused with how many different disciplines there are in rowing. Like, sometimes when you're saying a result, you'll say two people in a boat, and then there's four people in a boat, sometimes you're solo. So just walk me through that, how that all works and how do they decide who's in a boat or two for solo? How does that all work?

Chad Willett:

well for trialing and um well, certain events like when I was at school um, in brisbane the main boat was the schoolboy eight. That was like the boat to get into the competitions we did against all the other schools and it was a lot of trailing and seeing what combinations make the boat go the fastest. Who's got good ergos and good times and a single skull by yourself to then all get put together to see what's the best combination.

Sarah Maxwell :

Are you saying like so if you're doing the ergo and you're the very fastest, does that mean you're the solo? You get a solo run, it depends.

Chad Willett:

You could have a fast erg, but then you might not be as good as like in the boat, making the boat move like you might have the faster, but you might not be able to blend with the rest of the crew and someone with a slower ergo might be a faster boat mover than you are yeah, okay, so is that about?

Sarah Maxwell :

okay, so what would make that transition, meaning you're fast on the ergo? And then let's say even if you're in a team of two, is that about the relationship between the two of you or what's that? What would you say that's about? Because I know you've been quite successful being two of you, so so what is that? What makes you fast with another person?

Chad Willett:

That also is another case, like for trials, at least last year, for then going over to Paris and the double, I remember one of the days that we trialed probably English four or five different doubles within like an hour or two. It was just um race down in your double, switch out the person, go down again, switch out another person, go down again, and we was just seeing who moves the boat fastest with each other interesting and, do you find?

Sarah Maxwell :

does it have anything to do with the relationship you have with them out of the boat?

Chad Willett:

uh, yes, I do think so that like, if you're not like friendly enough, like can become mates really easily, um, you're not going to be able to work together, um in the boat. So just always being open-minded and just chill with everybody, then everything can come together. It doesn't matter with who you're with on yeah so do you get along with most people?

Chad Willett:

yeah, I do. Yeah, like um, overseas in the past two years, like where I was open with everybody and like the crew. Like you meet these people for the first time or you've raced against them, so they're, you're racing against you, trying to beat them, and then. And then you gotta turn around, be like, okay, we're running together now, we're mates now it's funny, isn't it?

Sarah Maxwell :

it kind of really has you think about what competition is, and, and because you know some in some sports, you know, whether it's like wrestling or boxing, they want to like kill each other. I mean, if you have that thinking, and then they're your mate and then you're supposed to get in the same boat with them, it really kind of tests that whole idea of what is competition and winning and, um, do you like to win?

Chad Willett:

yeah, well it's.

Sarah Maxwell :

It's such results and um also opportunities oh, that was a funny way of answering. You're like a politician. Who's the politician between mom and dad, who taught him that part? Mom, mom, okay, love it. I mean it's such an interesting thank you, by the way, for I just learning a lot, so it's awesome. So tell me why, chad, why the green and gold track suit was so important for you when you first got one, and why was it enough to have you change your mind on the army?

Chad Willett:

Well, it was just an opportunity to do something that I was good at. Like I was doing every single sport that you could pretty much think of, and then growing stuff, and then it's like, oh, I'm international level athlete and it was like, okay, let's see how far I can go with this.

Sarah Maxwell :

So cool. I was going to give Chad the last question, but somehow I just feel like I want to give it to mom. So, mom, what's it like seeing your son like who? You know? School was hard and he didn't really want that and in a way it sounds like the army. Was this the only thing? He thought maybe he could excel or or be interested? What's it like to see him, you know, wanting to represent australia at the olympics and and like just all these things that he's now achieving? What's it like to to see him in this way?

Mum Raylene:

uh, it's amazing, um, it's inspiring to watch what he does, to be away from us, to be away from home, to put in the dedication required with the training, the amount of training like to get himself organized, and it's inspiring. Yeah, it's great to see and we're so proud of him, very, very proud of him.

Sarah Maxwell :

Beautiful.

Dad:

Do you want to say anything, dad? No, well, like Mum said, the dedication and everything is phenomenal. We've never pushed him, never told him he's had to get out of bed and go to training. If he comes home and he's working on the farm, you know he'll he'll say, okay, what are we doing tomorrow? And you'll you'd say something. He'll go all right, well, I'll get up at four, I'll go for a run. You know he'll do a eight or 16k run. And then he'll come home, have breakfast, and then he'll go okay, we're fencing, or what are we doing today. And then you go work all day, come home and, um, he'll go, oh, I'll just jump on the bike, I need to do a 50k ride. And he'll jump on the bike, do a 50k ride, um, we'll go to bed, um, we'll have dinner cooked and he'll cool down, have a shower, eat and then get up, do the the same thing the next day. So, and you know, we don't say to him oh, you need to train, or that's just him, he wants to do it. It's phenomenal.

Sarah Maxwell :

Awesome. Yeah, I can hear the work ethic and I think even just like, what I've noticed is that the ones who really excel, like you, chad, are the ones that it's inside of you, that the ones who really excel, like you, chad, are the ones that it's inside of you. Every parent has expressed that similar, almost like he's leading you guys on the journey of what's possible. So very, very cool. I really want to thank you guys for sharing yourself. Thank you, george, raylene and Chad for just talking us through it, because everyone's journey is that little bit different, but we grow and we learn more when you guys share. So thank you.

Dad:

I appreciate it, thank you. Thanks for having us.

Nat Cook:

Thank you for joining us on another episode of the Price you Pay podcast.

Nat Cook:

We hope we have inspired you with this insider's look of the challenges faced by aspiring athletes, the highs and lows of playing sport at such an elite level and what's possible when you are so devoted to your craft.

Nat Cook:

It's our mission at Aussie Athlete Fund to create a sustainable funding model to support our athletes for both their financial well-being and the education of their own athlete economy. To be part of the journey, please visit our website at aussieathletefundcom and choose how you would like to be involved, Whether it's a corporate partnership, teaming up with an athlete in the Million Dollar Challenge, or even hosting your own event to raise funds, or maybe even a game of golf, choose your own adventure. If you know someone who would benefit from listening to this episode or this show, please send it to them now and before you go. Pressing the follow button on our show makes a massive difference. Rating us for season two means more people get to hear these stories, which helps us have a much wider impact. Join us next time for more captivating stories of triumph and resilience on the next episode of season two of the Price you Pay.

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