The Price You Pay
Host Natalie Cook, Olympic gold medalist and five-time Olympian, shares the inspiring and untold stories of athletes who face financial obstacles in their pursuit of becoming Olympian's and Paralympian’s.
Discover the sacrifices, challenges, and unwavering determination behind their pursuit of greatness.
Be inspired by their resilience and determination to turn their dreams into reality.
The Price You Pay
19: Beyond the Diamond: Why Kayla Waller Stays When Others Walk Away
Through sheer determination, Australian softball squad member Kayla Waller defies what most would consider humanly possible. Training four to five days weekly with grueling four-hour commutes, she simultaneously maintains full-time employment and university studies while pursuing her Olympic dream. Her story reveals the extraordinary sacrifices made by athletes in sports that lack mainstream attention and funding.
The conversation takes a fascinating turn when Kayla reveals why she chose softball over other sports. "As a young woman getting told all these different things about your body," she explains, softball offered something rare – true inclusivity where athletes of all shapes, sizes, and ages compete at the highest levels. This acceptance stands in stark contrast to experiences in other sports where she was deemed "too short" or "not muscular enough."
Perhaps most powerful is the mother-daughter dynamic between Kayla and Michelle Waller, a former Division I pitcher who now coaches alongside her daughter. Together, they made history winning an under-23 national championship undefeated – a testament to their shared passion and resilience. When questioned why she continued playing when every single teammate from her junior years eventually quit, Kayla's answer reveals both the crisis in women's sports retention and her exceptional character: "I control the controllables... I give the people around me and everything I do all of my effort."
The financial reality is sobering – $15,000 to $20,000 annually just to represent Australia. Yet through the Aussie Athlete Fund, Kayla has not only secured support for herself but extended her fundraising efforts to include her entire team. Her powerful story of perseverance through injury (including surgery requiring a plate and six screws in her arm) and financial hardship offers vital insights into what truly sustains elite athletic careers when external rewards are minimal.
Visit aussieathletefund.com to support athletes like Kayla who demonstrate that the price of pursuing sporting excellence shouldn't be insurmountable.
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!
Website: https://aussieathletefund.com/
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My name is Luke Morrison and I'm from the Gurundjeri Grungy mob, and I wish to acknowledge the lands on which the Price you Pay podcast is being recorded, on the Meeinjin country. I feel the spirits of my Indigenous ancestors having my back as I step into the boxing ring. This podcast pays homage to the tradition of storytelling when it shares athlete journeys and wishes to extend its respect to all Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Nat Cook:Welcome to Season 3 of the Price you Pay podcast hosted by myself, nat Cook, five-time Olympian and gold medalist, alongside our superstar interviewer, sarah Sarah from Chatterbox Media. Through conversations with Aussie Athlete Fund recipients, the truth emerges of what it truly takes to reach the highest echelons of sport in this country. By introducing family and key members of the athlete's journey to the discussion, we uncover the hidden costs and barriers they face, while getting a sense of the impact it has on their communities. Indulge me as I take you on a journey of my legacy project that spurred the creation of this podcast and the need to share these amazing athlete stories. I created the Aussie Athlete Fund to provide our next generation aspiring to or wearing the green and gold with the financial skills, tools, networks and opportunities to take care of their financial well-being. I personally retired after 20 years, $300,000 in debt, two medals, no superannuation, and I don't want that for the next generation. I don't want them to continue to pay a price for the honour to represent our country. I'm most proud of the athletes in the Aussie Athlete Fund designing their own initiatives to fundraise. We show them a tool for their fundraising roadmap and then they go about finding the networks, finding the businesses asking people for support along their journey. They get to deal with rejection, they get to deal with success. They have a community, a connected community, so they know they're not alone in this process and I really love how they take ownership for their own journey and that is what I'm most proud of.
Nat Cook:My vision for the Aussie Athlete Fund in the short term is to grow the awareness of the fund, but also of these athletes journeys, to inspire businesses and individuals who have the means to connect with these athlete journeys. They work so hard on the track, in the pool, on the court, to represent this great country and we need people to back their journeys. We need people to get emotionally connected. So that's it in the short term. I need to raise funds, I need to grow awareness and I need to teach the athletes how to be responsible for their own fundraising journeys. In the next seven years, towards 32, I want people to know how important the green and gold athlete is for our country and how it not only inspires our next generation of athletes but our businesses and the whole country to lift, to be the best they can be.
Nat Cook:It's so important to share this podcast not only with our athletes, so they have a tool for their fundraising, to share their stories with people that might like to back them on the journey, but also so that people know the depth of effort that these athletes go to Not only the athletes, their family and friends and their supporting community to help them rise to represent all of us on a world stage. And I want people to be able to be inspired and motivated, like I am when I hear all these athlete stories, to want to help them fundraise and help them look after their financial well-being. So enjoy listening to the stories, pick one or two that you want to back in and make sure they know that you're supporting them. And now, with complete trust and confidence, I hand over the microphone, and I know that might be hard for you to believe, but I have to go out and fundraise for our athletes. As she continues the conversation, our star interviewer, sarah.
Sarah Maxwell:Today we welcome Australian softball squad member member Kayla Waller to the podcast With hopes of making the team heading to Colorado, canada and Japan, culminating with the World Cup qualifiers in China this August. This is a big year for this 25-year-old. She also works full-time as an operations coordinator and studies full-time yeah, two full-times. That's interesting at Griffith University doing a double degree in international tourism and hotel management. How are there enough hours in the day to do all that? But we'll get there. The good thing is she's supported by just as hard a worker, her mum Michelle, by just as hard a worker, her mom Michelle. She's joining us on the call today and brings her background of representing Queensland softball before getting a division one scholarship to Wichita State University in Kansas, where she did some coaching too.
Sarah Maxwell:Kayla and her siblings were born in Kansas before returning to the Sunshine Coast of Queensland when she was eight and mom volunteer coach for the Brisbane Softball Association and is currently the under 16 Australian battery coach and heading to Italy for the World Cup in July. So this is one busy family. Now, softball is a cyclical sport in the Olympics, which means that it's made its debut in 96 and has not been featured every four years, so this makes it more unpredictable for an athlete and often for funding as well. So Kayla and her mom have braved many strikes in this sport and never seem to get out, and so there is much to get to know in the journey of Kayla's softball career thus far. So, ladies, are you ready to tee it up? I'm ready to.
Katla Waller:Oh, that's a good one. Ready to go?
Sarah Maxwell:Okay, ready to go Can you catch that I use the word out and I use the word strikes and tee. I mean we're not playing tee ball, but I did say all those things. That's awesome. I think it's very impressive Girls. So you're gonna hear lots of accents as well. Everyone. So enjoy lots of confused. You know a Canadian who's been here for 24 years in Australia. We've got Kayla. How many years have you been in Australia now, kayla? 16 years, 16. And mom Michelle, how many years do you live in the US? 15 years Years. So she'll give us our Aussie twang. And so that's just to clarify everyone. But the call is happening, um, in Queensland. So, kayla, before we talk all things softball, I can't skip over the fact that you work full-time, study full-time and, I imagine, train full-time. So how does one human fit all that in?
Katla Waller:Well, it starts with being a little bit crazy. You have to lose your mind just a little bit to be able to balance this. And I have no social life, so this is about the only social life I get is sitting with my mom and you, sarah, on a podcast. But it just comes down to my drive and my passion for, for softball and you know, I want to want to represent my country and I have an olympic dream and to do that, you just got to build your resilience and determination and drive as much as I can. So I I train about four or five days a week mostly. Um, I don't really have an off season because I play during summer and then winter is when we're usually doing our lead-ups for Australia stuff. Um, and I, again, I play for Australia, so I have to pay and afford that, which is why I work full-time and then I'm just an overachiever. So I kind of threw uni in there just because why not?
Sarah Maxwell:so and so when you're driving, so you drive back and forth to practice like two to three times a week. So is that like four hours plus in the car.
Katla Waller:Yes, uh, so it's about 140, 150 kilometers just to training, um, and it's. It's that back. So I actually listened to all on the way, because I don't have time to listen to my lectures outside of that.
Sarah Maxwell:so okay, I was talking to Nat about you before this conversation and she said I bet you she does her uni stuff in the car.
Sarah Maxwell:So she was right yep, she was right, yeah, because that's one of the things we want to highlight about incredible athletes like you is your time management skills, like how you actually squeeze all the juice from your time management skills. Like how you actually squeeze all the juice from your time when you're that motivated, the way you are, and the drive that you have. So that will come up more. But thank you, because I couldn't get over the word full-time written three times.
Katla Waller:Yeah.
Sarah Maxwell:So got it. So we've got a superhuman, super, yes, all right, so let's talk to the woman that made the superhuman. Welcome, michelle, michelle, aka Coach Waller, to the conversation, so we're eager to hear your perspectives, michelle, after having played your career in a Division one softball school in a country that loves its softball. So what has the landscape been for softball in Queensland and in Australia as you compare, possibly, or look at world softball?
Mum Michelle Waller:Thanks, sarah. It's really great to be here with Kayla and to meet you. Look, I think playing in Kansas was such a great opportunity and a huge journey at my time at the age of 20. I met my husband and maybe that's where I sparked that and three kids and maybe sparked the softball journey for them.
Mum Michelle Waller:There was a few people in that era that you know travelled over and played in the States because it is so, so big over there, but softball has always had a place in Queensland, in Australia, that you know travelled over and played in the States because it is so big over there, but softball has always had a place in Queensland and Australia and I don't think it's going anywhere anytime soon. Like you mentioned, it's probably a tough road because it comes in and out. Of. You know that highest accolade of playing in the Olympics, but there's a lot of passionate people who play it and continue to do that and coaches, not unlike myself and others, keep working hard to you know, keep softball in the country. We've always been in the top 10, 12 rankings in the world. We're a competitive country, as you probably know, living over there and here it doesn't slide past us very much and while it is disappointing. I think you know we just work towards that, that next Olympics in the 28 and everything in between that.
Sarah Maxwell:So yeah, on that, I just thought of that. What you're saying there about being a successful country Olympic wise, in its debut in 96, didn't Australia win a bronze medal? Yes, you, you beat out. Well, I don't know if you beat out Canada, but you definitely superseded these countries where softball is really popular. So how does the cyclical nature, though, of that Olympics we're kind of alluding to it, the fact that it's not in the Olympics every time how does that affect an athlete, michelle, like Kayla?
Mum Michelle Waller:every time. How does that affect an athlete, michelle, like Kayla? Look, it's hard, financial, financial, really. Um, you know you have funding that comes through, obviously when, when you are an Olympic sport and, um, you have to have a good hierarchy through softball Australia to keep that going and keep finding funding. And, you know, keep that passion and that and that love in the players, because I, the sport's just not going to go anywhere.
Mum Michelle Waller:I don't think, and, um, they just travel along the pathway and and those passionate players just keep finding ways to keep finding themselves through, have good family environment, have, you know, good coaches around them and keep trudging forward till we till we get that. You know, I don't think they're ever going to stop wanting to be in the Olympics, obviously, and because we have, but I think they, I just think softball has been around for a long time and will continue to be. People fall in love with it and that's where their passion drives and you know, and then they get to meet people like yourself and Nat and different people through different avenues, and that keeps them going.
Sarah Maxwell:So, yeah, Okay, that's really interesting. So, Kayla, I want to back that up a little, because you played a lot of sports growing up. I assume a lot of that was happening when you were back in Australia, so how did you end up focusing on softball? What about it made you choose that sport?
Katla Waller:I think a lot of that did come from mom, I think you know, being able to say that she was a Division I pitcher and played for Queensland and was in an Australian squad as well. I think that was a really big drive of I want to be, be like my mom. I think that's a really special number one reason as I. She's definitely my biggest idol in my life. And I think it also just came down to what, to how the softball game is played. You know I love the, the skill work you have to put into it. I love that. It's high, intense, important moments, almost every game that you have to do. I love how you're not only having to be an individual player, like when you're batting, but you also have to be a team player.
Katla Waller:And I tried to be a pitcher, like mom, but I hated every second of it. So I went to the opposite position, I went to a catcher and I've fallen in love with it. You know you're behind every single play, you're involved in every single pitch and you have just that deep connection with the pitcher. Um, and I just love that. You have to put in one percent every single day to get better at softball. I think that's um, it's really good. It's a very big mental game too, like you know. I think you're you're failing seven times out of 10 and you're good. You're a good player at failing seven times out of 10. Like, if you're hitting 300, you are top, top tier softball player.
Sarah Maxwell:So that means that you're you're getting out seven times and you have to be mentally resilient for that, and I just love the competition of softball yeah, thanks for saying that last bit, because, as a raising a nine-year-old in sport we talk a lot about how many failures that successful people have and trying to make it real and that makes it really real like that's the successful batter and that's how many times that they're actually failing in order to achieve that best score, like that. So I think that's a really cool way of describing it. But I have to quickly ask michelle mom what do you feel when she says you're her biggest idol?
Mum Michelle Waller:that's a little bit humbling, isn't it really? I mean, you're a mom yourself to be, you know to have the journey I did, and then you know, get to coach beside her on the same field. It's, it's really awesome. I know it's like making me emotional it's beautiful.
Sarah Maxwell:I love that so much. And so quickly back, kayla, on this idea of choosing softball, and we're sort of discussing the cyclical hard nature of some of the challenges in softball. And I heard you at the very beginning you said I have an Olympic dream. So that's interesting. So are you happy with the choice that you've made, considering your goals and dreams?
Katla Waller:Yeah, absolutely I don't. I don't regret it for one bit. I think not only did I kind of just fall in love with the game of softball, but I just love how accessible softball is for everyone, and I think, especially as a young woman, when you're picking a sport. You know, I played basketball, volleyball, rugby, I played oh God, everything else under the sun, I think. And now with basketball it was oh, kayla, I'm a bit short. With rugby, it was all, kayla, I'm a bit short. With rugby, it's all.
Katla Waller:You're not, as you know, muscular as this and this and this and that.
Katla Waller:And as a woman, especially a young lady, trying to grow up, getting told all these different things about your body, like Holy crap, Like this is this is a lot, to kind of take it, and you get a little bit self. You just kind of look a bit too harshly at yourself and as a female athlete. But softball like I am a five foot six, 75 kilo catcher and next to me I can have a six foot 90 kilo catcher and we're doing the exact same sport at the exact same level. I love about softball like we are. So I'm a 25 year old, we have a 40 year old who's pregnant in the Australian squad and we have a 18 year old who, you know, just turned 18 and doesn't, you know, just graduated high school. So, like, softball is just the most accessible, most open sport and I just love that because you get you know women from every single branches of life and every single stage of their life and we all get to kind of come together and play the one sport that we love.
Sarah Maxwell:So wow, boom, she can talk. Mom, that was really powerful Kayla really like I didn't get that.
Katla Waller:But now I do, wow, like softball's, such an amazing sport to really push those barriers in women's sport because we are open to everyone. You come out to Downey Park on a Saturday and you have four-year-old girls playing t-ball and running the wrong way on the bases and then you stay till the afternoon and you have, you know, australian players like me playing 1 one zero ball games and playing into the night and then you have your you know 56 year old c-grade players who's playing, let me tell you, just as competitive as us Australian players, you know, still playing the sport they love because they want to do it. Then we all get to come together in the afternoon and have a drink and talk about the plays and the strikeouts and that that wasn't a strike and I got a double play and you know we get to do that. So yeah, yeah pretty.
Sarah Maxwell:I love that. That is so cool I can hear the community in that as well of bringing everyone together. So in that, mom, like my question is did you want your daughter to choose the sport you excelled in, or were you sort of hoping she'd choose something else?
Mum Michelle Waller:no, I looked, as you mentioned and Kayla mentioned, she played a lot of different sports, younger and, and you know what an honor for your child to play the sport that you are so passionate about. But no, like you, they find their own journey. Um, we gave them opportunities to play all different, different sports and they've each you know all of them have played softball a long way. One has branched off to to afl and um, but no, you don't. You, you guide as far as you can, you teach, you teach life and you teach. You know, and I think sport teaches a lot of life and that's why, probably for my husband and I, that's the biggest thing that we can give our kids is, I think sport is a community and it's a family and it teaches you lots and lots of different life choices. Then why not take every opportunity you can to teach life through a sport that you're passionate?
Sarah Maxwell:about. I love that. And on that note, like teaching, have you coached Kayla directly? Love that. And on that note, like teaching, have you coached Kayla directly? And what's that been like?
Mum Michelle Waller:uh yeah, I've had to pull her in line just joking. No, no, um, you know, I think we've coached our kids along the way for a lot of years and and it is hard because there's both sides of that is are you being too hard, are you and you're not giving enough back, because you're going to be looked at like you know a certain way because you're coaching your kid? It's, um, I mean, till this day I I'm 52 and standing on the field watching your daughter play and coaching her. It still gives me goosebumps. So it's really cool to get that opportunity to do that. You know, that's awesome.
Sarah Maxwell:And Kayla, how does it feel being coached by your mum?
Katla Waller:I was about to say she's missing a very important part of. Oh yeah, tell us. We won an under-23 national championship undefeated together for Queensland and that was a big barrier for us. We I think we are one of the very first mother-daughter coaching player combos that Queensland had for a long time, and we had a lot of eyes on us, and for us to be able to to go out there undefeated and win was a very special moment for us.
Katla Waller:That's why I probably hold really close, really close, to my heart. It was so cool to hold up that, that shield with with my mom. But I mean, yeah, as, as mom said, dad and dad and herself have coached me my entire career. I mean, I even had dad in basketball when I played basketball when I was younger, so they've always been that, always been there for me. They've always been that rock. Um, I mean, at the end of the day, if she's not my mom, she's one of the best pitchers that Australia has seen. Like, let's be, let's be honest here. Um, she needs to stop being so humble. Like you know, every every bit of advice I can get from from her, and from my dad as well is is absolutely incredible.
Sarah Maxwell:So that is so cool. Isn't it lovely to hear respect like that and just beautiful, really good mentoring for others and so in. So this question I'm curious how you're going to answer this, kayla, because you told me that every single girl who played junior, under 15s and under 17s with you has now stopped playing. So what do you think it's all about? Like, what kept you in when 31 other girls opted out?
Katla Waller:yeah, I think I was actually having a bit of a think about that before our call Sarah, because it's a it's a really big passion of mine and I'm kind of actually driving my career with this, with this drive of why are we seeing all these girls dropping out of sport as a whole, but softball in particular?
Katla Waller:That story of mine is so, so powerful because I've spoken to a lot of them and honestly, a lot of it is they just don't see a future in sport and they don't see a future in softball.
Katla Waller:So if you're a 15, 16 year old and you're training four days a week and you're going to school and you're hitting puberty and you have the social life and you have school and you have to think about uni, and you put on the TV and you don't see softball, you don't see professional softball players, you don't see professional softball players getting paid, you don't actually have a drive to take that into a career option and, um, uh, like mom said, you know, a lot of my players that I played with had siblings, so these parents had to fork out, you know, thousands of dollars a year and the more, the higher you get, the more you're going to be paying. So you know um I play what this year I'll be playing in two seasons. I have two Australian camps, two Australian tours, not to mention probably another tournament pushed in there so I can get more game time. I'm looking at $15,000 to $20,000.
Sarah Maxwell:So when you describe all that, what vision do you think you saw that they didn't see? Is it because you had a mother who had shown a possible future, or what is it in you that stayed?
Katla Waller:I think I got very lucky in my association where I played. So when I was in my kind of last year under 17s and first year under 19s and then to the Open Brisbane team, I was playing. I remember my first Brisbane team, I made the highest team, which was very exciting, and I played with about five Olympians and nine Australian players. So I was, um, given the experience to play with these top level girls and I went, oh, yeah, I want to do that, I want to play like them. So, yes, it was my mom kind of. I I've always wanted to be my mom.
Katla Waller:So, having her in the background, I want to go. Yeah, I want. So, having her in the background, I want to go. Yeah, I want to be like mom, I want to. I'm competitive. Yeah, she went to college, I'm gonna, I'm gonna go play for Australia. But, um, that's also, that's a big drive. But also, you know, like I just saw the girls that I played around with, I think if some of those girls got the, maybe the mentoring or the opportunity to play alongside the girls that played for Australia and play professionally in Japan and and play at those high levels, I think it would be a lot different. But I was very lucky in the sense of I got um, I got used to playing alongside them and I went yeah, I want to, I want to play like these girls, I want to be in that, in the big league.
Sarah Maxwell:So Got it. So then we see, yeah, the importance of that mentorship and being around, what's possible that you are exposed to. So thank you again for those reflections. I think that's really important. Like I see, your degree is in the sports space, maybe like sport management, but again I can see how that desire to figure it out, your mom's been, you know, in the association for a long time. So I just want to touch on Michelle a little bit, which the idea Kayla mentioned about how it gets more expensive every year. So how expensive is it for a child to play softball and what and at what level does do things start to get really costly?
Mum Michelle Waller:And at what level do things start to get really costly? Yeah, look, I think, like any sport and multiple children, probably for us, you know what I mean and because, like I said, the drive is that I think sport is a great community piece for bringing your children up the multiple level probably is the expensive. Um, you know, when they go from playing um club and then they reach into rep and then they go um state to national, to everything else, it just it gets, it builds up and then it's more and more expensive. You find a way through that I think everybody does with with people being involved with sports. I think that's where we see softball probably is people jump around in different sports a lot. Like I feel that, like being involved with our association for a long time.
Mum Michelle Waller:We ask that question all the time. Like, you know, why do we lose that age group, or why does that age group move on, or, you know, to whichever other sport? Because, um, you know that has to come along the the funding line, doesn't it? Do you know what I mean? Or parents willing to, you know, find a way around that and and that's just what we as parents chose, that that that expense is okay. We'll find this. Or, you know, everyone loves to go watch their child. Sometimes we didn't get to go with her and watch we, we pay for her to go. Do you know what I mean? So, um, it gets more expensive. Obviously, multi-level, um, like I said, and um, you know, like, even even in the US and stuff like that, like I went on a scholarship and I had to work for that, so, um, well, that was a question I had actually.
Sarah Maxwell:is that a goal? Was that ever a goal for you, kayla, and or is that a goal for other girls? Is that part of the ladder of making you know getting a US scholarship?
Katla Waller:yeah, definitely. I think, um, the level of softball you get over in the states um is why a lot of girls pursue those, those scholarships to go over there. I went to play some summer ball over there in 2014 and 2016 and I did really love it. I love the competition there, but, um, at the end of the day, I'm a family-oriented girl and, um, I'm a very competitive and love a bit of a challenge. So when you know I wanted to make state national teams, I said, well, I don't, I don't need to go over there to to prove myself. I want to stay here and build the sport. So that's, that's what I did. At the end of the day, I didn't want to go away for four years and miss out on my little sisters growing up and playing under mom and playing under dad, and I wanted to experience softball here and and kind of show that you don't have to go to the US to to play Australian softball. You can stay here and work just as hard and and make teams.
Sarah Maxwell:So well done. Love that way to take that on. And, as you know, as we're in this sort of financial conversation, um Michelle, how has the Aussie Athlete Fund helped Kayla in her career so far?
Mum Michelle Waller:Look on multiple levels. I think, like her confidence I mean to me it's a mental thing from a parent first, I think I've seen her grow, you know, to a really strong mental attitude and that's just part of growing as you go as an athlete and networking connections. The fund has helped her, just with the most recent nationals in January, to pay towards that. So I've seen so much, so proud of her and the growth through that and she's, yes, time poor and she's a crazy person and she sticks with it and knows the benefits of being involved with that, with that program.
Sarah Maxwell:So yeah, awesome. And so Nat did particularly tell me, kayla, that you're very engaged in the fundraising challenge, so, and even raising money for your whole softball team, which is unique. So you definitely are a team player. What is it within you that has you show up and play full out like that?
Katla Waller:I think it just comes down to how I was raised. I, you commit yourself to something and you got to give it 110%. And that's just kind of my personality is I? I give the people around me and everything I do all of my effort, as much as you know, as much as time, as much as humanly possible, which is why I'm a crazy person and drive four hours just to go to training. But, um, I just I'm.
Katla Waller:I don't feel things ever half half-assed, I feel everything with my whole heart and my whole being, and and softball has been such a big passion of mine for so long and I just want to show that to the world. And Aussie Athlete Fund kind of gives me that avenue to to build my network and go. Softball's amazing and I'm having to work full-time to play to represent this entire country in the sport I love. So you know, aussie Athlete Fund just really really helps me put softball on on a stage that I think it belongs on. And, um, yeah, I made the Elevate 20 program out of the one million dollar challenge and not only did I get $5,000 off that, but it just, you know, you put so much time and effort into something and that paid for my entire nationals.
Katla Waller:And regarding to putting money towards a team, it's kind of like Nat Cook's story of well, she can't go without a partner or a coach. So that's where my mind's at. I can't play softball, partner or coach, so that's what I. That's where my mind is. I can't play softball without the rest of my team, so why not just give everyone some money so we can all go together?
Sarah Maxwell:amazing. It just you got me thinking a little bit about team because because I can see you're such a go-getter and you work so hard and you bring everyone along with you Do you get frustrated when other people are not as engaged as you?
Katla Waller:Yes, I do get a little bit frustrated, but I also, you know, I control the controllables right. So I control myself and how hard I work and I just kind of hope to be that energy and that influence on other people. I'm not never going to be able to to control what everyone else is doing, but if I can kind of show, hey, I work full time, I study full time, I train full time. You know, I just came back from a pretty gnarly injury and I'm back into the Australian squad and I also do this amazing program on the side and look, I've put all this time and effort and now I don't pay for nationals. You know, I get to get to have that stress off my shoulders. So just look what I'm doing and maybe we can kind of just get more people involved. I think is my, my way to think about it oh, you got to be proud.
Sarah Maxwell:Hey, michelle, it's like, yeah, she doesn't need all the therapy.
Sarah Maxwell:She's just like god. She's figuring. Like you said, sport gives you that opportunity to work these things out and become an epic human. I mean, I'm sure in your workplace you are just. You excel as well. It's like the transferable skills that just move over. But, like you, I've never experienced a better arena than sport to work on yourself and all these like mindsets and team play and how to collaborate and all these beautiful things that you're bringing up. So maybe this is a combined question in that, but do you ever question why you work so hard for this sport and your dreams in it?
Katla Waller:Um, yeah, I, I probably experienced that when I, when I got injured, um, I, I broke my arm in in August and I had to have surgery. So I have a plate and six screws in my arm and that's a. I've never kind of had a big injury like that before. So, sitting in the hospital bed after surgery getting told, you know it's, it's this many months, it's this, you have to do this to get back and it's this long road, I kind of you, you have an option. You have two options. Right, you have to make a decision of okay, is this a career ending thing? Am I done? Or you know, all right, this is just an obstacle, are we going to? Is this just another kind of mountain to climb, bump in the road that I have to go through?
Katla Waller:And I kind of thought about, well, okay, if this is a career ending injury, what am I going to do without softball? What am I going to do without softball? What am I going to do without playing? What am I going to do without this? And that kind of shook me pretty, pretty crazy. And, um, you know, I've definitely had some times in my career where I couldn't afford it, or I was working hospitality and I didn't have the hours that I have now to to train and pursue those big dreams. And, um, I think a lot of athletes have to sit themselves down and make that big decision. But just came down to how much resilience I have and how much love and passion I have for my game and I'm not a quitter so I quite literally got out of the cast and two, three weeks later I was back on the softball diamond.
Sarah Maxwell:So and so I love that moment when you pictured removing softball from your life and what did you see? What were you gonna miss?
Katla Waller:um, oh, look, the sisterhood that I've, that I've built with my state team and and with my club team and and um, not being out there with mom in the cages at seven o'clock at night and having those uh competitions about bats when she's pitching her absolute gas at me and I'm trying to trying to hit over, hit her over the fence which doesn't happen very often, if I'm honest, but I do try, um, but it's just having that, that connection with with my parents, having that connection with my friends, having that, that um, competitive edge, having something to go. Oh, really don't want to go to the gym today. I would much rather be reading my book at the beach, but it's like well, no, I also have a bigger dream of wanting to go to the Olympics. So that's just what kind of drives me to go to the gym and put all my effort and heart and soul into it.
Sarah Maxwell:So I just couldn't imagine doing it, that I feel like you're giving this like formula. I don't know if you're hearing it, michelle, and you've probably already thought about this, but it's for me, it's the formula of how you keep girls in the sport. Yeah, is what people are hungry for and and yet, like you say we, they get pulled out or they pull themselves out for for, yeah, I mean, that to me is a vision and a dream right there. So that's really amazing story hearing you share like that. And, um, michelle, is there anything that you want to add on that? No, just yeah just that.
Mum Michelle Waller:Like you say, it's a formula. You know, we are always looking for that answer to that in softball and I I don't. I don't know what it is yet, but we will find it and if you can connect and um teach along the way, you'll keep those one percenters in there. Do you know what I mean? And that's what keeps it going, you know?
Sarah Maxwell:yeah, so yeah, ladies, what a powerhouse you are. It's really amazing to see how mom's life has now like more. You know how she kind of like the symbiosis into you, kayla, and what you're doing for your sport. I think, for sport in general, it's really powerful. What you're saying about women and girls in sport to Kayla, I think, is really important. Thank you so much for sharing your story.
Katla Waller:We love it. No, thank you so much for having us there. I really appreciate it. I think Australians absolutely love a good sports story. So the more that I can, yeah, the more I can convey my story and my formula, you know, out to the world. I think the little one, the one young girl who hears this and and finds that drive to stay in the sport, that's, that's kind of my job done. So I really appreciate you and Nat and the Aussie Athlete Fund and all the opportunities I've got to put softball on the platform, that I get to do so Right on yeah.
Nat Cook:Thank you for joining us on another episode of the Price you Pay podcast.
Nat Cook:We hope we've inspired you with the insider's look of the challenges faced by our aspiring athletes, the highs and lows of playing sports at such an elite level and what's possible when you're so devoted to your craft. It's our mission at the Aussie Athlete Fund to create a sustainable funding model to support our athletes for both their financial wellbeing and education for their own athlete economy. To be part of the journey, please visit our website at wwwaussieathletefundcom and choose how you would like to be involved, whether that's as a corporate partner, teaming up with an athlete in the Million Dollar Challenge or hosting your very own event to help raise funds. Choose your own adventure. Sharing the Aussie Athlete Fund mission, or even an episode, is how we grow and expand the reach we have in supporting these young athletes. Be part of changing the narrative. And one last thing press the follow button and rate us for season three so these stories can travel further and wider. Be sure to join us next time for more captivating stories of triumph and resilience on the next episode of the Price you Pay.
