The Price You Pay

Youngest Squash Player Ever to Play at The Comm Games Alex Haydon

• Natalie Cook • Season 3 • Episode 8

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We explore the real cost of chasing green and gold and follow Alex Hayden’s rise from rural South Australia to the PSA World Tour. She shares how she funds her career, why storytelling builds resilience, and how LA 2028 reframed what’s possible for squash.

• why the Aussie Athlete Fund exists and what it fixes
• how Alex fell in love with squash at eight in Clare Valley
• portable glass courts, iconic venues and fan experience
• LA 2028 inclusion and shifting goals beyond Commonwealth Games
• choosing the US as a training base and college pipeline insights
• breaking down funding: sponsors, raffles, exhibitions, clinics
• building a repeatable athlete business with simple systems
• supporter updates, honesty after losses and the 24‑hour rule
• values, mindset and aligning training with personal identity
• practical ways listeners and businesses can back athletes

Training, travel, and mindset weave through every chapter. Alex explains why the US became her base—strong competition, top coaching, and the gravity of a thriving college system—and how she manages the long-haul reality of an international schedule. We dive into the magic of portable glass courts set against iconic backdrops, the evolving culture of cheering in squash, and the moment Olympic inclusion transformed her horizon. Most powerful is her approach to resilience: a 24-hour rule for processing results, candid updates to supporters via WhatsApp, and the integrity that comes from aligning values, goals, and daily actions.

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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Luke Morrison:

My name is Luke Morrison and I'm from the Garangi Garandi Mont, and I wish to acknowledge the lands on which the price you pay podcast is being recorded on the Mi Anjun country. I feel the spirits of my indigenous ancestors having my back as I step into the boxing room. 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 three of the Price You Pay podcast, hosted by myself, Nat Cook, a five-time Olympian and gold medalist, alongside our superstar interviewer 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 honor 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 uh support along that 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. 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 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. 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 sit down with the youngest squash competitor to ever play at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022, and recently crowned Australian national champion, Alex Haydon. Exciting times for this 24-year-old as she places her sights clearly on LA 2028 for Squash's first ever inclusion into the Olympic Games. Hailing from South Australia, she currently lives in New York, the USA being the hotbed for her sport, where she competes on the PSA World Tour. Currently ranked number 61 in the world, she has a clear goal to bring home Australia's first Olympic medal in her sport. And it's in just three years' time. But first, there's Glasgow for the Calm Games in 2026. Welcome, Alex, to the Price You Pay podcast. We're really looking forward to hearing how you've carved a career for yourself in a sport where many say there's no money in squash. You should have chosen another sport. So let's battle that narrative right now. What do you think?

Alex Haydon:

Sounds good.

Sarah Maxwell:

Thanks for having me. Of course. So look, I do want to hear all about what got you into the sport of squash and the amazing success that you've already forged. But I really I am quite curious where you are in the world at this exact moment and how much travel you've been doing in the last month.

Alex Haydon:

Yeah, right now I'm in Connecticut, which is right near New York City, and that's where I'll be most of the year, traveling between tournaments. But I just came back from Australia. I was there for a good three months to finish off the season with our nationals, to have a bit of time off, and then to start training until the new season. And I played a tournament in Biga, New South Wales, as my first tournament of the season before coming back to the US here.

Sarah Maxwell:

Yeah. How long is that flight for you to Connecticut?

Alex Haydon:

Yeah, I it takes about a day total of travel.

Sarah Maxwell:

And are you a good traveler? Are you just like, do you have to wear the socks so that you don't get um, I don't know, do you do like special things, wear special tights? What do you do?

Alex Haydon:

I really do. I'm a compression sock person and compression tights. Um, shout out to 2x. They've just like helped me kit out with some of that stuff. Um and I would say one of my I can just sleep anywhere. So that's been an awesome quality for all the travel we do. Like I'll just fall asleep on the flight and it just helps it go quicker, and I'm just less tired usually when I get past uh on the other side of the world, but the jet lag still hits you no matter what sometimes.

Sarah Maxwell:

Oh gosh, I'm jealous that you can do that. Like Nat can sleep on a flight. She has this story of sleeping for 14 hours, a flight to LA, and the guy next to her was climbing over her. Like he was like, Is she dead? He he thought she had died during the flight because she could just sleep. So it's a skill. Well done.

Alex Haydon:

Yeah, I travel with Joe sometimes as well, my boyfriend who also plays on the tour, and he's just yeah, we arrange the seats so that he doesn't have that issue because he'll just see me sleeping the whole time and want to get up.

Sarah Maxwell:

And yeah, it's I hear you, Joe. We could watch movies together, Joe, while she sleeps and Nat sleeps. We'll we'll do that one time. Okay, Nat can just next to each other. Exactly. We can be resentful watching you. Um, but look, let's get into it because I do want to know how this squash adventure began. It's not the most common sport as an Australian. So how old were you? How old were you when you first picked up a racket?

Alex Haydon:

I think it was around when I was eight years old, and that was I grew up in the Clare Valley, which is in South Australia, um, a country town, and it was Claire was actually hosting the Australian Open, um, which is such a massive event, and it was an exciting time for Claire as a rural community to host that. So they had an all glass court set up on the basketball court, and then we had our traditional courts in the same center. Um, so I got to see the best in the world come to that event to play in Clare Valley, Australia. Um, and it also my parents were heavily involved just in the squash community and played um lots socially, and I have an older brother that also played. And yeah, we were volunteers for the event and hosted a girl from Japan and a girl from Hong Kong. So just being surrounded by these top players in the world at that age, and they got out on court with me, and I was playing all these different sports growing up, so I just loved sport in general. Um, but just that exposure to the best in the world in a sport like squash was really cool for my beginning. Yeah.

Sarah Maxwell:

That is an awesome story because it really reminds us the importance of countries having events and cities having events. And um, yeah, I was just in the Clare Valley like a week ago, and it's such a beautiful, I know it's a beautiful place. It's more of like wine country, isn't it?

Alex Haydon:

Like there's lots of very nice wine and uh winery tours and everything, yeah.

Sarah Maxwell:

Yeah, and but to imagine seeing a squash, like a glass squash cord out there for an eight-year-old, and how, like you said, you could have chosen a lot of sports, but sometimes you just can't get that bug out of your system when you've seen it. And interestingly enough, little plug to um the beach volleyball world championships that are coming to Adelaide, um, that's huge for all the eight-year-olds that are gonna be sitting in those stands, maybe volunteering. And and that's gonna be in a stadium scenario as well. So they're gonna actually take it off the natural beach and build a beach in the city because to house that many people to watch. So it's very exciting for South Australia.

Alex Haydon:

Yeah, South Australia are doing amazing with like the new SASE facility as well, our sports institute. Um, so that's really exciting to hear.

Sarah Maxwell:

I know. There you go. Um, surprise us with something we probably don't know about your sport.

Alex Haydon:

Um, I would say like most people know it as the indoor sport with the four balls. But as I mentioned earlier, there's actually a full glass court version of it that a lot of the top players play on. So it can be basically the court can be portable, and you can set it up in a gymnasium like they did for the Oz Open in Clare. And there's some really amazing settings. So for the tournaments in Egypt, they've set up the all glass court with the pyramids as the backdrop.

Sarah Maxwell:

Oh wow!

Alex Haydon:

And there's a really big event um in New York City where they set up the all glass court in the Grand Central Station, so it's like under the big chandeliers there, and everyone walking past going onto their trains gets to watch squash. Um, there's lots of you can set it up as if it's in a theater play stadium area. That's a really nice spot. You can set it up. Like for the British Open, they do that, New Zealand Open. So there's fitting thousands of people in the crowd to kind of watch squash as a performance but a sport as at the same time. And that is pretty cool for us players to be able to um experience as well.

Sarah Maxwell:

And as a player, when it's see-through like that versus like a white wall, is that harder? Does that take some practice?

Alex Haydon:

So the inside of the glass court where like the player would be seeing, there's these textured little dots, like thousands of them. So it kind of creates that. Um we can see out, but because we're focusing on the ball so much, it kind of creates a solidness to the wall.

Sarah Maxwell:

Those are fuzzy, like a fuzzy background type thing. Sort of. Kind of, yeah.

Alex Haydon:

It creates a bit of like, yeah, there's that texture on the inside that creates more of a fullness when you're focusing on the ball. Um, but it allows, yeah, the audience to look in from each angle of the glass court because it's not on their side, and then they can see in clearer, clearer.

Sarah Maxwell:

Is your sport silent? Is your sport silent like tennis, or is it people cheer and like are like yelling during the point?

Alex Haydon:

I it's more um after each point. People yell and cheer for sure, but I think to make the sport more exciting, they're definitely encouraging just cheering in general. Um, it makes it more exciting for the crowd and and the players. So it's definitely just encouraged in general.

Sarah Maxwell:

I know we all have to learn these things because it's gonna be in the Olympics, right? So it's like us fans need to learn, like you say, how to cheer properly. And I do want to talk about your goal to win an Olympic medal for squash because I thought it was really interesting that because it's only been included in the games, I think was it two years ago? How how long have you known that it was in the Olympics?

Alex Haydon:

I found out in around October 2023.

Sarah Maxwell:

Okay, so yeah, almost exactly two years ago. Oh no, October, yeah, almost two years ago. So did you before that, did you have another goal? Because I was quite curious. You know, you're eight years old. What was your goal in the beginning? And did you used to is it more about an Olympic goal or was it always a goal within playing squash?

Alex Haydon:

So before the Olympic announcement, I would say our biggest pinnacle of a sport was the Commonwealth Games, or um, yeah, is the Commonwealth Games. And sadly, we're not in the Glasgow ones because it's been like minimum as a selection of sports with it going from Melbourne now to Glasgow. So that's you know what's funny about that?

Sarah Maxwell:

You are on their website about Glasgow Glasgow. That's really interesting. That's why I felt confident saying that. Oh, how rude.

Alex Haydon:

I mean, if they're just decided to include Squash, I'm all for that.

Nat Cook:

Sorry, keep going.

Alex Haydon:

But yeah, we basically heard about Squash not gonna make the Glasgow a few months earlier in 2023. So that was quite devastating to hear because that is one of our top events to go to compete for. Um, so we're a bit in limbo with our main multi-sport event, and that's where a lot of our funding is based off as well. So the Olympic announcement really saved that for us and that something to really train towards. But in general, yeah, just reaching the top in the sport would be I think it just froze. Yeah, reaching the top in the sport would be like the world championships, individuals, and then there's world champion championship teams events as well. So doing it with the rest of your team from your country, all those types of events are really the ones I look forward to and train for and want to do well in as well. But the Olympics has just kind of added a real cherry on top for us.

Sarah Maxwell:

Yeah, okay, that's really interesting. So it wasn't always an Olympic dream, but like it was a Commonwealth Games dream in a way, and now it's almost been replaced, uplifted.

Alex Haydon:

Yeah, because we didn't know the Olympics was possible for squash. I would say the Olympic dream in general has been a dream of mine in uh for a very long time. Like when I was a little girl, my birthday themed party was like Olympics, because it's the 25th of July, and usually when the Olympics is on. Um, so all of us got dressed up as our favorite athletes and would just watch the Olympics into the late hours of the night. Um and yeah, I had the Olympic rings on my vision board when I grow up and also like would write essays about it at school and stuff like that.

Sarah Maxwell:

How do you have a dream? This okay, this is why I'm asking because I was also I also had an Olympic dream. And strangely, my my sport was included in 1996 for the first time. However, I was doing the version that was in the Olympics already. So I was, you know, when I was younger, I was playing indoor volleyball that was in the Olympics, and so I was always a little bit curious. I knew for me it was always an Olympic thing, and I even shifted from soccer to volleyball because I felt like I had a better chance um doing it with volleyball. So I was always Olympic. So when you have an Olympic dream, but you're in a sport that's not in the Olympics, I don't get it.

Alex Haydon:

Yeah, well, squash has been bidding for the Olympics for ages. There was a really big bid for it in 2020 for Tokyo, and it was looking quite promising, and that was like the essay I wrote about and why it got shortlisted and why it should be the one out of those shortlistings to get in. So it was very close. And then in we were very close for 2024 in Paris. I actually went to the youth Olympic Games in Argentina in 2018 because squash was included as a showcase sport, it wasn't for any medals or anything, but to showcase the sport ahead of the Paris senior like Olympic Games. Um, so that was showing promising signs as well, and it didn't make it quite then. So there's it's always been pushing for the Olympics, the sport, and just in my mind, I'm like, how can it not be in the Olympics?

Sarah Maxwell:

People when I tell people in the past that it's not an Olympic sport, they're always so surprised because of how much squash is a sport, like it encapsulates so many of the sporting qualities and fitness components, and yeah, so I guess it's maybe no accident that it's LA where it's entering because the US is very strong in squash, is that right?

Alex Haydon:

Yeah, the US has a really strong college scene which attracts a lot of numbers and um excitement around the sport because a lot of younger people are becoming really good squash players to go to like Ivy League colleges and things like that. And there's more and more players that are coming out of the Ivy League colleges, like Harvard, and actually reaching the top in the world. So there's quite a few that um I could count on my hands that are now like top 10 level players in the world that have also gone to um the likes of Harvard or Princeton. And that's a really cool pathway that a lot of people were really really capitalizing on, and it just brings a lot of great coaches, international players, and players already based here all together.

Sarah Maxwell:

And I assume that's why you're living there now and playing on that tour. And how hard has it been to live and train in the US?

Alex Haydon:

Um, it's it's been a difficult transition in general, just moving from Australia because I love Australia. Like I definitely want to move back one day after my career. Um, and I just cherish my time when I go back. But yeah, it's been difficult because before you set yourself up in some spot, you're trialling other areas. Like I've trialled Edinburgh and Prague and just different places as training bases that would work for me because Australia is so far from the world tour. It's basing myself either in UK, Europe, US. It's just closer to where all the action is happening with those top events. Um, but I really settled on the US. I really liked the training partners and competition. There's a lot of top players around here, and then also top coaches. Um, and yeah, squash is really valued, as I had previously said, and um how do you afford it?

Sarah Maxwell:

How do you afford it, Alex?

Alex Haydon:

Yeah, it takes a lot of multiple income streams, so and then yeah, that I've just been building up in um lots of different ways. Um, I would say it started with kind of building my personal brand and courage to approach uh for corporate sponsorship. Uh so I secured my first corporate sponsor a couple years ago, and that was when I was really serious about coming to the US. I was like, right, I need to um afford this somehow. And it was interesting, like once I had really committed to spending my time here in the US and kind of calculating the cost of it. You actually have that target and goal in mind, and knowing what you're chasing, like that funding for, that's what you can communicate to people as you're approaching them. Like you're helping me cover X amount of months of coaching while I'm in the US. And that's really what brought my corporate sponsor on board because they're not just giving me a sum of money and not knowing what it's going towards. They know that it's going towards this X amount of months of coaching, and it's in the lead up in the lead up to the Olympic Games. So it's really that buy-on with that, and then keeping them updated and very thankful to them as well. So that was a really cool start and like confidence boost in asking and knowing, like asking and yeah, confidence in that people are wanting to support me and my story as well. So that's really um, I did that before starting with the Aussie Athlete Fund, and that really helped build on that um situation for me, and from there, yeah, just been really developing, sharing my story and asking for help. Um, yeah, so through the Aussie Athlete Fund, I've run a few online raffles because I've not only wanted to like ask for money from people, but like kind of provide something in return if they're like me. So an opportunity to like win prizes.

Sarah Maxwell:

Um, and then also with my boyfriend Joseph White, we've been running a lot more exhibitions when we come back to Australia, so it's a really nice way to get involved with the community as well and feel like we're giving back a bit, but we're also making money, um, like showcasing us playing each other and doing clinics and do people donate money, Alex, when they come to uh an event like that, or do they pay to watch the challenger? Like, how does that work?

Alex Haydon:

Yeah, it's different on uh with different clubs. So that one of the first ones we did, we actually just turned up, not turned up, we asked the club like what of their nights is their most like busy night, and if we could run it in conjunction with that. So then they were just gonna have a lot of traffic going through that night, and then through the Aussie Athlete Fund, we have our donation pages already set up, and so we have that as kind of where people are able to buy raffle tickets on the night through, or just from talking to them and them wanting to support our journey, they'll add donations too. Um, and then it's kind of one if they want to do the clinic or play us in a game, and we have fun handicaps where we have to wear sunglasses or a wig or um or um play left-handed. They have to they pay more for our handicaps as well so that they can try and beat us. Um, so yeah, it's just making it fun like that, and we just collected the money through the donation page.

Sarah Maxwell:

Right. Yeah, it's like entrepreneur training, you know, learning to have these creative ideas and then execute them. And how much time would you say, you know, being an entrepreneur? It's like having a business, and you're the business, really, meaning you're the product, I suppose. Um, how much time would you say that takes in your week? I know it's not always like that. There's different times where you focus more, but how, if you had to, how much time do you think you put into organizing challengers, raffles, money raising?

Alex Haydon:

Yeah, I think I've been learning that more and more. That you kind like I'm kind of like a CEO of myself and my own business, and it's it's kind of fun to learn, and that's a lot of the skills we've been learning from the Aussie Athlete Fund. And I really invested a lot of time in the first year of it last year. I would say probably like an hour every one or two days. I was just kind of plotting along with their education and skills that they were um teaching us, and then trying to action one or two things off the back of that to build, say, my raffle, or to collaborate with other athletes, or to just send emails to approach someone about like a product or money sponsorship. It was just taking those small actions each day. I would just do one or something a day and kept building on that. And I think a lot of the stuff I did last year has made things easier this year because I've been able to turn things into like more annual and recurring um things. So I haven't, I would say I haven't spent as much time on it this year, but I've learned a lot of skills from last year and have that reoccurrence so that when I'm lining up something, it's just quicker to get sorted. And yeah, it's pretty cool in that way.

Sarah Maxwell:

And something that's kind of on my mind, and you may not have thought about this before, but the skill of being able to share your story and your journey. You you spoke a little bit about that with the first corporate sponsor that you secured. How would you say that skill has helped you on the court as an athlete?

Alex Haydon:

Yeah, it's just helping you be clearer on like who you are and how you wanna um spend your time playing your sport as well. Um yeah, that's a great question. I think I've definitely just with how I um am approaching how I play and how I train, it's just becoming more and more aligned because yeah, you kind of want your actions to line up with your words and sharing your story, you become more clearer on what your values are. Um, so it is that's really interesting. That's a great question, and there's still a lot of work to do on that. But I think it just helps with that integrity all around.

Sarah Maxwell:

Yeah. Yeah, because I think it's happening live at the moment. But what I observed after the fact in myself was you said it really good when you said the word reassert. It's like reminding yourself of why you do it continuously, almost getting everything organized, setting your goals in a way, like you said about the finances, the more clear you were about what it takes and setting that goal, that became the vehicle for the corporate sponsor to want to come on board. All of these elements, I think, are good reminders when you're out. There, like, for example, they say if you don't know your why, when it gets hard, you'll stop, you know. So ultimately, you're reminding yourself, reasserting your why when you tell your story, and and I think it's also it's it brings some experience and confidence to to what you're doing, and you have like a structure as well, like you're more pro you're just like a professional instead of just like you know, like like social. There's nothing wrong with social. Your parents grew up social, but what's the difference between what they did and what you're doing, you know? Like really, you can hear in you a much more professional venture.

Alex Haydon:

Yeah, and you really want to honor, I guess, the support you're getting, because I'm just so grateful for it. So off the back of um like kind of building my supporters group, I do a WhatsApp broadcast where I keep my supporters updated and live streaming links for tournaments, like kind of previews and like summaries of how I went in the event, because I just really want to be able to give back to them and like keep them on the journey with me. And that's just been really motivating as well, with everything I've been doing and also helping me kind of process because there's highs and lows of the journey, and it helps me process the lows because it's important to keep your supporters uh updated, even if you lost, and things like that, which is where I probably would have shied away from previously, but now I'm getting better at being like it helps me know that it's part of the journey too.

Sarah Maxwell:

Okay, Alex, you're my person. We're gonna talk about this to end this conversation because I think I wish I had known about what we're about to talk about. You're you're touching on it so perfectly right now about highs and lows, because sometimes I think there's this assumption, and I had it too, that people are only gonna want to sponsor me if I'm winning or if I'm number one, or or all these different things that we create in our mind. And yet, what has your experience been in these WhatsApp groups, for example, in terms of people that support you? What's the most important thing? I mean, you've just basically said it, but what's more important than just telling them when you win?

Alex Haydon:

Just yeah, like the last time I lost, I tried to share like how I was how I approach losing and um like how my process of getting back on track quicker. So I feel like I'm using it to share some of my like mental skills and how I'm trying to train my own resilience. So I just hope that it also helps them with that too. And yeah, I've gotten messages back that someone that I've shared on a podcast or um their Instagram post about this, which is Steve Magnus, who I follow quite a lot. He has this 24-hour rule that kind of helps to process whether you've won or lost, because you also need to keep working after you've won if you're in season two to stay on track. Um, and I've just tried to share that source of inspiration that I'm using for myself to my supporters also, and they really appreciated that because they're able to use it in their own lives, and it's um whether that's sport or work or whatever. So I just I think that's actually more inspirational to a lot of them how I move on from my losses. Um, some of their replies are that they appreciate my attitude and things like that. So I think it really helps me still be me no matter what the result is, which has really been hard in the past because I'm going all in on this for for the Olympics. Yeah. Um, so it's hard. You kind of ride the roller coaster of results sometimes when you're all in on something. Um, so it's really helped come back to who I am as a person, like no matter what the result and like who I what I like to do no matter the result, because I try to share what I'm doing travel-wise sometimes too. So it's just helping me grow as a person, and I hope it helps them as well.

Sarah Maxwell:

I mean, when you think about it, it's so much more relatable to share the whole thing because nobody wins all the time. I mean, we come from um like a lucky loser scenario where if you like, I mean, I think I've heard Roger Federer say that he he recounted like how many losses you have in your career. Like there are so many losses in there. Um, and so it's really if we can't talk about them, and and I almost think what you're educating the fans as well, that you know, when people go, oh, so did you win? And they're talking about like a world, like a world championships. You're like, ah, there's so much more to that. That question is so limited. Because there's only one winner. There's like a whole trajectory that could still be in line with your goals, and you don't win the tournament. So again, I I think this is a really important conversation. Athletes need to know this. I know that at the summit where I met Joe, he talked, there was a um someone who is a contributor, and he's a fan, a football fan, and he shared this incredible story about this team that he's been following for over 50 years, he said. And he's like, they are not the top of the table, they don't win. And he's like, I will always follow them. And he he describes how it betters his life for following them. And I'm like, oh my goodness, like what you just said was the same thing. It's like you are bettering people's lives for your whole journey, not just the wins, the whole thing you share. So I think this is just something I hope athletes can really digest. I think it would change everything with asking people for support.

Alex Haydon:

Yeah, and it's something I'm still working on, but like I think yeah, the more I do it, the more it helps me just be clear on those things. And yeah, and it does help with asking because you can see that people in are enjoying being on your journey, and yeah, there's more, there's room where people, other people might want to be part of that too.

Sarah Maxwell:

Yeah, and I also think possibly like less pressure and more support, like more uplift than just like, oh no, like, oh my gosh, people are gonna be disappointed in me. It's like, well, no, this is actually part of it. I'm doing my best, and when I lose, this is this is how I in 24 hours, how I work, you know, work through it. So, Alex, you are seriously incredible, um, not just for your goals, but for how you're carving out your your dream. And I I think the fact that you willed the Olympics into existence for your sport is so cool. I love that point. I mean, what else does she have in the plans, people? Watch out. Um, and I just yeah, I think it's really cool how you can share all the different things that you're growing in. And I know Australia's cheering for you, even though you're all the way in Connecticut. Um, and what an awesome goal. Go and surprise and shock everyone. Awesome.

Alex Haydon:

Yes. Thank you.

Nat Cook:

Thanks for having me. Thank you for joining us on another episode of the Price You Pay podcast. 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 well-being and education for their own athlete economy. To be part of the journey, please visit our website at www.aussieathletfund.com 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. 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 a 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.

People on this episode

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Natalie Cook

Host
Contributor

Sarah Maxwell

Co-host