The Journey: How Anne Hatchard Became an Amazing Athlete
The Journey: How Anne Hatchard Became an Amazing Athlete
By. Maya C.
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Anne Hatchard flexing for the camera! afc.com.au
Do you ever find yourself stuck in the endless loop of eating fast food constantly? Not wanting to exercise? Feeling down all the time? Don’t you remember the delicious taste of that fast food burger? The cheese oozing off the burger. The delicious steaming, crispy, crunchy, amazing hot chips on the side. The salad that just sat there on the plate. Left there. This is a loop that many of us find ourselves in from time to time. This loop can be very hard to break. Even Australian Football superstar Anne Hatchard found herself in this loop too.
Anne Hatchard’s journey to being the superstar that she is was not as easy as we may all think. Hatchard grew up playing basketball, and was not very interested in Australian Football. When she made the switch playing Australian Football League Womens (AFLW) and was drafted by the Adelaide Crows, things did not come as easy as she thought. “Back in 2017, I was a bit bigger, my diet wasn’t great, I ate KFC often.” Hatchard told the AFC Media. Hatchard would eat KFC and always just leave the salad to the side. It even got as extreme as going to the drive through on the way to matches and training. She even found it hard to do a warm-up run without getting puffed.
“I felt like I was letting my teammates down, I was letting everyone down,” (Women’s AFL 2021) Hatchard said. Hatchard also had anxiety issues, due to having high expectations of herself, she would feel a lot of anxiety going into games.
The food that you consume before and after exercising is really important for both male and female athletes. For male athletes, there is a 90 minute period after exercising where there is the chance to eat healthy foods filled with protein. Compared to females, there is a 30 minute period in which you have the time to consume protein in order to build the muscle and help you rejuvenate after your workout. This time period is a huge difference from male athletes to female athletes and that is why it is so important for all athletes to make sure that the food that you are consuming after exercising has protein and is healthy.
Anne Hatchard in the Adelaide Crows gym. adelaidenow.com.au
“Back in 2017, I was a bit bigger, my diet wasn’t great, I ate KFC often.” Hatchard told the AFC Media.
“Back in 2017, I was a bit bigger, my diet wasn’t great, I ate KFC often.” Hatchard told the AFC Media.
When reality sunk in, Hatchard realised that she may not get a contract the following year. From the moment Hatchard started training with the Crows, she knew she had to improve. On a determined mission, in the off-season of 2018 Hatchard made a drastic change to her daily routine. She followed some diet plans recommended by the club's nutritionist, and although the results did not show quickly, she kept to it. After completely changing her diet, Hatchard’s go to meal now is “chicken, rice and a bit of veggies,” as well as other easy to cook homemade meals. She has cut most of the processed foods out of her diet, and now will rarely eat them.
As well as changing her diet, she also worked a lot on her physical fitness. During the off-season, Hatchard really focused on her ground-ball gets, as well as her tackling skills. “She worked extremely hard, harder than I have ever imagined,” said Hatchard’s mum, Claire Hatchard. (Women’s AFL 2021).
Now, Hatchard has put in a lot of hard work to become the amazing athlete that she is today, and for many of us her transformation seems unattainable. However, Hatchard will make sure to do at least 45 minutes of physical activity a day in the off season which is a goal that we can all try and work towards.
According to the Mayo Clinic, the recommended amount of exercise per day should be around 30 minutes. However, if you do not have 30 minutes in a row, it is all good. Maybe just try and get up, do some physical activity for 5 minutes and split the 30 minutes up throughout the day. It is also important to make sure that you stand up at least once every hour to get your muscles moving again. Try to incorporate some sort of strength training twice a week. Some examples of exercises with strength training include, stair climbing, push-ups, sit-ups, squats and cycling, taking short rests in-between. To add another level, try and incorporate some added weights.
For Hatchard, not only was there a physical change, but there was also a mental change. She said that she has now become a much happier person, and enjoys playing football more. Hatchard used to not be able to play a whole game, but now she can play the full four quarters. “I never thought that I would be in this position now,” Hatchard said on inspiring young girls. (Women’s AFL, 2021)
Making the move in 2019, Hatchard changed from playing in defence to now playing in the midfield. Now coming into AFLW Season 7, the 24 year old has some pretty big achievements to her name. Some of Hatchard’s achievements include, being a 3x Premiership player, 1x All Australian Squad Member, 1x Best on Ground winner in the Grand Final, as well as 50 games and counting.
“You are an incredible athlete and you are inspiring not only the next generation but even me and lots of teammates alongside me to continue being the best we can,” Captain Chelsea Randall said, (AFC 2022).
As well as being a superstar AFLW player, Anne Hatchard also has her own small business outside of footy. Hatchard has recently opened her own cafe van, the Hatch Coffee Co. So, next time when you are going out for your delightful coffee, your mouth-watering chocolate or luscious cake, think about Anne Hatchard's incredible transformation, and think to yourself ‘Do I really need this right now?’
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