BEHIND PERRY’S SUCCESS
ELLYSE Perry prefers Christmas to her birthday.
Shared experiences and not individual achievements have been the golden moments in the cricketing superstar’s golden life. From junior triumphs she shared with friends, boys and girls, to World Cup wins with her Australian teammates sport is, and always was a positive adventure for her.
She describes her experiences in junior cricket as “joyful”, and her rise to the top of the world as “relatively hasslefree”. Perry knows she has been fortunate.
Her sports-mad family were nothing but supportive when she wanted to play everything as a kid. And as a confessed tomboy she had no issues playing with and against boys when girls’ teams weren’t available.
But her positive perspective, where any challenges and obstacles were seen as opportunities to learn and get better, provides a blueprint for navigating a path that will always have ups and downs.
“Sport is supposed to be a positive adventure for everyone,” Perry said.
“It helped that I was quite a tomboy growing up, most of my friends were boys and I was interested in a lot of the sports they played so it was easy to make friends and have a great time doing that.
“I had an amazing family who were really supportive so it has made playing by and large the easiest part of it all.
“I literally just joined the local soccer team attached to my primary school, and then with cricket my dad was friends with the coach because they taught together and I knew his son.
“Some of the biggest highlights of my sporting life have been some of those junior sports playing with the boys. I just felt like another player in the team, there was no distinction because I was a girl.”
That move away from junior sport should have presented a host of challenges.
Elite sport is the epicentre for the most competitive, single-minded souls, many of whom have endured and overcome to get within touching distance of their shot. So much is at stake and so much is on the line for so many. It’s a perspective not lost on Perry, but not one she embraced either, for one strong reason.
“Inherently some people are just going to be ambitious and motivated and competitive … but you can lose sight of the reason why you are playing,” she said.
“And the easiest thing to do when things get more professional … is to lose sight of the fact that we are all just playing a sport. It’s a game, and no matter what happens, win lose or draw, the sun will come up tomorrow.”
Perry’s positivity core of her success.
The now 29-year-old has a dozen journals loaded with thoughts and strategies and motivational quotes which helped her navigate a path from talented teen to elite superstar. They are predominantly positive too, with constant references to belief, following your dreams and, as the dedication in her book says, “finding joy and fulfilment in the process”.
But she also knows it’s not like that for everyone.
“Some of us go through life and sport relatively easily, the challenges that you face are quite minor and about maintaining a really good outlook on things. Then other people have significant trauma or challenges that pose a real obstacle.
“The other point is life is not all roses, sport is not all roses, but that doesn’t mean you have to pack it up and throw in the towel.”
WE ARE ALL JUST PLAYING A SPORT. IT’S A GAME, AND NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, WIN LOSE OR DRAW, THE SUN WILL COME UP TOMORROW — ELLYSE PERRY
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