The Performance Mindset

STEP 6PROTECT YOUR WELLBEING

Tayla Harris is one of the most recognisable players in the Australian Football Women's League (AFLW). She was an inaugural player with the Brisbane Lions when the competition started in 2017 and an all‐Australian representative in 2017 and 2018. After she transferred to Carlton in 2018, she became the leading goal‐kicker that year and the next and in 2021 she continued her career at Melbourne in the AFLW. She has also been a high‐performance boxer, having had eight professional bouts at the time of writing.

One of Tayla's strengths is her kicking. In a match against the Western Bulldogs in 2019, she powered into a trademark kick that was captured by photographer Michael Wilson. Tayla was in full flight, propelled off the ground by her strong action. When the photo went viral, Tayla became a target of online trolls and harassment that is hard to fathom. ‘It was totally unexpected,’ she said when I asked her about the incident. ‘I couldn't have imagined anyone would think anything other than “there's an athlete playing their sport”. I tried to understand it but couldn't. I found it very frustrating.

‘I decided that because it was totally unacceptable I had to respond. [Tayla retweeted the photograph with the comment, ‘Here's a pic of me at work … think about this before your derogatory comments, animals’]. I also did it because my biggest fear was that young girls seeing the negative comments would avoid or stop playing sport. I was okay with responding ...