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EPISODE ONE, TROY GARTON - BOXER
13 Plays22 days ago
In this episode we're joined by Troy Garton, a Commonwealth Games Bronze Medallist and one of New Zealand's most accomplished female amateur boxers. Throughout her career, Troy has competed at the highest levels of international boxing, gaining first-hand experience of the demands and pressures of elite sport.
Troy's story has it all - coming into boxing as more mature athlete and trying to plan her family around this unexpected timeline, to navigating a recovery from an emergency c-section to being back in the ring only weeks later, and explores the realities of navigating this journey in a sport with limited resources.
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Transcript
Intro
Troy's Boxing Journey Begins
00:00:39
Samantha Child
Good evening, Troy. um So nice to have you on and thank you so much for giving up your time. i think for all of those listening who don't know you, can you tell us a little bit about your sport and where you were in your career when you started thinking about having a family?
00:00:56
Troy
sure so hello everyone my name is Troy um boxing is my sport and just to give you a little bit of background to that I so um I actually picked up boxing gloves quite late in my life compared to many others so I was 26 when I first started boxing. I hadn't boxed before then and um kind of got drawn to I've worked in a gym since I was 18 you know, done, actually did a fashion degree, something completely different, I know. So um was doing a bit of film work, et cetera.
00:01:29
Troy
And, um but while I was working at the gym, they had this like charity fight night that they used to put on quite a bit. Yeah, and so um I always used to go along.
00:01:39
Troy
We'd get free tickets to these events. um And I'd just go along to get drunk because I could get free booze.
From Corporate Fights to National Title
00:01:46
Samantha Child
Love it.
00:01:46
Troy
No, you know, the early 20s.
00:01:48
Troy
And then um and always had this, like, idea that I would... not idea, but this um persona of boxing was like, kind of like what female would ever want to get punched in the face. um So people watched never watched it.
00:01:59
Samantha Child
Not me.
00:02:01
Troy
um And then anyway, um one of, I was talking to one of the trainers there and I saw the training program and I was like into a little bit into CrossFit at the time. And I think i was just trying to find something sport, you know, that I,
00:02:13
Troy
wanted to do but you know like I wanted to keep fit but I hadn't found what I liked and then they said oh why don't you come along and try this um try boxing and I was like well looking at this training program I'm definitely going to get very skinny I'll give it a go um and I went along and started just um picked up some gloves started doing these skills classes and was starting to enjoy it and then unfortunately one of the um PTs at our gym passed away and um this charity event was coming up and they said well why don't you raise some money for his young children, his young family that left um he left behind instead of canteen so kind of just and so the gym got behind me, sponsored me to do this 12 week training program and got in the ring, loved it and that was me sold on it from there and then I've just kind of kept boxing for the next 10 years.
00:03:05
Samantha Child
Gosh,
Overcoming Doubts and Achieving Success
00:03:05
Samantha Child
and you must have been actually quite good at it as well, not just enjoyed it.
00:03:09
Troy
Well, yeah, I mean... Yeah, i I guess I got to a point, I was just doing these corporate fights, right, where my coach was kind of like, we should probably turn you amateur because then at least you've got, you could go for a national title, you know, we can work work towards some stuff as opposed to just doing it.
00:03:25
Troy
And um so that's how it kind of got into it And I just kind of, I had never in my life, I wasn't that person that woke up when I was younger and went, I'm going to make it to the Olympics or I'm going to go to the Commonwealth Games, you know, like it's it's something that I've just, I fell into really.
00:03:39
Samantha Child
but I think that's really cool because, I mean, there'll be many people that start sporting journeys at different ages. And, you know, it's nice to hear that you don't have to do it from when you're five or 10 or 12 years old. that You can pick it up later in life. um And so I suppose thinking about you've obviously been to the Commonwealth Games or a Commonwealth Games medalist. What age were you when you started thinking about, hey, that's actually something that I could go to?
00:04:03
Troy
Well, um because of course I didn't have um age on my side really, although you can box in amateur boxing until you're 40.
00:04:08
Samantha Child
no
00:04:11
Troy
So I've still got a couple of years if I wanted to come out of retirement. um
00:04:15
Samantha Child
Nice.
00:04:15
Troy
But I remember, so a couple of years into box, having first picked up boxing gloves and having my first fight, I went into, went amateur and went and won.
00:04:26
Troy
I ended up winning the national title. Um,
00:04:28
Samantha Child
Amazing.
00:04:30
Troy
a couple of years into it actually I don't like the first year of me turning um amateur anyway um and I remember my coach being like okay we're going to try and get you onto the campaign for the Commonwealth Games and the coaches the head coaches at the time my coach talked to him was like look we'd like to get Troy she's just won a national title um want to get her on the team what do we need to do um our goal now is just going to be Commonwealth Games like that's a really cool little thing and to me I was just kind of like wow I can't like if I made that that's pretty cool like And um I remember that coach actually saying to me, that um to my coach, that I had a 0.003% chance of making it onto the team, for to making it to the Commonwealth Games, right?
00:05:12
Samantha Child
oh my gosh you're kidding
00:05:13
Troy
And then using the team. And all I want to say to that is when I'm given, like, with any kind of self-doubt, like anyone, or not self-doubt, sorry, any doubt that other people put on me, it gives me the biggest drive.
00:05:25
Troy
So, um yeah, I definitely was like, well, I'd like to quite, I'd like
Life Expectations vs. Boxing Passion
00:05:29
Troy
quite like to prove that wrong. And made the team and brought home a ah medal. So, you know, that was all within, I've been boxing for three and a half years.
00:05:34
Samantha Child
Amazing.
00:05:39
Troy
Hmm.
00:05:39
Samantha Child
Gosh, that's such a cool story. I love hearing that. Like I actually didn't know that about you and I've been chatting with you for a while. So it's nice. It's nice to hear it. um And then I suppose like coming into your sport a little bit later, so you say that you came in when you're about 26. When did you start thinking about whether you wanted to start um trying for or thinking about a family? Like hege is it something that you'd thought about through your earlier twenty s Was it something that you thought about when you were kind of in the middle of that high performance sports stuff? Like what did that look like for you?
00:06:10
Troy
Well, I guess... Around the age of 26, when I found boxing, I was actually, if I'm honest, I would never go back to the, I would never go back to my twenties if I could, you know, when someone goes, what age would you like to go back?
00:06:23
Troy
Like I'm loving my thirties. I've, and maybe boxing's helped that in terms of my maturity um and et cetera and situations that I've been put in. But um I always thought that I would be married with kids by the time I'm 30.
00:06:38
Troy
That's what I wanted when I was a, when I was a child, you know, then,
00:06:41
Samantha Child
I feel like it's a very common dream for many of us.
00:06:44
Troy
Yeah.
00:06:44
Samantha Child
Like we think, and then you get to 30 and you think, I'm not old enough.
00:06:47
Troy
but And so I was here. I was in my like, you know, 25, 20, 26 thing and just kind of like no man in my life. ah but yeah It was looking like I wasn't getting closer to i was getting closer to 30 with none of that happening.
00:07:00
Troy
So boxing gave me a nice distraction away from that. You know, I was able to actually um go, you know, I'm just going to focus on that and not think
00:07:03
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:07:09
Samantha Child
Thank you.
Competing While Pregnant: Challenges and Experiences
00:07:10
Troy
about that.
00:07:10
Troy
So I guess for the first few years of my boxing career, I wasn't thinking about children and it wasn't until I met my now husband which was near more near the end of my career where um I was you know um had just finished trying to do that um Tokyo 2020 campaign that I couldn't actually do because we weren't allowed out of the country or like we I think boxing chose not to participate in those events out of the country and only David and our team had qualified at one event so far so um it was about then that I started going oh okay I found a lovely man and he's quite happy to fit into my life you think about boxing yet that I had the first thought but yeah and then but like this is going on a little bit of a tangent but then of course um
00:07:37
Samantha Child
yeah yeah
00:08:02
Troy
We got married in 2022 February and I made the Commonwealth Games team then. And while I was actually over there, I didn't realise till I came back, but I was actually pregnant at the time.
00:08:17
Troy
and I kind of, because you sign this form in boxing, right?
00:08:18
Samantha Child
Oh, amazing.
00:08:21
Samantha Child
a
00:08:21
Troy
at That declaring that I'm not pregnant because it's a context sport.
00:08:23
Samantha Child
All right. Of course.
00:08:25
Troy
and like And I sincerely signed that form because you don't have to do a pregnancy test, you see. So if I'd actually had to do a pregnancy test, it would have been over because it would have come back i and I would have been like, what the heck?
00:08:30
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:08:34
Samantha Child
Oh goodness.
00:08:37
Troy
So I guess for me, it wasn't planned in that sense. um I mean, i say that loosely because obviously... pregnant you're going be doing something there right but um yeah it wasn't really planned so of course when I found it when I came back and found was pregnant it was like perfect timing like we had cut it loosely hence why it obviously happened but um yeah it was I and I kind of knew if I could get the timing right just after comm games I might be able to give that ah like my one chance more chance at Olympic campaign um so yeah so for me it just kind of fell into place to be honest
00:08:53
Samantha Child
Yeah. Yeah.
00:09:08
Samantha Child
yeah
00:09:13
Samantha Child
Oh, and i don't I don't think that's uncommon. Like we talk about, you know, when did you start thinking about it or when did you start planning for it?
00:09:18
Troy
Mm. Mm.
00:09:19
Samantha Child
But for so many of us, like it never really is to plan. And sometimes it just happens. And it's an ah absolutely lovely surprise. and So thinking about obviously, you know, you're talking about the timing possibly was going to work to try and do another Olympic campaign.
00:09:33
Samantha Child
So inevitably that would you know require you to have little bubba and then come back um to that high performance training environment. So when you found out you were pregnant, um what kind of decisions did you make around you know training and competing?
00:09:48
Samantha Child
And did you feel like you had, um I suppose, good like resources and knowledge around you to sort of make some of those decisions?
00:09:56
Troy
So
Postpartum Return to the Ring
00:09:57
Troy
when I found out I was pregnant, I didn't tell my sport for a little while because I automatically, and it's actually what happened.
00:10:06
Troy
I knew that i as soon as I said that, that they would just ignore me um because I'm kind of like, oh, she's written off. We're going pay, you know, and who's going to make comeback from into the ring, you know, it just doesn't happen.
00:10:15
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:10:19
Troy
Cause I actually, I don't know of anyone in my sport, but there probably is someone more, maybe not quite at the elite level, but who has done it. But like, actually I've got one woman um who, who did actually um along with me, ah but she's and based in the UK, but basically not many of us had um done the return to sports so soon.
00:10:39
Troy
So everyone that I've seen having babies that I've been on the team with didn't come back for a couple of years.
00:10:39
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:10:44
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:10:44
Troy
And so when I first um fell pregnant, I kept it quiet for a little while just to kind of get a gauge of when they were talking about, trying to get when they're talking about having us needing to be back.
00:10:55
Troy
And then I finally let the high performance um director know that I was pregnant and I said to him, I want to come back. And um my child was due in March and we had, I was going to try and do nationals in June.
00:11:11
Troy
um
00:11:12
Samantha Child
Wow.
00:11:13
Troy
I think it was June or July. It was very soon after having a baby that I'd be needing to get back in the ring.
00:11:14
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:11:19
Troy
And of course I love a good, um oh, sorry.
00:11:23
Samantha Child
Bit of a challenge.
00:11:23
Troy
but I've got the daughter coming in for a kiss. yes No, no darling.
00:11:26
Samantha Child
fine.
00:11:28
Troy
Sorry.
00:11:29
Samantha Child
this just so if I
00:11:29
Troy
ah um So I love a good challenge and to prove people wrong. So when they said, you know, Troy's probably not going to be able to get back in, but well, she reckons she will. I'm like, I'll show you.
00:11:39
Samantha Child
i i will i will be there
00:11:40
Troy
Yeah. So I, um yeah, so basically the time I was at, I needed to get it back onto the New Zealand team. And to get back onto the New Zealand team, I needed to win my nationals.
00:11:49
Samantha Child
Right.
00:11:49
Troy
However, had ah ended up with an emergency C-section under general, and that pushed all my training, like what I had planned and I was wanting to get back in the ring out.
00:11:54
Samantha Child
Hmm.
00:11:59
Troy
So we actually were able to get a medical cert for nationals, but it meant that I had to do these box-offs four months postpartum
00:12:09
Samantha Child
Gosh. I don't even think I was going for a run four months postpartum, let alone in a box off.
00:12:14
Troy
Honestly, Sam, I've got this video
00:12:16
Samantha Child
Goodness.
Support Systems for Athlete Mothers
00:12:17
Troy
of me in there because I um had to stay in hospital for a week, me and my daughter under um antibiotics um due to a sepsis infection.
00:12:17
Samantha Child
Yep.
00:12:22
Samantha Child
Oh. Yeah.
00:12:26
Troy
um and so anyway I was in this hospital just had the c-section you know as a former c-section person and you know when you get out of like day two or three and the drugs start wearing off and you're just like hobbling to the toilet and every step hurts and you're hunched and you're just like going I and I literally said to my husband put the camera on because I just want to talk to this right now and I leave
00:12:33
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:12:39
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:12:51
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:12:52
Troy
kind of basically just did this like mini interview, just being like, how you're feeling captured me. And he, I was like, I can't believe I have to be in the ring in four months. Like I, I i just can't believe it because looking at me right now, I don't think I
00:12:59
Samantha Child
Wow.
00:13:04
Samantha Child
Far out.
00:13:05
Troy
I did it. I was back training.
00:13:06
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:13:07
Troy
I tried to go back a little bit too early. So, you know, but um yeah, um and I did, but I just had this, I was just like, I had to do it.
00:13:10
Samantha Child
Oh goodness. and
00:13:15
Samantha Child
Go on.
00:13:16
Troy
Like there was, if I wanted to give it this one last chart um try, I had to do it. And so, at about when I got the sign off and went back to training, I was sparring girls that I used to get the better of and they were beating me up.
00:13:29
Troy
You know, it was, it was hard. It was really humbling. It was, um I just had to go, you need to just keep following the process. You have to put the training. If you don't train, you're not going to get any better. And it was actually a really cool experience for my me and, um,
00:13:47
Troy
in terms of growing up a little bit too, you know, and not, you know, I couldn't just throw my toys away and go, I'm just not good enough anymore.
00:13:53
Samantha Child
No.
00:13:53
Troy
Cause it's like, no, i I need to show that I can do this. And so, yeah, so I was um able to, and yeah, got in the ring and.
00:13:57
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:14:02
Samantha Child
And that's the challenge with individual sports, right? Like I'm from a sport where I can step away, my team can potentially qualify for a tournament, and I can just kind of hopefully, you know, be good enough to make the team.
00:14:13
Samantha Child
But I don't lose any momentum as ah as a unit because they keep going.
00:14:14
Troy
Yeah.
00:14:16
Troy
No, you
00:14:18
Samantha Child
And so I just, yeah I can't imagine how challenging that is as an individual, actually, because there's no one there creating that momentum when you're not there. If you go back to
00:14:26
Troy
have to do it myself. Yeah.
00:14:29
Samantha Child
Totally. And obviously you just got straight back into the ring because that's what you had to do. If you think about during your pregnancy, so you obviously had that on your mind at that time, like, yeah, I've got to be back about four months after i give birth, whatever that birth does look like.
00:14:37
Troy
Yeah.
00:14:43
Samantha Child
and So did you train during your pregnancy and did you have any sort of support in trying to make decisions around, you know, like what to do in that stage?
00:14:52
Troy
I'm like my immediate like so my boxing coach so I had a coach for you know like and once again at my sports so you're not everything's self-funded but I mean I feel like a lot of sports are in that position so it's it's that's nothing but we you know it was kind of like you had to go out and get your own coaches for things and I was just very lucky that I was in a I'm already in a um
00:14:56
Samantha Child
Thank
00:15:14
Troy
a gym environment that had some amazing coaches so my that was my boxing coach and he's my day one coach from the get-go so like even when I signed up for that corporate fight you know I've been with him the whole time and then I have a strength and conditioning coach and I had um ah guy that du we did core and stabilizing stuff coach and so um all these people um I reached out to them when I think and I said to them look I am wanting to come back and all of them were just like we will get you we'll we'll get you there you know stuff anyone else or what they all think we'll show you because they also wanted me to prove ah you know in my in my sport that I could we could do it you know without without having that help that we don't have
00:15:39
Samantha Child
Brown-
00:15:44
Samantha Child
Incredible. Nicole Brown- yeah.
00:15:58
Samantha Child
And do you think, did they have that knowledge of how to help a pregnant athlete train in boxing? Do you feel like they had that already or were they just willing to kind of learn on the go and, you know, figure it out?
00:16:11
Troy
definitely willing to learn on the go.
00:16:13
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:16:13
Troy
you know, um i mean, the first person I i went back to, but I went back to my first boxing class at four weeks postpartum, right? I was feeling good. um You know, I'm a true advocate for if you've already been training, especially at our level, you, and you so continue to, you know, I didn't spar or anything um when i once I knew I was pregnant, but I was still boxing.
00:16:28
Samantha Child
so
00:16:34
Troy
I was still moving. I was doing what I could. I think you're kind of probably will talk the same, but you, as an athlete, you understand your body. and you understand what you can do. So, you know, ah for me, it was, I could still move.
00:16:46
Troy
I could still do a burpee. this I've just had a second baby, you know, I was still doing burpees because that was comfortable for me. Mountain karma climbers, not so comfortable, you so you just move with what you your body can do.
00:16:57
Troy
And because of that, and still being able move and coming in and coming off, I guess, the Olympic a Commonwealth Games, thing where I was at my peak fitness um my comeback was easier you know so we were and so we were talking all about that and my first person went to so sorry looping back to that is once had baby and um I went to go back and do my first boxing class and I was I forgot in boxing how much you actually use your core and all the twisting and turning you're not just coming down the firing line right and so i was doing these hook-offs and the next morning I woke up and I was like honestly I thought I'd ripped my c-sections out like I was like oh my god what have I done
00:16:58
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:17:12
Samantha Child
yeah
00:17:37
Samantha Child
I know the feeling well.
00:17:39
Troy
I picked up the phone to my core coach and was like, Mark, I'm really sore. And I think I went back to boxing. He's like, what are you doing? You're supposed to see me first so we can get this course signed off.
00:17:52
Troy
You've just been cut. It's just been cut. And then you can go back. So then I ring my boxing coach. I'm like, coach, you got to give me another two weeks because I'm going to go do two weeks of um proper rehab. i mean, it was stupid.
00:18:01
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:18:02
Troy
But it's just because I was so focused on wanting to get back in the ring. Anyway, luckily I hadn't done any damage. um I just used some muscles that used to being used down there. Got the sign off by my core coach.
00:18:10
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:18:12
Troy
Never done like rehab so intense, you know, just trying to get it back and was back boxing and sparring and what have you.
00:18:18
Samantha Child
Amazing.
00:18:18
Troy
But I'd gone back to Grand Zero. Like all my bad habits that I had worked for years on in boxing. like leaning over my front foot, umm dragging my feet, like i slight like all of that stuff.
00:18:26
Samantha Child
yeah
00:18:31
Troy
It's like it it had come back and I was just like, oh my gosh, I'm and like, going to go again.
00:18:34
Samantha Child
how do i get rid of it oh
00:18:37
Troy
um so yeah, anyway, but I've got, I think I've gone on tangent, but I guess what I'm saying is I kind of had to, I was, i I went out and made sure that I had all of that lined up to get me back in that ring ASAP, you know?
00:18:50
Samantha Child
yeah is there anything so like obviously you talk about maybe having your core signed off before you get stuck into some exercises and a lot of the information you had to seek out yourself, but you were extremely motivated to do that. Is there anything, like kind of looking back on both that like training during pregnancy and that early postpartum phase, is there anything that you wish you kind of knew or did differently or maybe like had access to during that time? Yeah.
00:19:20
Troy
I think access would have think that's why I'm so passionate about this area is because had I had somewhere I knew I could go to or you know, it's it was quite a lonely, um process but but it wasn't I say that but it wasn't lonely because I had you know my my my coach my boxing coach was has just always been such a believer of me and
Commitment and Mental Adjustments Post-Childbirth
00:19:46
Troy
you know um being there for me so i I and and and the other people and my team you know in boxing it's an individual sport but you can't get to in that ring without a team behind you you've got to have your teammates because you need people to spar
00:19:46
Samantha Child
Yeah. Cool.
00:20:01
Troy
you know first of all and and those people are gonna um push you you know there were teammates that I rang up and went I've got to start putting track and they'd come and meet me there'd be about three of us and we'd go and do the track work together and you know um so yeah I didn't even think I've answered your your question properly then I'm
00:20:13
Samantha Child
so
00:20:19
Samantha Child
No, no, I think you have. Like, I think like you say, it's having that support. It's having people, you know, you can go to because obviously incredibly lucky to have a supportive coach. But I imagine there'll be plenty of athletes that maybe don't have that or have a coach who just doesn't quite understand that transition for an athlete and having a having a pregnancy and coming back to it. So I think so supportive people has got to be the the number one, right? Because if you don't have that, it's pretty hard.
00:20:44
Troy
he Yes, and that's what we were talking about. Sorry, why I went on that is that's why it would I always thought it would be really nice to have ah some kind of community or somewhere, not sure what that looks like at this point, but where... if you were in that position like I was in yourself and there's there's others out in it that you could look to and go, okay, cool. I just, you know, because to some degree, yes, I had to hunt it out myself, but oh God, it would have been so nice if I, even if there was a group of women that have a group that talk about this type of stuff and, you know, because it is as it is a little bit of and ah a niche area too, right? Because you're also, you're, you know, you're getting back into some trainings that,
00:21:27
Troy
you're a general populated person, it's not recommended to do you know, and you're having to go, well, actually I've, I feel I'm, I'm okay with this because of, you know, and my body can handle this and I'm not going to rip my stitches or you, you know what, it you know what it is, but um you're kind of making these decisions for yourself.
00:21:32
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:21:40
Samantha Child
Yes.
00:21:44
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:21:47
Troy
And sometimes it'd be nice to know that other, you know, yeah, and you feel a bit safer if you know other people have also been able to do it, you know?
00:21:56
Samantha Child
Totally. And picking up on something you said before about how, you know, like you did train during your pregnancy because you you felt comfortable in your body and you trusted your body and you knew what you could do.
00:22:07
Samantha Child
And I think that's, you know, super lucky to have that confidence in yourself. Right. And I'm sure there was times where maybe you felt a bit unsure.
00:22:12
Troy
and
00:22:14
Samantha Child
You thought, no, mountain climbers, no, won't be doing them. But i also,
00:22:17
Troy
Oh, just I don't like that. It's very uncomfortable on my tummy. I'm ah
00:22:21
Samantha Child
it'll be, um yeah, I can't do those ones. um But I am sure there'll be so there'll be many athletes who, you know, at the other end of the scale who are a little bit anxious, who have maybe experienced um perhaps like loss before a pregnancy and then so feel like they have to do things differently or keep it safe or kind of go to the general advice that's online, which is so hard to decipher in your position.
00:22:35
Troy
going to put it on there.
00:22:43
Samantha Child
So I completely agree. I think having a better community athletes you know, athletes who have done it, because there's plenty of them out there who have had that experience and know, okay, know what I'm doing, you know, is good.
00:22:55
Samantha Child
It's positive.
00:22:56
Troy
know
00:22:56
Samantha Child
It can be safe. It can, it can work. I think, yeah, i completely agree. I think it would be so useful to have.
00:23:05
Samantha Child
thinking about that postpartum period like what would you say were probably the biggest challenges you faced mentally during that time and and maybe thinking about you know did did motherhood or becoming a parent change your relationship with training or competition at all like how was your how was your headspace feeling during that time
00:23:27
Troy
No, was pretty good.
Balancing High-Performance Sports and Family
00:23:27
Troy
I mean, when I can get quite narrowed into something, i guess, when that's my focus. um I did, I am a little bit of like, a I like structure and routine.
00:23:41
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:23:41
Troy
ah
00:23:41
Troy
But ah yeah, and ah for me, it was like, so I,
00:23:41
Samantha Child
Don't we all?
00:23:47
Troy
Look, i I left baby at 10 months to go and do the Olympic campaign, jumped on, um you know, i was at the team and I was away for five weeks. So I always knew that if I got back on this team, i'm going to have some time where i was going to be away and stuff. And I needed to have baby in a position where I could leave her with husband and he can go to work and he is not up all night or whatever. either So right from my thinking with anything that I do is always like, what's my end goal?
00:24:15
Troy
So for me, it was like, I was always planning.
00:24:16
Samantha Child
yeah.
00:24:16
Troy
i was I was like, no matter what, I'm going to get on that team going to be traveling. And in that, for that, I need to have my baby under a bit of a routine. She needs to be feeding and it's like, cause I've got to get my trainings in when I want to.
00:24:27
Troy
dah-dada So I guess, i mean, you could say it's slightly, some people might say I'm a bit selfish, but you know, I, I wanted her to fit into my life for this um a little bit so um it was very yeah it was very structured and very much um like that so mentally like I had baby ah you know I kind of did the sleep training thing which I never told anyone about because everyone it's very um oh you don't sleep train do you you know yeah it's my hashtag and so
00:24:56
Samantha Child
Oh God, isn't it? I know, i know. there's a very There's a corner of the internet that doesn't like it at the moment.
00:25:02
Troy
He doesn't like it. And i and it's like and I'm just like, yeah, but i I'm all for whatever suits your family do. And so for me, it was like routine structure. I need a baby to be giving me a good sleep. I couldn't do what I was doing and all the training was doing. I was training at night. so i had baby I was giving baby a feed at 7 Then she'd go to bed at 7.30.
00:25:24
Troy
I was off at training. My hubby would be putting her to bed. I'd go off to training 7.45. I'd be coming home at 10 o'clock most nights. That's how long our training is. i Sparring, I'd stay behind the sparring.
00:25:33
Samantha Child
Wow.
00:25:35
Troy
That was for three nights a week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Now, because I am because i knew i already had it's the same training every week, so I knew that I was going to have to do that.
00:25:38
Samantha Child
Gosh.
00:25:44
Troy
So baby would have a feed. I'd after training. I'd be coming in the door sometimes and husband's like, get in that shower because she wouldn't take my breast when I was sweetie. They don't like that sweetie. She'd be like, like really annoying.
00:25:55
Samantha Child
Fair enough. It's probably a bit salty.
00:25:56
Troy
Yeah. very salty so i'd be coming in the door on some nights some nights she would just find and i could do the dream feed i'd do that 10 10 11 dream feed but sometimes she'd wake up early because she's hungry and i'd be in that shower quickly and then babies on you know and and then she'd sleep the night you know by four months we had her through the night i mean of course there's your tea thing and your odd things but her general was a thing And so, you know, which was a godsend when I had to be getting in the ring and the night before I'm going, at least I get a good, I do my 10 o'clock feed and I get a good solid amount of sleep till seven in the morning, you know.
00:26:06
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:26:16
Samantha Child
Amazing. Yeah.
00:26:28
Samantha Child
Odile.
00:26:31
Troy
So all that stuff I had already pre-planned that that's how I doing. And when I, and people go to me, you know, you'll have baby at all changes. I know I'll show you, I'll get that girl on a routine.
00:26:41
Samantha Child
this
00:26:41
Troy
Don't you worry.
00:26:42
Samantha Child
Love it.
00:26:43
Troy
You know, so it was, yeah. And I was just very fortunate. I had a baby that day. was actually ex because maybe is I could have got a baby that was just like I couldn't do but she was the easy baby very chill so as I was able to do that yeah had the temperament for it so ah so ah you know I'm very thankful for that too but yeah so yeah
00:26:48
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:26:54
Samantha Child
Yeah, had the temperament. Yeah.
00:27:03
Samantha Child
No, and I don't think it's selfish at all. I think, you know, it's really important to do what's best for you and your family. And obviously you and your husband were both on board with like, this is the plan.
00:27:13
Samantha Child
This is what we're going to This is what's going to make everyone the happiest person, right? Because if you hadn't have done that and then you didn't have the time to train or you got to a point where you're like, whoa, I just can't do that.
00:27:18
Troy
Mm-hmm.
00:27:25
Samantha Child
Then you probably wouldn't have been, you know, the happiest version of yourself because that was something, you know, that was really incredibly important to you.
00:27:34
Troy
And, you know, like, and look, this is going a little bit off topic, but just in with that, now that I've had my second, there's no way I would want to do it now. Like, and she's different all altogether. And yes, yes, of course, I've still got her in a bit of a structure and a routine, but she's slightly different temperament.
00:27:48
Samantha Child
yeah yeah
00:27:50
Troy
and She's a little bit, needs a little bit more of me. My oldest daughter's a lot more independent. That helped with that stuff, you know? And I go now and I go, thank God I don't have to get in the ring. You know, like I'm two months postpartum and I'm like,
00:28:02
Troy
doing two workouts a week at the moment, that's it, do you know, you know, and it's really nice this time around to just enjoy that postpartum that maybe I didn't quite get it was a felt a bit rushed because there was a, you know, something out, you know, I had to do too.
00:28:05
Samantha Child
yeah yeah
00:28:16
Troy
So yeah, I'm definitely glad I'm not doing that again.
00:28:20
Samantha Child
Yeah, totally. Can you think of anything, so like obviously for you, like routine worked, your baby's temperament worked. Can you think, if you've had the perhaps opposite experience where you know bub had been a little bit more unsettled or hadn't quite taken to that routine or just like sleep training hadn't worked out can you think of anything that would have been helpful to know during that time or maybe even just like helpful for any mums that are in that space right now and they're they're wanting to get back to training but like their baby's schedule is just not um making it you know easy for them to do so
00:28:35
Troy
Mm-hmm.
00:28:56
Troy
Having other mothers that you can chat to that can go, yeah you know, like if if I think if my baby had been harder to to train like that and been a little bit more hands on,
00:29:09
Troy
more handson um having somewhere I could go to where you you know where you might just be like, hey, look, has anyone else been in a position where baby's a bit like this?
00:29:19
Troy
And what have you done with your training?
00:29:20
Samantha Child
Agree.
00:29:22
Troy
Have you changed the time? You know, a community like that would have been helpful because you could ask, I could i mean, I guess you could ask your any day person, but it's nice to ask someone else who's at that high level um who understands.
00:29:34
Samantha Child
ah gray
00:29:38
Troy
And I don't want to say that and sound like I'm, um dismissing anyone but you know I think it's anyone would agree and that that when you're in that same position as it's it's like yeah that's all good you can give me that advice but that's for you and I actually um I want some advice from someone else is who's doing what I'm doing um and and and hey look I think things I think everything happens for a reason and if I had maybe had a child like that it might have actually just been like you know what this is this is me taking this now as this is my turn to retire
00:29:53
Samantha Child
yeah
00:29:57
Samantha Child
yeah i think that makes sense
00:30:12
Troy
you know, because after that, ten when I did that, um that last campaign, after that, came um I came back from that, and I was out, and I didn't get my Olympic spot in that event, i had one more event to go to, and I actually said to my husband, now I'm done, you know, but I needed to do that, I needed to, you know, I mean, of course, I went away there being like, this is it, I'm going qualify the Olympics, I'm done, I'm going to prove, you know, boxing hardly ever gets anyone there, I'm going to prove it it wrong, you know, once again, and then I I didn't and once I'd come out of my sad sack little bit but you know um I came home and I was like I'm done i actually said it to my coaches before I we came back home because like I was out of the competition about a week earlier than it finished and I said to them on the last day I said I'm done I'm hanging out my gloves I just want to be a mum I did my last little thing and that was and I had to do that if I hadn't done it I would have gone what if
00:30:27
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:30:56
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:31:02
Samantha Child
Nice.
00:31:07
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:31:08
Troy
you know, and so I was able to take that and i retired on a very, you know, very much my own, I'm very lucky that I could say on my own terms.
00:31:09
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:31:16
Samantha Child
Totally. And I think it'll be such a special story that you can share with your daughter one day, you know, like I think all of these experiences and things that we've been through and whilst they required like a lot of hard work and a lot of sacrifice and like you say, sometimes from the outside, it might sound selfish or seem selfish to want to make that return.
00:31:22
Troy
Yeah.
00:31:35
Samantha Child
But I think so special, of course, they're not going to remember it at eight months old, like watching you train.
00:31:36
Troy
Yeah. and the 23rd year of the producer
00:31:40
Samantha Child
But you know, like, ah I think a really special thing to share with them when they're a bit older one day and hopefully you know inspire them to be able to do anything that they want to be able to do um before I ask a few final questions uh just touching on that piece where I think it's pretty inevitable that if you're in this high performance space and you want to return to training at some point you have to spend ah a chunk of time away from Bubba not the case for all sports I know that Some sports are really lucky that they have the resources and the support that Bob can go with them on tour. And I think that's a whole, you know, different conversation and and how you make that work in a team environment or an individual environment. But was there anything that you did to kind of prepare for that um time away or just generally a little bit about how you felt leaving and anything that might helped you through that that period?
00:32:35
Troy
i had a good um support system at home, but it was hard to leave.
00:32:41
Samantha Child
yeah
00:32:41
Troy
Like it really was like, you know, um and at the same time, I tried to make the most of that time that I was away, like getting up in the morning, not having to feed baby straight away. Once, I mean, there's, there's pros and cons to routine, right? So every morning at seven, we were up, you know? And so um I'd sit there in my hotel room and I'd go,
00:33:01
Troy
I'm just going to make the most of the fact that I can have a coffee in bed again. I'm not having to do a feed. And so that that kind of stuff, I was like, I'm just, you know, I'm going to relish in that because it was hard, leave it, you know, and getting photos of my husband and baby.
00:33:15
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:33:17
Troy
And then, of course, there's that guilt.
00:33:20
Samantha Child
Yes.
00:33:20
Troy
So, you know, i was dealing with that guilt of who leaves their 10 month old, you know, to go and pursue this, you selfish thing, you know, you're you're dealing with those types of things.
00:33:27
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:33:29
Troy
um And as you said, like, I look back now and I'm like, oh God, she's fine. She's absolutely fine.
00:33:33
Samantha Child
Yes.
00:33:33
Troy
And the nice thing is that I'm starting to notice that my eldest daughter is quite determined quite headstrong you know, and I'm like, yeah, and and and and that type of person can handle it, you know.
00:33:40
Samantha Child
Like her mum.
00:33:46
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:33:46
Troy
what noticing with my second daughter is a little bit more sensitive, you know, which is probably good for me have a daughter that's a bit more sensitive.
00:33:50
Samantha Child
yeah
00:33:53
Troy
I'll teach her mother.
00:33:54
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:33:54
Troy
But, yeah, yeah. Yeah, it was it was it wasn't easy. i guess that's why I didn't run to go and do it again, you know.
00:33:59
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:34:02
Samantha Child
Yeah, that makes sense.
00:34:03
Troy
if ah if If I could have taken her with me, have been amazing. I mean, but hard again in a different sense, you know, because when you're a mum and you've got your child there, you're you're never fully present in some sense.
00:34:14
Troy
You know, if child comes first, baby comes first, you know.
00:34:15
Samantha Child
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I, gosh, it's like anything that you, you know, choose to do when you're a mum, right? Whether it's like return to work, whether it's pursue a sporting exploit, it's like you do have that kind of mum guilt, but hopefully we're sort of moving, you know, more into a space in a world where that's just, it's more the norm now.
00:34:35
Troy
Yeah. Yeah.
00:34:37
Samantha Child
It's okay for women and females and mums to actually do things outside of being a mum. We can do both of these things. So, I think it's just, yeah, important to kind of share that bit too.
00:34:44
Troy
yeah
00:34:48
Troy
And of course, you know, I'm not just ah just a thing on that.
00:34:48
Samantha Child
um
00:34:51
Troy
As I wasn't leaving baby where, like she's with another parent that loves her, you know.
00:34:55
Samantha Child
Yeah, for sure.
00:34:55
Troy
so and my And her and my husband have an amazing bond that I get a bond that I just get a little bit jealous of sometimes too. you know but And then I have to go, well, you did leave her at 10 months old.
00:35:07
Samantha Child
no I sometimes have a little bit of that too. My boys definitely prefer their dad. And sometimes I'm like, God, was it the time I went away when they were?
00:35:13
Troy
yeah
00:35:17
Troy
Right, though? It's something you do that does go through your mind.
00:35:18
Samantha Child
oh
00:35:20
Troy
you go, me was I not present enough during that?
00:35:20
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:35:23
Troy
Was I too focused on my return to sport, you know?
00:35:24
Samantha Child
Oh, no.
00:35:26
Troy
But anyway.
00:35:27
Samantha Child
But also how special that they have that bond
Future Hopes for Female Athletes
00:35:29
Samantha Child
with their dads though too.
00:35:29
Troy
Yeah, exactly.
00:35:30
Samantha Child
I think that's really cool. um Okay, so just thinking about, you know, some final little bits of wisdom that you want to kind of pass out to anyone out there. When you look back on this whole journey, is there anything that you haven't shared or or wish you'd known beforehand?
00:35:47
Troy
I just say, like don't be afraid. to i always say to people, don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it you know?
00:35:53
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:35:53
Troy
Like, so if if you are in a... um sport like mine where like as I said like none of you know none of my coaches have really been in a position to prep someone to get back in to sport after a baby so soon or whatever but um if you ask around people will like people are more than willing to help and you might find someone that actually has been you know I thought I was all by myself and then I came on this um wahintowa program and I find you and you've been through it and then I see that there's other people in our that have that are like the other end of the parenting journey, you know, who have also been through it at a different time.
00:36:25
Samantha Child
Mm-hmm.
00:36:31
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:36:34
Troy
And and you go, should I? It wasn't actually alone, you know? um There are people um out there.
00:36:37
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:36:39
Troy
so you know, ask around and um people will point you to, you know, through word of mouth to people that can help you out. Hmm.
00:36:47
Samantha Child
ye And I think that's it, right? like There are so many of us that have been through this this journey and this um this process before, but it's like trying yeah trying to figure out ways to sort of like draw on their knowledge and what they've their experience, because it's so helpful.
00:36:53
Troy
man
00:37:02
Samantha Child
Just, you know, it might be one little tidbit or um just that connection with someone that might really help pop you through like a real sticky bit in your journey.
00:37:07
Troy
ya maybe a sport with a bit more money ah do golf is that what we've got to do Sam is it golf tennis
00:37:10
Samantha Child
um And then I think, you know, thinking about the future, maybe one of your daughters might be a boxer one day, maybe they might choose another sport. Yeah, yeah I think I'll be giving the same advice to my children.
00:37:24
Samantha Child
um But I just, ah but yeah, something something like that.
00:37:29
Samantha Child
and Yeah, what do you, I suppose, what do you hope may change for future athletes, for your daughters, for for young girls now who, who do want both a sporting career and a family, what do you hope might change for them?
00:37:29
Troy
ah
00:37:43
Troy
Just at the education, like the the knowledge, sorry, education's wrong. The knowledge is out there. Or i guess and when they're ready to go through that stuff, it's it's it's a normal thing.
00:37:55
Troy
You know, like if if they're in a position where they're having, that is talked about, it's like that all, you know, any female that's wanting that kind of journey can, right from the start, it's openly talked about, if you want to have kids, fantastic, we'll help support you, if you don't, great, you know, like, um it's just, yeah, I'd like it to be like a nonchalant thing, it's, it's, yeah, I don't know, it's, and, and that, the, the knowledge is all out there, and it's, yeah, it's at their fingertips.
00:37:56
Samantha Child
Yeah.
00:38:25
Samantha Child
Yeah, I totally agree. Well, thank you very much for sharing, Troy. I really appreciate your insight and your experience and I'm sure it will help someone out there on their journey too.
00:38:35
Troy
Cool. Bye. ah you