Steph Kershaw // Hockeyroo, Commonwealth Games silver medallist, overcoming injuries & gaining confidence through sport

Steph Kershaw, Australian Hockey Player who grew up in Townsville. Steph take’s us on the journey of falling in love with Hockey, through the rest of her family playing, the hardships of doing her ACL…twice. And how incredible it was to win a silver medal in front of a home crowed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Hockey isn’t just a sport for Steph, it also helped her step outside of her comfort zone and gain confidence.

Since recording, Steph has competed at the Tokyo Olympics as part of the Hockeyroos!

Listen to the full episode here

Maddy Hogan // Paralympic Javelin bronze medallist and mother of twins – a chat full of wisdom and humour

This weeks guest is Maddy Hogan, three time Paralympian and a mother of twins. Maddy opens up and discusses the relatable topic of comparison and what that can do to your self esteem. Why she made the jump from playing cricket to Javelin and the importance of taking a chance, believing in yourself and bouncing back.

Retired from the sport now, Maddy still gives back to the community as being a change our game ambassador, which focuses on women’s participation in all areas of sport.

I really got a lot from this chat with Maddy, she’s the perfect balance of humour and wisdom and I hope you enjoy this one.

Find the full chat here.

Breanna Hargrave // Athletics to Cycling… the determination it takes to be an ‘older’ athlete

I have the pleasure of being joined by this weeks guest, Australian cyclist Breanna Hargrave. Breanna started off in Ballet and athletics as a junior and at 19 gave up ballet to focus on athletics.

A national level competitor in athletics in the heptathlon, but Bree wanted more out of herself, she wanted to represent her country. So at the age of 28, with some Australian Institute of Sport testing, Bree transitioned to track cycling. During her time sprinting Bree went to the 2014 Commonwealth Games and won a bronze medal. Bree is a 4 time Australian Champion on the track and has lately been making her mark on the road.

Bree’s determination shines through in this chat, and is such an inspiring story to keep chasing your goals.

You can listen here

Shannon Barnes // from VFL to wearing the green and gold in Floorball

This weeks guest is Shannon Barnes who represents Australia in the sport of floorball. If you’re not sure with what floorball is don’t worry – I didn’t know either, Shannon gives a great explanation of it at the start of the interview, but basically its very similar to Hockey.

Shannon talks about discovering the sport of floorball and falling in love with it so much that she stepped away from playing football and cricket. Not only does Shannon play sport, but she works in the field as an exercise and sport scientist.

The lesson sport has taught Shannon is such an important one, and super relevant to other sports and every day life.

Listen here.

Levi Maxwell // professional triathlon, balance outside of sport and mental health

Welcome to the last episode of season 1. This week’s guest is professional Australian Triathlete Levi Maxwell. Throughout the few years I’ve been watching Triathlons – I’ve always admired Levi, so it’s an absolute honour to be joined by him for a chat.

In this episode we discuss Levi’s introduction to the sport as an adult and how he transitioned from a beginner who had to teach himself how to swim to taking out the Age group Ironman world championships two years running. And then making his mark in the professional arena. Levi also shares some of the injuries and mental challenges that he’s faced as part of his journey in the sport.

This episode is open and raw, and does discuss panic attacks, so if this something triggering to you please skip ahead. Levi’s insightful and humble attitude is the perfect way to wrap up the first season.

If you’re interested in Levi’s coaching services, you can find out more information here; http://www.levi-maxwell.com/coaching/

Listen to the full episode here.

Todd Buschkuehl // couple chat, endurance sports and 12 hour ride debrief!

Today’s guest is my incredible fiancé Todd Buschkuehl. Todd’s participation in sport started at a young age as he followed his big brothers footsteps into motocross. He later found a love and passion for cricket but in his own words…lacked the ability to do well at it. Eventually making his way to endurance sports such as Triathlon and Road Cycling.

Todd’s achievement in both sports are not just reflective of his performance, but the lessons he has learnt in overcoming the injuries and obstacles. Todd touches on some of his sporting highlights as well as some of the challenges that have come up along the way.

Without turning this into a love story, you could say the reason Todd and I initially bonded was because of our love, passion and dedication towards our sport. Something that a lot of our guests are touching on is the social benefits of participating in a sport, and I couldn’t preach it enough how beneficial it truly is.

We recorded this episode 6 days after Todd’s 12 hour ride to raise money for Brain Injury Australia, so we discuss why Todd chose do this, the eventful lead up and what was going through his head in the later stages of his ride. Watch the 12 hour ride footage here.

Listen to the episode here.

Callan Brooks // deaf basketball, discovering the sport in his 20’s

Today we are joined by Australian basketballer Callan Brookes.

Callan plays for the Goanna’s, who is the national deaf basketball team for Australia. Playing basketball at a local level in regional Victoria, Callan who was unaware of the pathways just wanted more and lead him to search the internet where he found the Goannas in his early 20’s. For more information about the Goanna’s or deaf basketball Australia you can find links in the show notes.

In 2015, Callans first year in the team, they won a gold medal at the Asia Pacific Deaf Games. Through playing with the Goannas Callen has not only discovered that he is capable of anything he can set his mind toward, but he has also found a family in the team.

Having to fund their training camps and competition expenses themselves is an additional pressure that the Goanna’s face.

Before we jump in, as we are recording remotely the audio is not at it’s usual quality – however, there is a lot of important information found in this chat that would also be beneficial for the hearing impaired community. So you can find a transcript for this interview on our Facebook page, Beyond Sport with Fiona Stewart.

You can listen to the episode here.

https://www.facebook.com/australiangoannas/

https://www.deafbasketballaustralia.org.au/goannas

Emily McKie // women’s AFL coach & important life lessons

Today’s episode is with Emily McKie. Emily and I met during our uni studies and bonded over our passion for our sport, and I’ve always felt inspired by her ability to chase her dreams.

Emily created and managed what is now one of the biggest female junior football leagues in Victoria – the Eastern Region Girls Football League.

But she didn’t stop there… she then went on to coach the National Women’s AFL team in Germany. Emily is still coaching a high-performance women’s team, and is a VET Sport and Rec teacher, passionate about creating generational change.

I hope you by the end of this chat you are feeling as inspired by Emily’s passion as I did. You can listen to the episode here.

Matt Haanappel // Paralympic Swimmer, transitioning from athlete to change maker

We are joined today by Australian Paralympic swimmer Matt Haanappel.

Matt not only has held a place on the podium at multiple international swimming competitions, but is also establishing himself as a remarkable change maker for inclusion within the sport of swimming in Victoria.

Matt’s passion and dedication for everyone to have access and be included within swimming really shines through in this chat. I certainly feel inspired to make a change and I hope you are too.

You can listen here.

Brooke Stratton // Olympic long jumper, commonwealth games silver medallist, coeliac disease & injuries

Today’s guest is Olympic Long Jumper Brooke Stratton.

Brooke takes us on the rollercoaster journey of being a professional athlete. The devastating injuries and the incredible comeback to become the current Australian and Oceanic record holder.

There is a strong theme of resilience in this chat, and in the last 4 years I’ve been able to witness up close how resilience has seen Brooke overcome many obstacles.

You can listen to that episode here.

We were also lucky enough to catch up with Brooke just after she competed in Tokyo 2020, you can hear her Olympic Debrief here.

A behind the scenes of her family watching her 2020 Olympic Long Jump Final can be found on YouTube here.