Captain courageous: Chelsea Randall talks knees, captaincy and her new football academy
As she prepares to host her first football academy for girls, Crows champion Chelsea Randall talks about the opportunities that arise when an athlete finds themselves out of their sport for 12 months.
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It’s Thursday evening and the Crows AFLW squad is in the middle of its pre-season training session. Some players are in the middle of the oval in game simulation drills, others are jogging the length of the boundary.
Chelsea Randall – often considered the team’s backbone - sits on the sidelines, her right knee elevated and iced.
It’s three weeks since her knee was reconstructed after she tore her ACL in November and despite knowing she will not play any football in 2020,
Randall is only focussing on the silver linings.
On of those is that Randall will take on a new role as the team’s assistant midfield coach alongside Andrew McLeod.
And at Thursday evening’s training session she was able to walk around during skills drills, but when her knee needed rest, she just continued to shout her encouragement from a chair on the sidelines.
That’s typically Randall and one of many reasons why she’ll vindicate the club’s decision to keep her in the captaincy when the season gets underway in a month.
However, the transition from playing to watching on from the sidelines is not an easy one for Randall.
“Playing is where I feel so confident and calm,” she says.
“This is definitely a challenge and something outside my comfort zone.
“I still believe that everything happens for a reason and the universe just had bigger and better plans for me this year and I’m going to try and take the opportunities, when one door closes another one is sure to open.”
On Monday, the AFLW’s three-time most courageous player was reappointed co-captain of the reigning premiers alongside Erin Phillips, who is also rehabbing a torn ACL – although the two captains are at vastly different stages and Phillips looks certain to return to playing this year.
“So many things go through your head when you do your knee: what does that look like now for me? What’s my role? What’s my purpose? So many things get thrown up into the air,” Randall says.
“When the captaincy was announced I was very much excited and proud that I can still very much lead this team and although that may not be on-field, I have absolute faith that we have so many amazing, emerging leaders in our team.”
Randall named the likes of forward Eloise Jones, defender Sarah Allen and midfielder Ebony Marinoff among the emerging leaders who could fill any senior voids on the oval.
“They are just some examples, but beyond that everyone is capable of leadership moments and I think that’s really important.”
Another thing Randall sees as important is encouraging the next generation of girls into the game and as such she is holding her first Chelsea Randall Academy on January 22.
“I’m really passionate about giving more girls in SA an opportunity to
get involved in female footy and enhance their knowledge and skills in this great game and they can do that in such a fun and engaging way (at the AFL MAX facility),” she says.
“Working the space of grass roots football is absolutely vital for the growth of women’s footy and the AFLW competition.”
The Crows open their 2020 AFLW season on Saturday, February 8: Brisbane v Adelaide, Hickey Park, Queensland, 4.40pm