Super Netball: New South Wales Swifts midcourter Maddy Proud on her life as a new mum and her comeback
NSW Swifts champion Maddy Proud has opened up about her return to Super Netball after spending months on the other side of the world with her newest supporter — daughter Lily.
Swifts midcourter Maddy Proud has opened up on how becoming a mum has changed her perspective on life as a professional netballer and the way her baby gap year in the UK has her mentally and physically refreshed for her Super Netball comeback.
The two-time premiership player was back at the Swifts for the official start of pre-season training this week after sitting out the club’s 2025 campaign as she welcomed the arrival of her first child, a daughter named Lily.
But it wasn’t an ordinary maternity break for Proud, who spent most of the year in England with her partner, cricketer Daniel Hughes, who was playing county cricket for Sussex.
In fact, daughter Lily, now five months old, was also born in England while the couple was based there.
The pair returned to Australia with Lily last month so Proud could prepare for her Super Netball comeback with the Swifts for what will be her 15th season playing at the top level.
Proud admitted she had initially been unsure about her comeback plans when she went on her maternity leave, but the 31-year-old said her break had reinforced her desire to continue playing.
“I went into it with no expectations in the sense that you never know what motherhood is going to be like, you never know what your pregnancy is going to be like, you never know what the birth is going to be like,” Proud said.
“I didn’t want to be really set on one decision either way. I didn’t want to have my hopes up of a comeback and then if things didn’t work out or I didn’t feel the way that I thought I would, I didn’t want that to be a really tough thing to deal with.
“But I think now to be in the position I’m in where I’ve got a great little bub at home who also is allowing me to come back and do what I love, I am so excited to be back around the girls and hopefully have another great season in the red.
“Throughout my pregnancy I was over in the UK for six months so I was quite removed from everything. I think that’s what gave me the mental refresh I needed.
“I had sort of a tough season in 2024, I had knee injuries and we had a lot going on as a team as well. So I think just having that mental break meant that once I was in a position to make a decision I thought, ‘You know what, I want to come back and not have any regrets’.”
While Lily is still not even half a year old, Proud said motherhood had already given her a fresh perspective on her life as a professional sportsperson.
Proud said the thought of having Lily in the stands watching her play had been a motivating factor in her comeback.
“I remember hearing everybody saying ‘You know when you have kids you realise you can never love something so much’ and I was like ‘Oh, do people really mean that?’,” Proud said.
“But it has changed my world in that your sole purpose is looking after this baby and loving them.
“It also means that if I have a tough day at training, it doesn’t really matter because I come home and I get to see my smiling baby when I walk back through the door.
“It probably changes the pressure that I put on myself. Professional sport is a quite highly intense and competitive place and while I still want to achieve at the highest level and really perform for the Swifts, it also makes me have a bit of perspective in knowing that ‘Yes, this is an important part of my life, but a bigger part is being a mum and looking after Lily’.
“It also just gives me a bit of extra motivation in the sense that I want Lily to have a role model that goes after what she wants and works really hard.
“Although she won’t remember it because she is only a few months old, when she can look back on photos, on memories of her seeing me play, I hope that she can be proud of me.”
Swifts co-captain Maddy Proud wins the grand final MVP award for her hard work in the midcourt. #TeamGirlsCuppic.twitter.com/WWmnMvBItg
— Brittany Carter (@_BrittanyCarter) March 24, 2024
Proud embarks on her comeback just as her long-time Swifts’ teammate and fellow midcourter, Paige Hadley, sets off on her own maternity break ahead of the birth of her first child in early 2026.
She is not the only new mum in the team with Hadley’s replacement player, Gina Crampton, who Proud has already formed a little “mum’s club” with, also returning after a maternity break.
A fixture at the Swifts since 2017, Proud said the season off had given her body time to recharge and she was confident she would be ready to hit the court for the start of next year’s Super Netball in March.
Swifts co-captain Maddy Proud and partner, cricketer Daniel Hughes, have announced they’re having a baby! pic.twitter.com/u2acAYLfe0
— HER WAY (@herwaysports) November 15, 2024
“I remember talking to a lot of people throughout my pregnancy and they say sometimes all the hormones and just having a bit of a break can just make you feel better when you do come back,” Proud said.
“I was really strong about wanting to have a break and not putting pressure on myself while I was pregnant or when I was coming back … and just giving my body time to relax and heal.
“Those first few months in England, it was hard to get back into too much training because I was with Lily all the time and Daniel was often playing, so I definitely took it really easy.
“But I’ve had these last three weeks to build into things and the Swifts have been amazing with managing my return and making sure that we don’t push things too fast, too soon.
“I guess there’s a bit of that muscle memory, this is nearly my 15th season playing so there is a little bit in my body that remembers what to do as well.
“Hopefully the body can stay strong, but it’s only November as well and I think we have got the luxury of having a little bit of time until the season starts, so we’re just taking it slow in the first few weeks anyway.”
Having a newborn up feeding in the middle of the night made it easy for Proud to keep an eye on the Swifts, who suffered a one-point preliminary final loss to eventual premiers Melbourne Vixens, from the other side of the world.
But she admitted it had been hard at times watching from afar.
“Having Lily was perfect because of the time difference, it didn’t really matter if I was up feeding her in the middle of the night, I could switch on the TV and watch the netball, so I don’t think I missed a Swifts game while I was over there,” she said.
“It was great to watch particularly that first half of the season, I was so impressed with how the team went and I think that last final was pretty tough to watch from afar and I think I nearly woke up the whole neighbourhood where I was living in those dying moments just because it was quite sad and really heartbreaking the way that final ended.
“The girls showed last season that they have got something pretty special building here and that’s another reason why I really wanted to come back because I feel there is something special in this group and hopefully I can play a little role in going that little bit further next season with them.”
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Originally published as Super Netball: New South Wales Swifts midcourter Maddy Proud on her life as a new mum and her comeback
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