Collingwood skipper Steph Chiocci puts teaching career on hold to focus on football
It’s the juggle that affects just about every AFL Women’s player — finding the balance between work and football. A Collingwood star is the latest to make the choice after becoming “rundown” trying to do both at once.
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Collingwood captain Steph Chiocci has become the latest AFL Women’s player forced to make a choice between full-time work and football, with the ongoing juggle proving too much for the physical education teacher.
Chiocci, 31, has put teaching on ice for term one, electing to focus solely on the Magpies’ 2020 campaign.
It is a move becoming more familiar to AFLW, as pressure on players mounts as the competition continues to grow and players balance employment commitments with training schedules and matches.
Chiocci — who has been a teacher for seven years and is embarking on her fourth AFLW season from next week — said on Friday that she would take leave without pay from her job at Parkdale Secondary College in order to dedicate her time to the game.
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“To the later side of the year, I felt like I wasn’t giving 100-percent to my job and I think that came down to the fact that I was always tired,” she said.
“I didn’t want to look back and have any regrets as an athlete.
“I want to be better for myself and for the team.”
The midfielder said she had been fully supported by both her school and the Magpies, with a flexible working arrangement in place in the club’s community department.
“It was a priority for me to come into this AFLW season fresh,” she said.
“This way it allows me to focus on my recovery, getting the right amount of sleep to ensure I am the best athlete I can be.”
The AFL on Thursday announced that a player development manager would be installed at every AFL Women’s club under a deal with BHP in order to assist players balance life on and off the field.
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One club official told the Herald Sun that player welfare was one of the biggest issues facing AFLW clubs.
“This (program) is specifically about trying to ensure that players are thriving,” AFL women’s football chief Nicole Livingstone said this week.
“From a workplace point of view away from the clubs, whether they need assistance from an education point of view. I acknowledge that all of the players want to be full-time, but while we’re working our way to eventually one day getting there, we need to make sure that we’re still focusing on what life looks like.”