Roar Power: How Goal Setting Helps Our Brisbane Girls Soar

By Hannah Sbeghen, Griffith Social Media Team

As the first month of the New Year comes to an end, I’m sure I would not be alone in saying: “Wow, that went fast.”

We are all trying to stick to the resolutions and goals we made at the start of the year.

Perhaps your goal at Uni this year is to join a sporting team, or maybe it’s to attend more networking events.

As the saying goes, or so it should, you have as many hours in a day as Beyoncé. However, if you need some added inspiration to achieve your goals, look no further than the Brisbane Roar women’s team.

Despite Monday’s heartbreaking semi-final loss to Melbourne City after a penalty shootout, the Brisbane Roar W-League team enjoyed a rewarding season, albeit not without plenty of blood, sweat and tears.

The girls have always had it tougher than the boys, as they still have to meet the demands of 40-hour working weeks, study and, of course, intensive training.

But it doesn’t stop them from doing what they love.

Star defender, Roar captain and Australian Matildas co-skipper Clare Polkinghorne says that once you develop a routine and habit for intense training and full-time work, sticking to goals becomes easier.

The Griffith University graduate gets up as early as 5am to train, then does a day’s work before dashing off for more training in the evening. Clare says she knows no other way than to work and do what she loves.

“We all have other things outside football that we’re doing, like work or study, and it’s always challenging to fit everything in,” she says.

“But we have to focus on the football and make it the priority.

“It’s obviously hard and we have to learn to juggle quite well, but it’s something we’ve always had to do, so we don’t know any differently.

“We love what we do and try to fit as much as we can in a day.”

Roar coach Belinda Wilson says she has a lot of confidence in the girls.

“It’s always going to be a struggle with women in sport and I can’t see it changing in the near future, so we just better get used to it,” she says.

“At the end of the day the girls are used to that, and they have adapted to it.”

While Belinda says she is forever chasing girls to make sure she has the right numbers at training, it comes down to sticking to the right path to make sure you get there and achieve your goals.

“That’s just the way women’s sport is; it’s hard work,” she says.

Do you still think your goals this year are unattainable?

If you don’t have a goal, or if you want to try something new, get in touch with Griffith Sport on their facebook: https://www.facebook.com/griffithsport/ or check out their website: https://www.griffith.edu.au/sport