Tayla Harris talks to me on the way to the gym in Brisbane where she is attending a conference. It’s the hometown of the AFLW superstar, and returning there has evoked some long-forgotten memories.
Tayla Harris
“We drove past the house where I grew up, and I giggled when I remembered running to the ground, running up and down the hills – Bryce is known to be hilly. I ran until I quit, ”she says.
This self-discipline and perseverance is demonstrated in Kick Like Tayla, a new Prime Video documentary about the career of a 24-year-old boy. In addition to her significant successes on the football field, Harris is a boxing champion and last year won Australian middleweight and Australian super middleweight titles.
Growing up, she set herself random goals: for example, doing 500 squats a day and not stopping until she achieved it. «[It would be] it’s time to go to bed and I’m lying on the floor in my room and doing exercises for no real reason, just because I decided to. “
Her AFL debut came by chance when she was just five years old when she was asked to join her brother’s team, the Aspley Hornets; she was the only girl on the team, the only girl in the league. This was the beginning of many first.
The idea for the documentary came from producer and director Andrew Garrick shortly before the pandemic. At first Harris was surprised that anyone would want to document her life. “I couldn’t believe that someone would care, let alone invest money in showing my world, but the feedback is that I can positively influence people by demonstrating the way I go about things.” she says.
“Of all the messages since people have been able to see Doco, it’s strong and … it demonstrates that being real and being yourself can be a long time.”
The hour-long documentary gives an insight into Harris ’character, as well as her personal life, when she trains at home with her wife and AFLW colleague Sarah Dargan, her teammates and her upbringing. Respondents include various football coaches, her manager Alex Sandra, her boxing coach, other players such as Daisy Pierce, and her parents and wife.
The title of the show refers to her now famous hit from the 2019 bulldog game, immortalized by AFL photographer Michael Wilson. It’s an unusual shot, almost ballet, that demonstrates her athleticism and strength, not to mention the unusual stretching of her legs.
https://www.watoday.com.au/culture/tv-and-radio/being-yourself-and-authentic-can-get-you-a-long-way-tayla-harris-20220505-p5aiz0.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed
