Former Australian Netball Captain, Liz Ellis, spoke of her determination to succeed and the motivation that failure can have in achieving goals from a young age, when she spoke last Wednesday at the Armidale Bowling Club as the special guest for PLC Armidale’s Successful Women’s series.
In her forty-five minute spontaneous and entertaining presentation, Liz des-cribed how she used failure as a form of motivation.
“After missing selection in the Under 12 Hawkesbury Netball team, I set my goal to never experience that dreadful feeling of failure again,” said Liz Ellis.
Often described as tenacious and determined, Liz has been focused on achieving from an early age.
After not being really interested in netball at the age of nine, she was encouraged to play by a family friend. As she grew into her height, arms and legs, she discovered a passion for the position of Goalkeeper and for the game, which has taken her all over the world. She commented about the wonderful support she received from her parents, who were far from pushy, but always encouraging.
“They always emphasised having fun, being self-motivated and the importance of getting a good education because, as everyone knows, a career in sport itself can be very short-lived, particularly if you receive a debilitating injury.”
Liz was offered a scholarship to the Australian Institute of Sport Netball Program whilst still in Year 11, but chose not to accept it until after finishing her HSC.
“Having that experience was so invaluable. I learnt so much from other athletes and the way they trained. I picked up one very important skill from celebrated heptathlete, Jane Fleming, who trained at the most amazing intensity. Basically, how you train is how you play. A tip I have since always lived by and tried to impart to others.”
Liz continued that same work ethos as she applied herself to combining training with her legal studies at Macquarie University and then in her working life as a solicitor with Sydney firm Corrs, Chambers, Westgarth. “But I wasn’t a very good solicitor,” she laughed.
She described the challenges she faced, trying to balance a demanding work life with a rigourous training schedule, until at one point she called the “comma moment”. When a fellow solicitor she was working with pointed out the specific positioning of the comma in a document could help their case, she replied, “What comma, I didn’t even see it.” It was then she realised, “I wasn’t passionate about Law, but I was passionate about Netball.” Though she admits having that legal background has assisted her in other ways since.
Another inspiring aspect to her humorous address was her dynamic and easy-going communication skills, which so impressed everyone, particularly Head of School at PLC Armidale, Mrs Debra Kelliher, who commented, “Her leadership qualities were so evident, in the way she entertained her audience, whether at the luncheon or coaching the PLC netballers in the morning. She has a lovely, relaxed manner with people, and was able to deliver a very inspirational message. She was an exceptional role model for our girls, particularly her obvious core values which are very much aligned to those of PLC Armidale.”
Strong, United and Passionate, were the three key words and actions Liz used as Captain of the Australian Diamonds to motivate her team to defeat the Silver Ferns in 2007, after some ordinary losses the previous year.
Following her public address, Liz then conducted an intimate Q&A with PLC Armidale students from Years 10-12, as well as some girls from Glen Innes High School.
