The Drum
By Dave Keogh
Kerri retired from international competition after representing Australia in beach volleyball at her third consecutive Olympic Games – Athens 2004. That was after securing a Bronze Medal in Atlanta with partner Natalie Cook in 1996 and winning that unforgettable Gold in Sydney in 2000. She continued to compete on the Australian circuit – even after giving birth to her beautiful son Tyson in July 2006 – until “a dodgy knee” just made the daily training impossible. (Kerri has had no less than five separate surgical procedures on her left knee!)
I recently asked Kerri how she’s enjoying ‘the quiet post-tournament life’ playing mum to her toddler son. First she laughed… then she proceeded to describe her ‘quiet life’:
“I’m doing just a few things to keep me busy. I regularly give motivational speeches to major companies, illustrating to management just how the processes involved in achieving corporate goals are very similar to those that elite athletes put in place to achieve their ambitions. I reinforce the value of teamwork; show them what’s possible when you’re taken out of your comfort zone; and challenge them to find solutions based on their own individual capabilities.
“I love this work and from the feedback I receive, it seems I’ve managed to make a difference to many people in a lot of companies. I try to provide a very Australian experience, filled with energy and enthusiasm… in the end my aim is to convince people that if they don’t set goals in life, they’ll never change anything.”
So I asked if these corporate gigs take up all her spare time… “Not at all. I’m also helping some friends of mine with the psychological approach to their individual sports.” Those friends include fellow Manly-based elite athletes, dual Olympian Shelley Oates-Wilding and her kayaking partner Yanda Nossiter and seven-time World Surfing Champion, Layne Beachley.
“Shelley hoped to qualify for her third Olympic Games in Beijing so I took her and Yanda through the same processes that Natalie and I went through in the lead up to Sydney 2000. This isn’t about teaching one of Australia’s top sportswomen how to train or paddle better… it’s about the way she and her team mate think and feel; about setting a direction and continually moving forward. It was about establishing areas on which to focus and helping Shelley to overcome the same fears and doubts about injuries and increasing age that I had to face ahead of my third Olympics.
So… full-time mum, regular motivational speaker, success coach to elite athletes… how does Kerri find the time?
To keep up with what’s happening in Kerri’s hectic life (and it ain’t easy!) or if you’re interested in booking her for a motivational speaking engagement at your company, go to www.kerripottharst.com Kerri Pottharst retired? I don’t think so.
The writer of The Drum, Dave Keogh, has been a professional writer for some 30 years, contributing to publications as broad as Modern Fishing and Outdoor, he honed a passion writing a regular column – Talking Tennis – for The Manly Daily. With a varied history including work as a music industry publicist, theatrical agent, band manager, poet, editor and tennis coach, he found his niche in advertising, and with loads of awards under his belt, Dave went into business on his own and now runs several very successful businesses, including an online community connecting sport-loving people – www.doubledrummer.com Most importantly, Dave loves sport, and is an avid supporter of The Manly Sea Eagles…