ANYONE who has been around a netball court will be familiar with the catch cry “if you need” from around the goal ring.
And former Diamond Sharni Layton hopes her openness with her struggles will be similarly useful to not only her teammates, but her community beyond the court.
Layton is not only a former Australian netballer, but also an All Australian Collingwood AFLW champion and personality.
Now she is a published author with her recent autobiography No Apologies, which she is touring around the state.
Dynamic, powerful and painfully perfectionistic, Layton gave netball everything she had and in 2016 she was ANZ Championship Player of the Year.
By 2017, she’d nabbed two World Cups with the Diamonds, and in 2018 the Commonwealth Games beckoned.
She was living the dream.
Except that her measly netball salary wasn’t enough to live on, the game’s cut-throat nature eroded her confidence, and a career’s worth of anxiety bubbled to a full-blown burnout.
No Apologies tells the story of how this top quality athlete reconnected with “the real Sharni”.
Layton will be visiting Moulamein Bowling Club on June 29 as part of a week-long Murray River book tour to get everyone enthused as the netball recommences post-lockdown.
She will also be running a couple of netball clinics as well as a dinner and show event during which Layton will share stories from her career.
Layton is a self-described “country girl at heart”, despite growing up in Melbourne suburb Mordialloc, and loves the down-to earth vibe of the community.
“There is so much good talent here,” Layton said.
Layton said she hoped to give country kids something to strive for while also opening up about issues that affect us all.
“When I was little I looked up to sports stars like they were superheroes, but we don’t want to set false expectations,” Layton said.
Her book will cover the highs and lows of her journey, and also thank those who have supported the impressive, multi-sport athlete during her career.
“I’m an open book, but for a while I didn’t have the language to fully understand or talk about my struggles,” Layton said.
“So this book is a way of paying it forward and making life a little easier for one another – rather than ‘sitting in silence’.
“There is nothing to be shy or embarrassed about,” she said. For more information visit trybooking.com/events, or contact Moulamein Bowling Club on 03 5887 5207.
