The wrath of Head Conditioning Coach Richard James’s voice echoed throughout the hallway. There’s a seventh-grade PE class taking up the main portion of the weight room, with high schoolers secluded to their benches. The clanking of metal dumbbells and the patter of feet stomping against the floor is drowned out by country music. The three adjacent glass rooms are filled with students laughing and enjoying each other’s company. I went to Australian football player and strength and conditioning coach Jill Wojick’s office and patiently waited for her to arrive.
Wojcik’s desk was covered in printouts of meal plans, workout routines, and class schedules. Beneath the scattered papers laid a framed rustic-looking black and white photograph of Melbourne Cricket Ground, the largest football stadium in Australia.
During a semester abroad in Australia, Wojick was introduced to Australian football. Since that moment, she has been entranced by the sport. At that time, there were no teams or leagues available for women. It wasn’t until 2020 that Wojick started playing in the United States Australian Football League (USAFL) for the New York Magpies. The New York Magpies website states that this team is “New York’s first and only women’s Australian Rules Football team.”
Wojick has been exposed to many different sports throughout her lifetime, but none touched her like “footy” did. Spending most of her adolescent years as a competitive dancer, Wojick found her career path, taking a turn in college when weight training and kinesiology sparked her interest. Australian football brought out a confidence in Wojick that she hopes to help inspire young female athletes. “When I was dancing, there was no strength training for dancers. It was all about being as skinny as possible,” she said.
Although dance ended up not being Wojick’s calling, her unique connection and understanding of music proved useful in her daily life. She applies principles she learned as a dancer to coaching and in her training. “Sports is a rhythm. When you run, you hear certain rhythms, like when you hear the ball caught a certain way, it sounds like a music note,” she said
Footy has helped Wojick focus on her improvements, taking on a healthier lifestyle as she gets older. “It’s definitely a hard sport that you really have to be in good shape for,” and “it’s a good stress reliever,” said Wojick.
Australian football, or footy, is a hybrid game of soccer, rugby, basketball, and volleyball. Players score by kicking the football through a goalpost. Footy is played on a large oval field with 18 players and is the most popular sport in Australia. It’s a “Game of chaos. You never know what’s going to happen,” said Wojick.
Similar to soccer on defense, there’s typically one goalie and two people in the back half of the field. Wojick plays left defense. She’s in charge of tackling, returning the ball to offense, and blocking shots.
Being a relatively new sport for women, it was fairly hard to recruit adults to compete. For Wojick, it all started when her neighbor who was on the team invited her to a pick-up game. She had some prior experience from her time in Australia, but she had never played with an organized team. From there, she attended weekly practices and was invited to play and travel with The New York Magpies.
Her first game in Washington, D.C., became a defining moment of her career. She finally felt like a part of the team on and off the field. “Connecting with all the players and getting to know them, finally feeling comfortable, that they’ll trust me on the field and I trust them,” said Wojick.
Entering Bundy Field in D.C., her body was full of nerves, and her stomach was unsettled. The field was humongous and crowded with teams from all across North America. The air was refreshing as she soaked in the hot spring sun. From the field, she could see the Washington Monument and helicopters flying above them. “It was a great vibe and experience being on that field,” said Wojick.
During that game in D.C., she was paired with a woman who was notorious for her footy skills. She was the founder of the women’s team and very experienced. In the first play of the game, this woman tackled Wojick, which was especially nerve-racking because her spine is fused and prone to injury. “It felt like I broke every bone in my body. I was like, oh, I’m done for. But then I got up and kept going,” she said.
Since then, Wojick has had the pleasure of watching the sport expand. She’s traveled to D.C., Florida, Wisconsin, Colorado, California, and other East Coast cities. “It used to be just New York and D.C. that had like the biggest women’s teams and, now there’s almost 13 women’s teams in all the different states that we play. So I see way more competition,” said Wojick.
She is hopeful for what the future holds regarding enhancing women’s sports. She was in charge of social media for her club in 2020 and always seeks opportunities to raise awareness for women. Winning big tournaments brings in publicity and funding that supports her team. “When I got asked to go to the playoffs, I thought, wow, I can be part of building the women’s side [of footy],” said Wojick.
Until college, Wojick had always been very outgoing and loud. Once she started getting first-hand experience in weight rooms and schools, she lost some of this previous confidence and became very shy. Wojick said she was always afraid to mess up because she was scared to fail as one of the only women in a “male-dominated field.”
According to a 2017 publication by The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Approximately 70 percent of people weight training on any given day are male.” Due to females being a minority in gyms, Wojick feels it’s important to ensure that women feel welcome in athletic centers and weight rooms so that they are comfortable taking healthy risks. At Poly, Wojick has blocked off clubs block and other last periods for solely female athletes, hoping to encourage them to come to the weight room.
Carlyle Muldrow is a sophomore who plays volleyball at Poly and is on a travel team that Wojick conditions. “The environment she maintains in the weight room makes it possible for me to work to reach my full potential,” said Muldrow during a quick water break at her workout with Wojick.
One of Wojick’s favorite parts about working at Poly is seeing the personal growth within students as they come out of their shells, especially females. “It makes me happy that you guys aren’t afraid to use the space and aren’t afraid of the boys in here anymore, and you can make it your home as well,” said Wojick.
As a coach, her goal is to do her best to connect and get through to students in the most productive way possible. Being on a high-level team adds to her list of strengths. “I’m trying to practice what I preach with you guys. So I’m staying committed and focused,” said Wojick.
As much as Wojick loves footy, she has taken a less active role in the management side of her team because coaching is her true passion. She’s devoted to her work and knows its impact on the athletes she works with.
“I love the confidence it brings to you guys when you’re in a sport that you love, and bringing that out of you is a big deal,” Wojick said with a smile on her face, looking out her window at all the athletes training in her weight room.
