Sophie Taylor is an Australian hockey player, a defender for the Australian Women’s National Field Hockey team however unfortunately missed out on Tokyo 2020. Sophie is an athlete with a passion for her dual career working as a Physiotherapis which we chat about in the podcast as to why it was so important to her.

Sophie finished her Health Science and Master of Physiotherapy degree at La Trobe University in 2019 and has since worked as a Physio at Stoke Physio in Perth.

In her spare time Sophie continues to further develop herself as part of the Victorian Institute of Sport ambassador programs, studying and coaching. Her ambassador role with the Victorian Institute of Sport includes being a very experience VIS tour presenter and visiting schools for motivation speaking engagements. 

It has been a pleasure to know Mark for over 10 years now and not have I seen half of his career but he helped me get to where I am today from a debilitating back injury in 2010. We tackle the subject of ‘are kids specialising too early?’ in this episode. Mark has worked with all age groups, genders and a multitude of teenagers who have been injured either at sport or in the gym due to overloading of the body during growth.

Mark has specialised in Exercise Physiology since 2000, developing areas of expertise with injuries to the lower back, shoulders, neck and knees. He has extensive experience in dealing with clients with complex neural conditions and has an interest in assisting clients with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression in coping with their condition through the use of effective exercise techniques.

If you are located in the Newcastle or Maitland regions make sure you get in touch. Not only for Exercise Physiology but Pilates. One of the most accredited Pilates studios in NSW.

Newcastle Clinic – Lot H/132 Garden Grove Pde,Adamstown, NSW 2289

Maitland Clinic – 4B/11Molly Morgan Drive, East Maitland NSW 2323

Ph: 02 4957 2757

 Email – admin@proactiverehab.com.au

Rae Anderson is an Australian Summer Paralympian in Track and Field and is am aiming to become the 7th Australian dual Summer and Winter Paralympian in Alpine Skiing. She competed at the Rio Paralympics in Discus and Javelin before being given scholarships to transition into Alpine Skiing for the next Winter Paralympics, Beijing 2022.

Rae has left sided Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy. My Cerebral Palsy means she has limited use and control of her left arm and leg. She have no depth perception and feeling in her leg from the knee down and has no ankle movement. 

Rae has always enjoyed a very active lifestyle and started competing in para sport at age 13 in athletics and was quickly identified as a Paralympic Games potential athlete. In 2014, she was selected to compete at the Commonwealth Games in Long Jump and was the youngest athlete on the Australian Athletics team. In 2015, she competed at the World Para Athletics Championships in Doha, where she threw a Personal Best in her favourite event, Javelin to come 6th shortly after completing her final Higher School Certificate examination at the British Consulate earlier that morning. In 2016, I competed at her first Paralympic Games, a dream come true. Rae placed 5th in Javelin with another Personal Best and loved every minute of the competition and her time in the athlete village. In 2017, she competed in her second World Para Athletics Championships in London and placed 6th in Discus with another PB.

After London, Rae was approached by the Australian Para Alpine Coach; after he saw her Skiing with her family, to join an athlete identification camp, where she was offered a scholarship to train in America. Rae loves Athletics but Skiing has always been her passion and she hase been fortunate to be able to ski every winter with her family and their friends who worked as ski instructors in Australia and overseas.