“It's Not Always Easy Being an Athlete”: How “phenomenal” ACA Services Helped Sarah Coyte “Stay on Track”

No one in Australian cricket has made a habit of winning quite like Sarah Coyte, who has hoarded World Cups, WBBL titles, and a mind-blowing 10 WNCL Titles amid other accolades. Yet, “everybody has things that happen”, says Coyte, who has leaned on ACA programs since being diagnosed with ADHD.

Sarah Coyte doesn’t enjoy being idle. In the early ’00s, she remembers scooting around the suburbs of South-Western Sydney, riding backseat as her twin brother, Adam, played local cricket. It was an introduction to the game she appreciated, but it was less participatory than she would have liked.

“I was basically following my twin brother around because he was cricket mad,” says Coyte. “I was bored sitting on the sidelines, having to be dragged along and watch him every weekend.” Eventually, she spoke up, and put on the pads herself, and she took to the sport immediately.

Coyte joined her brother playing under-age cricket for Cobbitty-Narellan Cricket Club and then went on to play in a Women’s team Campbelltown Camden District Cricket Club. In what would become a theme in her career, success followed at each of her stops, finding a role as a medium-pacer and budding all-rounder.

Ambition, as she tells it, came later; the first half of her junior career was driven by the thrill of the competition, and the pure exhilaration of being out in the middle. She is one of only five women to take a hat-trick for Camden, achieving the feat against the St. George-Sutherland Women’s Cricket Club.

“When I was growing up playing against the boys for Cobbitty-Narellan and then female cricket for Camden, I really didn't know much about the Australian national set-up at all,” says Coyte. “I didn't even know the Australian team existed. So, when I realised it could be something that I could achieve, I sort of set my mind to it.”

The Southern Stars would become very real for Coyte, very quickly. In the summer of 2009, the selectors were on the other end of the phone line, informing her of her selection for an upcoming tour of New Zealand. She was then thrust into the team captained by Alex Blackwell, and featuring names like Alyssa Healy, Lisa Sthalekar, Meg Lanning and Leah Poulton.

“The day I got the phone call, I was pretty chuffed,” says Coyte. “It was unexpected, but at the same time, it was everything I dreamed of.” Not one to let an opportunity slip, Coyte’s performances validated the intuitions of the selectors, and then some.

Her international career began with a bang. She was Player of the Match on debut in December 2010, a Twenty20 international at New Zealand’s Nelson Rose Bowl, where she took two for 18 off four overs, and was also critical in two run outs. She scored 14 not out as a batter, and helped Australia secure a thrilling win with two balls remaining. “It’s a cliche, but it was a dream come true,” says Coyte.

After four Tests, 30 One Day Internationals, and 47 Twenty20 Internationals, Coyte called time on her Australian career in February 2017, aged 25.

Initially, it was for all formats of the game “to restore some balance” to her life, but it was a year later that she returned to the WBBL, playing for the Sydney Sixers.

Her willingness to continue playing in the WNCL was a godsend for the three teams she has played for, New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania, and a thorn in the side of her lucked-out opponents. It may be one of the most spellbinding statistics in modern Australian cricket: Sarah Coyte has played in 10 WNCL finals with the Ruth Preddy Cup at stake and has won every one of them.

“I don't know what it is about playing in finals that just brings out even more competitiveness in me,” says Coyte. “I love being in that environment, and I’ve been really lucky to be in some really good teams that actually genuinely care about each other.”

Coyte is also quick to deflect her involvement in two WBBL title victories, saying: “I feel like I jumped on board the Sixers train when they had done the hard work in my first WBBL win, to be fair.” However, the scorecard of that 2018 final, played against the Perth Scorchers, undisputedly lays out Coyte’s involvement: she took 3/17, claiming Player of the Match honours.

Coyte played in the Adelaide Strikers’ heart-breaking final loss to the Brisbane Heat in 2019, a season where she earned multiple Player of the Match honours.

Last season, she again returned to the WBBL winners’ podium, this time with the fairytale “last-to-first” Melbourne Renegades, helping the ‘Gades beat the Heat by seven runs on DLS method in a final held at MCG. “I think I should retire now,” says Coyte, jovial in the face of that dizzying success. “It’s been a journey, to say the least.”

Off the field, Coyte has also capitalised on the ACA’s Education Grants, equipping her for life after cricket. “The Ed grants have been amazing,” says Coyte. “I've been able to get multiple certificates. They've helped with my gym business that I previously had.”

Sarah has been refreshingly honest about each of her breaks from the game, and is transparent in the fact that she has prioritised her health above her cricket.

“I was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult basically three years ago, and with the ACA’s support I was able to get in [for medical and psychological support],” says Coyte. “It’s not always easy being an athlete and everyone has things that happen, but through the ACA’s support, I've been able to pretty much stay on track and utilise the networking and resources that the ACA has available, which has been phenomenal.”

Coyte says the ACA has been instrumental in fast-tracking the progress of the women’s game. Since she debuted for the New South Wales Breakers in 2009, the terms of player contracts have improved dramatically, including a doubling of WBBL payments in 2023/2024.

“Oh, the biggest difference is the time that we’ve been given back,” says Coyte. “I was working a full-time job like many of the others, like Leah Poulton and Lisa Sthalekar.” She says that instead of routine late-night training sessions following a full day of work, female players are “financially stable enough” to prioritise their focus on their “uni or their sport”.

ACA members can reach out to their PDM or the ACA team to learn more about the wellbeing support available.