Kickin' With Klatt - An Unexpected Footy Journey

Sometimes, life requires taking a leap of faith.

In 2013, Katie Klatt moved to Sacramento, California, to begin her career as a registered nurse at the University of California-Davis Children’s Hospital. 

It was a big upheaval.  Having lived and gone to school in her native Virginia, and having moved cross-country away from her family and friends, she looked for something to get involved in as she settled into her new home.

Little did she know that a move to answer one calling would spawn another; this time as an Australian Rules football player.  Klatt didn’t even know about Footy until she happened upon a YouTube video of the sport. Just two years later, she has become one of the USAFL’s best defensive players, and has risen to the role vice-captain for both the Sacramento Suns and the USA Freedom national team.

Now, she’s preparing to take an even bigger leap.

On February 21st, Klatt will take part in an AFL talent search camp in Sydney, vying for a spot in one of the league’s state-level academies.  It is one of several camps around Australia where talent scouts will be looking to identify potential players for the AFL women’s competition, which is scheduled to launch next year.  Her trip will be sponsored by the USAFL as part of their player exchange program.

The talent search camp series began on January 23rd in Melbourne, and will be held in Australia’s largest cities each weekend through the end of February.  Players will be put through a series of fitness and skills tests in a combine to rate their abilities.

“What I’m hoping to show is that I have potential,” Klatt told USAFL.com.  “I’m young, I’m hopefully athletic enough, that they can teach me something, and that I’ll have time to use what they’ve taught me to play for them.  I’m not expecting to be some all-star superstar, but I’m just hoping that I show that I’ve come a long way in two years and that if they give me some really solid training, that I could do even better.”

The 24-year-old expressed interest in playing in Australia to Freedom head coach Leigh Barnes, as well as to Chyloe Kurdas, AFL Victoria Female Development Manager.  Following this fall’s National championships, Kurdas sent Katie a link to the talent search, and she applied.

“At first it felt perfect for me.  I’m not in the Australian footy system, but it would be a good chance to use my athleticism to show something.  Because I’ve only been playing for two years, there’s a lot to learn there.  But I didn’t think I’d be able to go because of work as it was last minute.”

Luckily, the hospital was able to accommodate her.  Within two hours of getting the all-clear from her job, Klatt was skyping with Kurdas, planning for the trip.  This was in the beginning of January, leaving Klatt six weeks to prepare, both mentally and physically, for the combine.

And so, Klatt’s first ever visit to Australia will last six days, and she’ll have all of about five-plus hours to prove that she has what it takes to play footy in the game’s native land.

Prior to finding out about her inclusion, Klatt had only been doing her regular off-season routine via the Freedom’s off-season exercise regimen.  Now, she’s getting all sorts of tips and advice from the footballing community for what she’ll face in Sydney.

“I’m anxious about the fitness part,” she admits.  “I’ve never trained like this before, and I’m not sure what to expect [from the fitness test].  I don’t know how athletic the other players are.  I didn’t even know about the sport two years ago, so there’s a lot of catching up I’ll need to do.

“I’m looking forward to just being there and seeing what I’m up against.  I have an idea as to what it would be like to play with these girls, but I honestly don’t know.  I know it’s going to be different than it is here, and I’m really excited to see if I can fit in and if I can see myself moving over there and playing for a season or two.  I really want to see what it’s like and if there is any potential for me being in league with those players.”

What she has shown in two seasons of play, though, are raw skills that she would be able to refine.  Klatt is able to kick strongly with both legs on the run, which is handy for a defensive player.  “It’s very easy to kick a ball down the field to get it out of harm’s way to get it out of the goal square,” she says, “and then you’re safe for a while.  I need to step that up a bit and direct kicks to another teammate.  And that doesn’t happen as much at [the USAFL] level, but it is something I will be expected to do at this higher level.”

She also is extremely adept at getting to ground level balls first, something that was borne from years of playing field hockey in Virginia.  One coach of hers, referencing her ability to stay low to the ground as hockey players are required to do, pointed out that, in her stance, she resembled a bidet.

Those traits, her field sense, as well as keen reflexes, have saved many points for club and country on the footy oval.  During the Freedom’s 49th Parallel Cup defeat to Canada in August, Klatt was an omnipresent nuisance for opposing forwards, closing down out of nowhere and defusing scoring chances.  She was among those listed as best-on-ground for the US in that match.

If and when she does join a club in Australia, she will be back to where she was when she began with Sacramento, playing amongst strangers.  But besides teaching her the game, the Suns have shown Klatt a different side of being a part of a sports team; something that may help her assimilate herself going forward.

“The thing about footy is that there is a different type of teamwork involved.  It may have something to do with the fact that you’re tackling, and you’re protecting your teammates from being tackled.  You sacrifice a lot for your teammates because they do the same for youIt taught me about being a better team player, about being there for your girls and putting in the extra effort because they’re doing it for you.  We all support each other. 

“It’s a tough sport – tough on your body and tough on your mind.  You’re tired, and being there for each other is a very important thing that will help me for whatever team I play for in Australia.  I didn’t know any of these girls [in Sacramento] before I started playing, and in footy, you get to know each other really fast.

“That’s why I really love footy.”

Since it was confirmed that she was heading to Sydney for the talent search, Klatt has received attention and support from all corners of the footballing community, both in the US and in Australia.  And while the spotlight and the enormity of the possibilities involved is weighing heavily, she is also using it as impetus for pushing towards the goal of playing footy in Australia, and opening the doors for those who come after her.

“During the week, I’m out running by myself, and when you’re by yourself, you think, ‘this is hard, I don’t need to force myself to do this.’  But then I think about the people who are hoping that this works because this is a big step for Americans and women, and I’m blazing a trail here to help other women do this if they want to in the future.

“So, when I think about that, I realize that it’s not about myself anymore.  There’s a greater cause here to show that we can enter into this sport at a higher level and hang with them.  I have six weeks to get myself as close as I can.”

Considering how far she has already come in the sport, the accomplishments through two seasons are something that won’t change irrespective of what comes out of the camp in Sydney.  But what she lacks in experience, she more than makes up for in determination and will.

If she performs well at the combine and asked to play in Australia, her life will change again, and she’ll need to move further away from home.  She’ll be playing a foreign sport in unfamiliar surroundings with women she doesn’t know, just like she did in 2014.

For Katie Klatt, however, life is about taking that leap of faith, and conquering any challenge to achieve her goal.  She does it every day when she puts on her scrubs at work, and every game she pulls on a football jumper.

“I can’t put words to it, but every time I think about it I get so excited and my heart rate goes up,” she says. “Clearly this is something I want to do, or else it wouldn’t make a lot of sense for me to drop my job here, drop my life and go across the world for this. 

“But, for some reason, it’s this big dream I have, and it would be pretty cool to think that I could drive myself to tackle this obstacle.  I think that would be very motivating for myself and maybe for other people as well.  I’m very self-motivating; like, ‘I can do this.’”

Follow Katie’s journey to Australia on her blog, "Kickin' with Klatt", which begins next week.  #USAFLgamechangers