Grida: "It's Just About Talking"

By Dan Woods - NBL Media

With the mullet, the moustache, and the laid back, happy-go-lucky attitude, Illawarra’s Dan Grida looks like the perfect picture of a typical Aussie larrikin. That’s why his battles with mental health over the past 12 months are so surprising to the naked eye.

The exciting 24-year-old forward ruptured the ACL in his right knee for the first time in March 2020. He returned to the court in time for the back end NBL21, but he re-ruptured the same ligament again in pre-season last year.

The physical toll of a repeat comeback from back-to-back serious injuries has been well covered over the years, but the mental toughness and fortitude it takes is something the general public is only just beginning to gain an insight into.

“I was driving to the basket like I’ve done a thousand times since my return from the last surgery and my leg just twisted the wrong way … I guess understanding the recovery process could make my rehab a little bit easier,” Grida said after he injured his knee for the second time.

From the outside looking in, yes, the rehab should have been easier the second time around. Grida knew what to expect, he knew the milestones he had to tick off, he knew the exercises and movements he would have to once again master. Why then, was it so much harder to dig in and get back onto the court the second time around in the summer of 2021?

“I was very homesick at the time which I had never really felt before. I could always just go home to Perth after the season, but because of the border closures I was stuck out here without being able to see my family,” Grida told NBL Media. “Hurting myself without being able to see anyone compounded itself and it was a pretty tough spot.”

“I think in general I’m a pretty fun-loving guy, I kind of get around everything and I’m just generally happy all the time. There was a bit of a shift in my attitude towards a few things.

“I’m usually all over it with everyone but I was kind of choosing not to come to practice sometimes, I’d tell the guys I needed to stay at home, and maybe those were some signs that Jacob (Hawks head coach Jacob Jackomas) picked up on and got me onto a therapist pretty quick. Good looks from Jacob.”

After that initial advice from his mentor, Grida went and saw a therapist. He’s the first to admit he wasn’t exactly full of confidence in the process, but he was willing to give it a try in the hopes that he could return to his usual, “fun-loving” self again.

“I was pretty skeptical about it. I was always of the mind that you just have to knuckle down and get through things like this, like it happens to everyone, but this one hit me pretty hard,” he said.

“Where I was at, it couldn’t get worse so [I figured] 'why not give it a shot and see how it goes?'.

“Just talking to my therapist, Tracy, she helped me work through a lot of feelings I was having that I wasn’t sharing with anyone, a lot of fears I had about my career moving forward and stuff I couldn’t really speak to people about, so it was really cool to be able to unload it onto her and she was very understanding of everything.

“She gave me tools to work through the hardships that came with hurting my knee.”

The openness and clarity Grida discusses his mental health is a breath of fresh air in the sporting world. Grida, much like far too many athletes the world over, fell into the mentality that he had to fight his battles alone – a mentality he found his way out of to great effect, and a mentality that is, thankfully, rapidly being pushed out of sport.

“Most teams have ways we can get in touch with therapists, and we have access to tools like that pretty easily these days,” he said.

"There’s great initiatives like mental health round coming through as well. I’ve been talking to one of my teammates about my whole situation and experience and they’re really open to that now too.

“It’s just about talking and getting a conversation going about how we feel and what we can do to help each other out through tough times in our careers.

“For us involved in elite sport, you’re under the public eye and people are talking about you all the time on the internet, and you can see it all – it’s just everywhere. It’s great for us to have each other’s backs and help each other move forward.”

As Grida prepares to hit the court for the first time in this calendar year he says physically he’s feeling “really good”. While he’s dealing with a few niggling injuries, that’s all part and parcel of returning from a long-term injury layoff.

As he looks to fulfil the mountain of potential he so obviously has, he has one message to any people who might see a friend, family member or colleague struggling, or might be struggling themselves.

“We’re all just on this earth trying to be the best we can be. To have these conversations and help each other get through tougher periods is super important,” he said.

“You might help someone one day, they might help you further down the track, or vice-versa. It’s a huge thing.