Lexi Hamilton is an exception. 

A state representative in Women’s Australian Rules Football, and the current National Champion of her weight division in judo, the Murrumbateman native is instead fixated on competing in the Judo World Championships next month in Chile. 

The 18-member strong Australian contingent leaves on Monday the 7^th of August, and will be in Chile for a week. 

Lexi, a naturally talented athlete, has only been practicing judo for the last three years, of which she has competed for two and a half. 

Many would find this time frame scarcely enough to become somewhat proficient, and yet Lexi has gone from having no prior martial arts experience to the National Champion. 

Aside from her obvious natural aptitude for all things sport, there are several factors which have allowed the 16 year old to acclimatise so quickly. 

The first is the multitude of sport which Lexi played prior to taking up judo. 

“We [her family] played a lot of sport before, we come from a background where we continually play sport,” she said. 

“We never did any martial arts or anything [equally] physical I guess.” 

She has also taken to the mental challenge judo offers. She explained that “It’s like a game, the person with the smarter mentality and strategies wins.

“It doesn’t matter whether the person is older than you or bigger than you, you still have an equal chance of beating them.” 

Part of Lexi’s fearlessness when it comes to facing competitors more mature than herself stems from her relationship with her older sister.

She described the highly competitive atmosphere which exists between all six children in her family, but particularly between Lexi and her older sister Chelsea, who also practices judo. 

“[Chelsea’s] probably one of the most aggressive girls,” Lexi said. “There’s no nice way to put it, but there is a lot of competition. 

“If she’s beating me, then I’ll train harder against her. If I’m beating her, then she’ll train harder.

“But they’re [her siblings] always positive and always encouraging.” 

Along with her judo, Lexi also competes in Australian Rules Football at a high level as well.

She took part in the AFL Women’s Under 18 National Championships in early July, where the ACT side was outplayed but remained competitive throughout all their matches. 

Being a high achiever in two sports is not entirely uncommon for someone as athletically inclined as Lexi, however she also possesses a thoughtfulness which is uncommon for one so young. 

“A lot of people have asked [what career she wants to pursue]. At the end of the day, I’m sixteen, and I guess I’m just trying to take it one step at a time,” Lexi said. 

“I don’t know what I wanna do. I’m studying exercise science, sports studies, and business, so I kind of want to do something around helping other people, [and] training other people.” 

“So, if I don’t make it in sport – which is my main priority – there’s always something to fall back onto.”

Despite her innate modesty, Lexi did concede that a career in AFLW could be a distinct possibility, as there was some mention of her being a potential draft pick for next season. 

“I’ve had a little bit of talk, but it’s not definite,” she said. 

“They don’t really point out ‘Aw, I’m gonna draft you’.” 

Lexi is also immensely grateful for the role her parents play in her success, and acknowledged that she couldn’t do it without them. 

“They drive me around like crazy, they’ve been organising all my sponsors … it’s like a lot, I don’t know how they do it.

“And with dieting as well, currently I have to make weight so they [help] … if you think about all the aspects that they do, it’s a lot.” 

Gungahlin College, which Lexi attends, has also made concessions to accommodate her sporting commitments, for which she is also grateful. 

“That’s one thing that I like about this school, with the lines off you get time to sit down and get stuck into work I guess.

“My teachers are really good, they understand that I have a lot of commitments outside school so they aim to get most of the work done inside class time.

“They’re pretty understanding.”