Tears of gratitude have been exchanged in the midst of the women's World Cup after Australian soccer hero Sam Kerr paid tribute to a former Launceston man who salvaged her last campaign.
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Still remembered since nearly missing out on a maiden 2015 World Cup, Kerr penned a touching two-page letter to Aaron Holt.
"It's a weird thing, but I haven't spoken to 'Az' since I left the AIS," Kerr said.
"He's always been a huge part of my role today. He was spending hours with me."
The AIS strength and conditioning coach in Canberra had been asked to rehabilitate Kerr from a serious knee injury that already kept the rising Matildas star sidelined for several months.
Kerr with her voice starting to break apologised for never telling Holt how grateful she was of his dedication.
"When I injured my knee in 2014, my life came crashing down and I thought I'd never make the 2015 World Cup," she wrote in the letter.
"The most important part about the time that I spent with you was that you cared more about the person than just the player. I definitely wouldn't be where I am in my career today if it wasn't for all the time and commitment that you gave."
Holt read the letter and also found it impossible not to get emotional.
"That two pages doesn't tell how hard she worked - every day," he said.
Holt knows all about sacrifice. He spent the past 14 years specialising in strength and conditioning following five years as a track and field coach at the Western Australian Institute of Sport.
The Launceston College graduate was the 1996 110m hurdle state champion and a rising Australian decathlete talent before turning his hand to mentoring others.
Holt said the task to have Kerr fit in time was tough, but said the then 21-year-old was committed to the cause.
Kerr has since gotten over a string of injuries that has hampered her burgeoning time in national colours and is now Australia's greatest weapon at the 2019 World Cup in France.
But that wasn't the same frail player that arrived in Canberra, hobbling about to discuss her recovery and playing options with Holt.
"First impressions was 'wow, look at this girl', struggling to walk around on the crutches at the start," Holt said when first meeting Kerr.
"There was such a tight timeline - there were just five or six weeks. If you miss a day, you miss a week - there is no World Cup."
Holt, for his part, has never met an athlete quite like Kerr.
The sister of former West Coast Eagles AFL champion Daniel Kerr has already been capped 78 times for her country and scored 32 goals.
"Every single time she was ready to go before I even got there," Holt said.
"She's one of the hardest every workers I have worked with in my strength and conditioning career."
The time spent together rekindled a vivid memory in Holt when he put Kerr through the rigours of a clean lift-off as an important part of her rehabilitation.
Kerr completed the five repetitions of the weight exercise before he demanded two more that he recalled stirred up a death stare.
"She's got a fire in those eyes that not many people have," Holt said.
"If she can bring that, look out."
The outspoken Kerr hit out at critics after Australia's 3-2 win over Brazil on Friday.
Following the first-ever women's World Cup victory from a side that was two goals down on the back of a shock opening 2-1 loss to Italy, Kerr bluntly said in a live TV interview: "Suck on that one - we don't listen to the haters."