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2006
Perfect Birthday Gift Caps Stunning Year For Smith
by Jeremy Ruane
Merissa Smith will always have reason to remember her sixteenth birthday.
After all, it's not every day you find yourself on a plane bound for foreign fields as a member of New Zealand's national women's team, particularly at such a young age.
This latest development has capped off an absolutely stunning calendar year for the jet-heeled teenager, who, at the start of 2006, wasn't even a serious contender for national honours, at any level.
True, she wasn't a complete unknown on the representative front, having caught the eye in Auckland's title-winning teams at both the 2004 (U-14) and 2005 (U-16) National Identification Tournaments, scoring nine goals in the even-yeared event.
But the prospects of her donning the white jersey with the silver fern on it looked, at best, two years distant, the inaugural 2008 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Finals being the likely first sighting of Merissa Smith in action for New Zealand for the public at large.
All that changed one day early in the season when national women's coach, Allan Jones, was watching a Northern Premier Women's League game at Keith Hay Park, and the combination of speed and talent sported by Three Kings United's number four caught his eye.
The New Zealand U-20s had already qualified for their World Cup Finals by this time after winning the Oceania crown in Samoa, but when they next headed abroad, influential coach John Herdman didn't hesitate to include a shy fifteen-year-old among the touring party, Argentina their destination.
“That's easily the most memorable moment of my career, to be honest”, says the Botany Downs Secondary College fifth-former. “And scoring the winner with my first touch in international football, after coming on as a substitute against River Plate seconds earlier, was something else again.
“Grabbing the late equaliser which secured a 2-2 draw with the Argentina U-20s was another memorable moment, too, while the trip to Russia via Holland was another highlight, and a good experience”.
Making the starting line-up to play Australia in New Zealand's first game at the U-20 Women's World Cup Finals was, of course, another special moment in the fledgling career of this fleet-footed flank player. It's something Merissa never even dreamed of doing when
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she first started playing sport.
“I actually started out as a netballer”, says the East Auckland native, “but didn't like it. A friend of mine was playing soccer, so I tagged along and ended up playing with the boys at Fencibles United - I was seven at the time.
“I switched to Bucklands Beach for a few years soon after, again with the boys, before moving to Three Kings in 2004, my first experience of playing in an all-girls team. Within twelve months, coach Barrie Barmes asked me to join the first team squad, and I've been part of that team ever since”.
Merissa made an instant impact, scoring twice on her debut against Western Springs. A further ten goals in league and cup action followed, while at the end of the season, visiting Sydney club side Gladesville Ravens were hammered 9-1, Smith leading the charge with five goals.
“I also played against that team for the Auckland U-21s, and scored in the 4-0 win, much to the delight of my family - mum Glennys, dad Kevin and little brother Nick, who have been hugely influential on my career”.
So to this year, a championship-winning campaign with Three Kings which allowed Merissa the chance to regularly take the field alongside a big influence on her career. “I look up to Maia Jackman. Playing alongside her for New Zealand, along with Jenny Bindon and the other senior players, will be an awesome experience”.
China promises to be the latest of many countries whose stamps will grace Merissa's passport in the coming months, and while she plans to study and play overseas later in her career, and continue playing for her country at senior level, the immediate plans of the NZ U-18 Development Squad member, upon her return home, are already set in concrete.
“I've dislocated my shoulder five times now, playing badminton, soccer and touch rugby, so I'm going under the knife in December. It's best I get it done now, given what's in store for NZ women's soccer in the next few years”.
Smart thinking from a young lady who attributes her achievements to date to some old-fashioned values - “plenty of practice, and working hard” - which have stood the test of time, a commodity sixteen-year-old New Zealand international Merissa Smith appears to have in abundance at the dawn of her international career.
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