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2007
“Smooth” Operator Nicky Enjoying Life To The Full
by Jeremy Ruane
When New Zealand women's coach Allan Jones named his squad for this month's matches against Australia, among the names announced was one of this country's most talented performers whose return to the international scene will be welcomed by many, not least herself.
A virtual fixture in the national team since making her debut in 1998, Nicky Smith suddenly found herself on the outside looking in during the two-year tenure of Paul Smalley and Mick Leonard, with two appearances against the USA the only opportunities she had to don the silver fern amid a phase for the women's game which few would wish to see revisited.
To say the seventeen-times-capped Smith was hurt by the manner in which she was treated goes without saying. Rather than dwell on the disappointment, however, “Smooth”, as she is nicknamed, embraced the `glass half-full' outlook on life, and simply got on with it.
“It was a case of soldiering on, pretty much”, she reflects. “You take it on the chin, chalk it up to experience. The key for me was not to give in, and to continue to believe in myself. My philosophy is to soldier on, keep your chin up, live the dream, enjoy it, and hope good things will come your way, as they just have”.
Australia is a country which has featured very prominently in Smith's life during the past decade. “Scoring against them in the 1998 Women's World Cup qualifying series here, even though we lost, is one of the highlights of my career”, declares the bubbly twenty-six-year-old, who has spent the bulk of these first years of the 21st century living in West Island.
“After spells at New Plymouth Rangers, Wairarapa United and at the Ole Academy in Wellington - Doug Moore coached me there on a daily basis, I moved to Melbourne, and played for a club called Keilor Park for about six months.
“I moved from there to a little town called Shepparton, about ninety minutes out of Melbourne, and played for Shepparton United for two years. When I arrived, the team had barely scored a goal, and were bottom of the league.
“I played there for a couple of years, the second as player-coach, and it was an immensely satisfying feeling to win the league - it reflected a huge transformation in the club's fortunes”, declares Smith of her first coaching experience.
“That same year, I coached the Victorian U-14 boys squad on Monday nights for eight months. That was a good achievement, a quite exciting one, and one which earned a lot of respect from the young boys.
“At the first session, their attitude was `Oh no, girls are coaching us', but they ended up thoroughly enjoying it. We had a strict programmed regime to go
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through, which was interspersed with the occasional match at little towns against the local's best”.
While enjoying the chance to pass on her knowledge of the game to others, concentrating on her own game was something “Smooth” was keen to resume - “I got to a point where I felt I wanted to be coached again” - so she upped sticks once more, this time settling in Surfers Paradise and playing for Southport, finishing third in the local competition last year.
“I then got in touch with Wendi Henderson, who said I could come over and play in the National Women's League, which is how I ended up back in Wellington, and playing for Capital Soccer.
“I'm waiting to see how everything pans out at present as to where the game takes me next. Back in 2003, I had ambitions to play in England, but with Australia having changed confederations, it changed things considerably from my perspective. Instead of being out of sight, out of mind, I wanted to come back here and be seen again”.
Even though it means she now gets treated as if she's nearer retirement age than someone who's nowhere near her peak! “That's especially the case with this group!!” laughs the Wellington Parks and Gardens' sports grounds controller, as her fellow NZ training camp members carry on chatting during a lunch break.
“I like to think it's due to my experience”, declares a young lady who first appeared in the national team as a fresh-faced seventeen-year-old nine years ago, not too long after her brother, Scott, made his first appearances for the All Whites.
“It's a good achievement for Scott and I to have represented New Zealand at the highest level possible - a good family highlight. It's something which has largely been forgotten because Scott left NZ at a fairly young age, and his name doesn't get bandied about too often.
“He's still over there playing soccer - at Bisley Town in the Hellenic League - and is happy with what he's achieved in his football career. He's hoping to get the chance to come and watch me in China, so that's a big incentive for me this year”.
Cantabrian native Nicky also acknowledges her mother, Margaret, Andrea Scott and Wellington soccer generally as the biggest influences on her career, while she has a special souvenir from her last international appearance.
“Swapping shirts with Mia Hamm on the US tour in 2004 was a big highlight. We both wore #9, and got substituted at the same time. It was one of the only times we've been able to swap shirts for NZ, and she signed it for me, too - a very special keepsake”.
If Nicky Smith's philosophy is anything to go by, it certainly won't be the last.
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