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March 2003
Henderson Hoping To Finish At The Top
by Jeremy Ruane
 If women’s soccer stalwart Wendi Henderson has her way, she will record her fiftieth appearance for her country in September’s Women’s World Cup Finals in China.It would be a fitting stage for the 44-times-capped SWANZ international to conclude her career upon, as the 1991 Women’s World Cup Finals survivor looks to finish her career at the top.
But the incumbent SWANZ captain, who last led out the team in the Pacific Cup tournament in June 2000, is well aware that the upcoming SWANZ trip to Texas and Canberra could well see her donning the white jersey with the silver fern on it for the final time in an international career which began in Taiwan on December 12, 1987, against Hawaii in the World Women’s Invitational Tournament.
"It’s really frustrating, having been in the team sixteen years and still not having made fifty caps", reflected the scorer of fourteen goals for her country. "In fact, it’s rather sad, to be honest, and very hard for me to accept, because I’m quite a competitive person, and to realise that particular ambition would be the icing on the cake".
When "Weed", as she’s known throughout the women’s game, kicked off her women’s soccer career, she had four objectives. "I totally lived, ate and breathed football, and my first aim was to play for New Zealand", something she achieved at the tender age of sixteen.
"Once I’d achieved that goal, I set myself a target of playing for New Zealand for as long as possible. Captaining my country was another objective which I realised during our last tournament. And at the back of my mind has been that fifty caps benchmark, but the chance to achieve that goal has been beyond my control".
Just two SWANZ internationals, Maureen Jacobson (60 caps) and Wendy Sharpe (51 caps), have cracked the magical fifty mark for New Zealand, and Henderson, the most-capped player in the current squad, is next on the list.
Only fellow 1991 Women’s World Cup Finals survivor, Terry McCahill, with 36 caps, is within striking distance of Henderson’s tally, but such is the infrequency with which the SWANZ have played in recent years - a mere five internationals since October 1998 - that she, too, is likely to miss out on clocking up fifty appearances for her country.
Between them, however, a wealth of experience has been amassed, and Henderson realises that imparting this will be an important role to fulfil on the upcoming tour. "One of my aims on this tour is to give something to the team and the squad in any way I can. So what Terry and I have to offer, both on and off the field, will hopefully prove quite valuable to what is a youthful squad.
"That that is the case, looking ahead, will be quite beneficial for New Zealand, but it’s always a big step-up for someone coming into the international environment for the first time. As one of the senior members of the squad, one of my roles will be to help in their
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transition".
Henderson herself is looking no further forward than this tour. "It’s my total focus at present. Once it’s over, I’ll come back and reassess where I’m at in football terms - if we’ve qualified for the Women’s World Cup Finals in China, that would be ideal, because I’m very keen to finish at the top.
"But I’m realistic enough about where I am now, and what I’ve achieved in the past, to know that this could be the finale for me. Beyond that, who knows? While I have had coaching stints with both Wairarapa United and Capital Soccer in the last couple of years, my focus right now is very much on this tour - I don’t want to look any further forward than that".
In terms of the SWANZ preparations for it, Henderson has found things to be a mite challenging. "While it’s great that we’re going away to get some games under our belts, it’s ages since we last kicked a ball in anger as players - the last National Women’s Soccer League match in November, to be precise.
"The time between that match and this tour concerns me somewhat, thinking in terms of our match fitness, rather than our physical fitness - it has been up to each of us to prepare individually over the summer, and that has certainly been a challenge in itself".
 Overcoming such challenges has been something Wendi Henderson has been no stranger to in the past, however. Since starting out at Miramar Rangers in 1985, her career has embraced the Petone and Wairarapa United clubs. As a result, Kelly Cup and Central League championship winners medals collections have been regularly added to over the years, while four runners-up medals in the Uncle Toby’s Women’s Knockout Cup reflect how close "Weed" has come to adding the one domestic honour to escape her grasp.
At provincial level, Wellington, Wairarapa and now Wellington-based Capital Soccer have benefited from Henderson’s talents, and in 1994 and 2001 she achieved the ultimate honour at representative level, as a member of the National Women’s Soccer Tournament-winning team with the first- and third-mentioned teams.
The women’s game’s premier individual honours have also graced the mantelpiece of the wily striker-turned-midfielder, with 1999 seeing her named New Zealand Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year, three years after she won the latter award for the first time.
Achieving that fifty-cap benchmark in China in September would be the crowning glory of an outstanding playing career, however. And when Wendi Henderson returns home from this SWANZ tour, it will hopefully be with her mind firmly focused on playing in her second Women’s World Cup Finals, and finishing as she intends to - at the top.
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