Narelle Smith is writing her own History
Defenders invariably make the best Aussie Rules coaches- think Hinkley, the Scott Brothers, Leppitsch, Roos, Hardwick, Richardson……. and Narelle Smith.
Smith, who was recently appointed as a SANFL Reserves assistant coach with Glenelg and was named on the Adelaide Crows women’s advisory committee; brings all the hallmarks of her playing career to her coaching- with resounding success.
A fiercly determined player, Smith was a tenacious defender and ferocious tackler, and when combining that with her tactical vision and genuine care for each and every girl under her watch- you get coaching dynamite.
This care for both her players, and the wider game of football, is evident to anyone who has ever had a conversation with her- it permeates through every level of her existence and it is her constant will to improve that sets her apart from the rest.
“Coaching men has always been the goal, primarily to increase my skillset. I feel like if I didn’t aspire to it, I’d be missing one half of the sport,” Smith says.
A typical defender, she improves with every rise up the coaching ranks as her tenacity wills her forward- although it is her formative years- spent in the police force- that she credits as the foundation that has allowed her to flourish in a male Aussie Rules environment.
“My formative years were all spent around men, I learnt to think like a man. I was the only female in my team for the best part of a decade, and it made me learn to survive,” Smith says.
When quizzed about what the dominant personality traits a female needs to succeed in a male coaching environment, Smith’s long time club and state captain and Melbourne FC player, Courtney Cramey was in no doubt.
“Confidence needs to be the overwhelming trait, and that’s something she has in spades- primarily from her time in the police force.”
Playing under Smith, affectionately known as ‘Rell,’ gives players an incredible boost of confidence, and the passion that exudes through her pores as she coaches means one can never rest on their laurels- each contest is as important as the last.
The passion is particularly evident in conversations surrounding the state of the female game in South Australia, something Smith concedes needs to improve- despite moving in the right direction.
“Female football is such a melting pot, there are so many different levels of players. Some can’t kick, some are brand new to footy, some can’t run time trials….whereas the boys [at Glenelg] are all ready-made athletes.”
While this dearth of elite talent in the state is a worrying sign ahead of the impending national league, both Smith and Cramey are buoyant about the prospect of finding talented athletes from other sports via the National Talent Search, conducted by the AFL.
“As a South Australian, it’s great publicity and widening the talent pool is desperately needed. The 2015 crop of SA u/18 girls; like [All-Australians] Ebony Marinoff, Sarah Allan and Ashleigh Woodland were incredibly talented…but there is a sharp drop-off and we need a reason to keep young girls playing AFL,” Cramey concedes.
Another element Smith believes needs to improve is the concept of role modelling. “SA in general doesn’t do role-modelling well enough, we don’t give girls someone to aspire to. Why do boys want to play footy? They want to be like Buddy Franklin or Luke Hodge…they don’t care about how they get there.”
Smith is bullish when mentioning Cramey on the matter: “’CJ’ has never been asked by the SANFL to do any role model or ambassadorial work, despite playing at the elite level for four years now- she should be on every poster advertising women’s footy so girls have someone to aspire towards.”
She postulates that every sport, be it cricket, volleyball, surf-lifesaving or netball should have a strong role-model that appears on flyers, posters, advertisements- in order to keep girls playing sport in the teenage years where they are in danger of dropping out.
The sparkle in her eye and the furrowed nature of her brow when she speaks about the matter is heartening- with so much positive things happening in women’s footy over the past year, it is incredible important that the game doesn’t become comfortable and continues moving forward.
In terms of South Australia, she credits the incredible work of Emma Gibson at the SANFL as a vital cog in this momentum gathering.
“’Gibbo’ has been under excellent tutelage and is showing good development in the industry- she is pushing the state in the right direction,” Smith says, with a strong undercurrent of pride.
Pride is exactly what you feel when you talk to Narelle Smith. It makes you so proud to see someone so determined to write their own history can achieve.
