Sam Smith lives and breathes soccer and his first selection into an elite ACT development squad is exactly what the 14-year-old has been vying for since October last year.
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That day came for the Year 9 Hennessy Catholic College student just last week when he was invited to join the ACT Academy of Sport (ACTAS) after three rounds of trials over three weeks.
Smith – who mainly plays as a central striker and is highly ranked in the country – is ecstatic about his selection, which has come just four months after his representation at the FFA (Football Federation Australia) Under 14s Australian National Titles at Coffs Harbour in October.
“I feel fantastic – to know that I’m in the top 50 in Australia,” Smith said.
“I’ve been playing since I was five-years-old,” he said.
In order to be selected for the state squad, Smith was required to join an ACT soccer team before he could attend the first trial on February 4 – which he did, joining the Gungahlin United Soccer Club.
Smith headed to the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), along with 60 other boys for the first round of trials where he was one of 30 chosen to go through to the second round on February 15.
He was then selected among 19 others for round three of trials held at the Canberra Grammar School from February 19-23, which included a game against the Australian women’s Under 20s side, the Young Matildas, at the AIS.
“They played a trial game against the Young Matildas which the boys won 3-0 and Sam scored two of those goals,” a proud mum, Helen Smith said.
By February 24 the squad was reduced to 15 players and the successful ones were notified by email that day that they were to receive a full scholarship with ACTAS.
“He kept checking the email on the computer backwards and forwards all day – so I told him to turn up the volume on so he knows when an email drops in and he went and watched a movie,” Helen said.
“It was about 5pm when he heard the sound and he flew downstairs – he lives and breathes it,” she lauged.
Smith is now part of a program that gives him access to world-class coaching, facilities and support services as well as high performance training and competition environments.
He travels to Canberra three times a week for training sessions, as well as additional days for matches.
Smith will head to Hawker in the ACT tomorrow for his first trial game against Canberra team Youth United before they go face-to-face again with the Young Matildas at the AIS on March 9.
He also will be playing in the Under 18s Premier League in Canberra for the season and an Institute Challenge at the end of the year in December.
“Following the nationals in October last year, Sam was offered to trial with the NSW squad that local players Sam McIllhatton and Malcolm Ward are part of,” Helen said.
“But because we didn’t want to move we had to find other avenues to keep the family here but still give him all the opportunities we could, so that’s why we went with the ACTAS,” she said.
“Ultimately it all leads to the same paths in the sport.”
Smith has been part of Football NSW since he was 11-years-old and he’s represented Country NSW at two national titles in the Under 13s and Under 14s.
He was named the second highest point scorer for the tournament while competing at the national titles.
“I’m overwhelmed for him – he’s tried so hard, he’s done the hard yards,” Helen said.
“While we maybe driving him to where he needs to go, he still has to do his schooling and everything else – he knows that if he doesn’t do well at school, we say ‘well hang on a minute’,” she said.
