Smith knows the value of sweet dreams and forty winks

If a good night’s sleep is a measure of a player’s confidence in their own ability, Maddison Smith, who led NSW Pride to the women’s championship title in last year’s adrenaline-charged national Hockey One League competition, is in a very good space.

Smith, 23, has made it no secret that regardless of what prize might be at stake on the pitch, she can switch off and sleep soundly before a game. And, just to make insomniacs even more jealous, Smith can do that at any place and anytime!

“On game days I like to have a long nap, so, yeah, I have no problem going to sleep,” said a bright-eyed and acutely alert Smith before training with her Pride teammates ahead of the opening round of this year’s Hockey One League season.

“I’m good at zoning out. I just like to focus on the warm-up – get to the ground and have a good warm-up – and the game comes from there.

“I don’t really think about the game. I think more about getting a good touch in the warm-up and feeling good physically. That helps to put my mind at ease.”

Smith, who earlier this year fulfilled her childhood goal of representing the Hockeyroos, credited her experience of captaining the Pride – which won the 2022 crown by defeating Brisbane Blaze – for helping to assert herself on the pitch.

“It taught me a lot,” was Smith’s thoughtful response when asked how last season’s captaincy helped her grow. “Even though I’m necessarily not an older [member of the squad], I do have experience. It was being someone the players could go to, leading from the back, and being even more vocal.

“The captaincy made me even more confident in my game because I had to step up and be a leader. It certainly brought me out of my shell!”

However, Smith admitted as a child she wasn’t the calm player her teammates admire and respect.

Smith, from Albion Park, started playing in the Illawarra and South Coast competition as a four year old. While proud to reveal her mother represented NSW, and that sister, Riley, played for Canberra Chill, Smith laughed as she confessed to having a different demeanor as a youngster!

“Riley was cool and calm, but I was the complete opposite. Yeah, I was a . . . very determined . . . young girl,” she said about the differences between her and sister Riley, who is a Flying Officer in the Royal Australian Air Force.

“I just wanted to do everything Riley did when she went to things. She drove me.”

And so too did her Pride teammate, Grace Stewart, who was one of the stars of their local competition before representing Australia in [so far] 111 matches, captaining the Hockeyroos, scoring 30 international goals, competing at two Olympic Games, two Commonwealth Games campaigns, two World Cups and an assortment of other prestigious tournaments.

“Grace isn’t that much older than me, but it was great to see her do some really good things [from her hometown of Gerringong],” said Smith.

“Through having her around [as a junior] I learnt to play above my age and ability. Also, when you see someone [from your area] selected for rep teams, it helps to confirm anyone can make it if they train hard and are determined to succeed.”

That very approach paid off when Smith was selected to represent the Hockeyroos in last February’s FIH Pro League mini tournament against Germany and China in Sydney. She played in three matches and recalled being presented with her treasured Australia team kit as ‘a whirlwind.’

“It was so special to make my debut for Australia” she said. “And to play in Sydney was awesome. You grow up hoping it would happen and you’re always trying your best to make it. You keep pushing and . . .  sometimes . . . you don’t really believe [it will happen].

“So, it was nice. It really was electric. Very emotional. A whirlwind.”

Smith also noted the impact the New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) has had on her journey from talented junior who represented Australia in the under-age groups, to playing for the Hockeyroos, and then captaining the Pride to a championship victory.

“NSWIS has been amazing for me,” she said. “I received a scholarship when I was 15 and was so very, very young.

“It taught me how to be an athlete, and also an adult because I moved to Sydney at a young age and trained fulltime. I’m at NSWIS every day – the facilities are amazing – and I’m fortunate to have access to the Institute’s doctors, physios, sports scientists. and nutritionists.”

Daniel Lane, NSWIS