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TX:  1.5.17 – Ep 14. Kelly Smith MBE – football legend on commitment, retirement and love of the game

HOST:  TAMMY PARLOUR

TP: Welcome to A Question of Performance. I’m Tammy Parlour and in this series I’ll be talking with leading figures from sport and business about what improves, limits and drives performance. Join me for 20 minutes of discussion twice a month to hear a range of views on what it means to be successful, how to cope with failure and what people have learnt along the way.

[Music]

Today, I’m talking with, arguably, England’s greatest ever football player, Kelly Smith. Kelly has dedicated her whole life to playing football and recently retired from international duty after 20 years. We talk about commitment and being in the public eye, retirement and her life on the other side of the sport. As opening question though, I wanted to get a feel for what she saw as the highlights or the parts of her career that she took most pride in.

KS: I can’t really pinpoint specifically one thing there are numerous things that I’m proud of. Obviously, playing for Arsenal was a childhood dream and playing for a club that I supported as a kid and loved with all my heart to represent that club for so many years – and win trophies for that club was a proud moment for me: FA cups, league titles, the Champions League in 2007, that’s a highlight for me because no other British club, at this moment, has been crowned Champions of Europe. And, at that time, our team was formidable, we were unbeatable and it was a pleasure to play in that side, so every time I’ve worn the Arsenal shirt is always a proud moment. And then obviously my England debut at the age of 16 against Italy and went on to win 117 caps over a 20 year period, representing your country you can’t explain the feeling of pulling the shirt on – the three lions. I’ve played in two World Cups, three European championships and the Olympics and I’ve got fond memories of all of them. I’ve won a silver medal in the European championships, so that’s another highlight. Obviously the Olympics was an amazing feat, no Great Britain side has ever represented the Olympics in women’s football and do to it at Wembley…playing against Brazil in front of 75,000. And just experience the Olympics as a whole because as a child, I certainly never dreamed of playing in an Olympics because the vision wasn’t there and women’s football never had a team a Great Britain team to represent Great Britain at the Olympics. So to experience the Athlete’s Village and wear the Great Britain badge and just experience that it’s the biggest tournament in the world, the biggest experience I’ve ever had, and that was a pleasure too.

So they’re probably the three things that spring to mind – obviously, meeting the Queen is another one when I received my MBE for services to women’s football, and my family had a day out and it was a very proud moment for me to be recognised for that. So probably, actually, there’s four there that I’ve just listed so I would say them.

TP: It’s an astonishing list of achievements. Did you achieve what you wanted to?

KS: For me, all those that I’ve just explained, I never set out to achieve them. I’m just Kelly from Watford that has loved playing football and had a passion for it and knew I had a talent from probably a very young age and a gift that I worked extremely hard to hone in on my skills. And I just gave everything to be the best player that I could be and I set out to just reach levels or wanted to play for England; I never knew where that would take me obviously, that took me to America on a soccer scholarship. And then – yeah, it’s just led along the way, but I really never set any goals out from a young age because there was no real structure to women’s football back when I was 13, 14, 15.

TP: The game has changed massively whilst you’ve been playing it’s changed from predominantly an amateur one to where some clubs employ fulltime players, fulltime coaches and even fulltime strength and condition staff. What has been the impact of that from your perspective on the game?

KS: There have been so many changes since I first started and it’s now come full circle. I was training two nights a week with Arsenal in the JBC centre up at Highbury and it was amateur, we weren’t getting played to play. Now, obviously, I’ve finished my career, the game is in a very healthy state and I just think the game, in general, the speed of play, the skill of the players, the understanding of the players, game knowledge, tactical awareness has come full circle and I think there’s a lot more money involved in women’s football now on the elite end. And there are some very good coaches involved in the women’s game, so the product on the field is a lot better and the standard is so much higher than when I first started. And, obviously, I think TV coverage and exposure is crucial for the women’s game so it’s in the public domain and knowledge that they can watch women’s football. For me, it’s about changing people’s opinions along the way; there are still a numerous amount of people out there that don’t respect women’s football, but along the way we’ve gained a lot more fans, [unclear speech 5:32] are up in the FA WSL each season, an obviously the England games from the national team are ranked fifth in the world, the highest they’ve ever been and the attendances are creeping up and the exposure is really on the England national team at the minute having won the bronze medal in the 2015 World Cup in Canada. So I think the exposure that the media give it helps raise the profile of the game and the players become household names and then the young girls that are starting out on football or currently in football can look up to the players that are in the national team, and it sets the whole excitement amongst that generation of players.

TP: The game in England wasn’t necessarily in a position to nurture your talent when you were coming onto the stage, do you regret that you had to move to America to play at the level that you wanted, or was that just part and parcel of what was needed to happen to play the sport?

KS: There are no regrets in my career it’s just I was born at this time and just that was the state of the game during the age that I was and there were no opportunities for me to really progress myself as a professional training every day. So the opportunity came for me to go to America, training every day and getting an education and a life experience and I took that with open arms and really cherished being given that opportunity and lived the life to the fullest out there, I took in everything. And I learnt so much about myself and myself as a player – the American game is a little bit different to how it is England it’s a lot more physical and fitter, players are fitter – well, they were at the time, so I learnt how to adapt my game differently over there and came back and obviously helped England with that experience that I had.

TP: People have said that you are England’s greatest ever female player and that you were the first England woman superstar on the global stage was that your intention, was that a bi-product of just you playing the game?

KS: Yeah I think so, I think a by-product is probably the best way to put it, I just set out to be the best player I could be and help England and help Arsenal along the way; I wanted to reach good heights, I wanted to play in international tournaments; I wanted to develop my skills and hone in on them and just be the best player that I could be in whatever came along the way – it just happened, it wasn’t that I went out seeking for it, I think the game has obviously evolved and there’s more attention on it now, and the past few years in order for me to have got that attention and helped raised the profile of the women’s game.

TP: When did you realise that you were becoming famous?

[Laughter]

KS: That’s kind of an awkward question because I don’t view myself as being famous, I just think I’ve been involved in women’s football for a long time and I am a recognisable face within the game. But I don’t really recall a moment where I thought, ‘Do you know what, I’m famous.’ I get recognised walking down the street, in the supermarket and when I attend football matches especially, so yeah…I wouldn’t say I’m famous, I’d say [laughs] recognisable.

TP: Yes, I wrote down, because you said earlier a few minutes earlier that you’re just Kelly from Watford and that’s so much how you come across, yet you are a global superstar. What is it like being recognised then, because I know you’re a very private person as well, what’s it like when you realise you are at that superstar level?

KS: [Laughs] Yeah, I’ve struggled with it at first it was quite uncomfortable because I would be out in a supermarket or something and somebody would be staring me and I’m like, ‘Why are they staring at me, it’s weird?’ But, obviously, then they’ll come up and they say, ‘Hi, are you Kelly Smith?’ and I’d be like ‘Yeah,’ and it just made me feel a bit…

TP: Do you ever say no?

KS: I have…

TP: [Laughs].

KS: …on a few occasions when I’ve not wanted to be bothered and I know that’s the wrong thing to do. But, yeah, no I just think it’s taken a while a couple of years just to get used to it really because it’s random people coming up to you and wanting to have a conversation and I struggled with that for a while because I am quite an introvert and quite shy. But I think I’ve learnt to deal with it over the years and learnt techniques of just to become across more confident than I probably feel and probably that I am. And now it doesn’t bother me if someone stops and says hello, I’m probably the one asking more questions back at them because they’re kind of star struck and they just stand there looking at you, so it’s uncomfortable but I’ve learnt how to overcome that questions back and then interacting with them differently.

TP: Yes. Did have an impact on your game at all, do you think?

KS: No, I wouldn’t say so. I think I was so focussed and driven when I was on that pitch nothing else mattered. I just wanted to win and play well and score goals and set up goals for my team, that famous thing that you’re talking about wasn’t even at the forefront of my mind.

TP: Yeah, 20 years is a long time to have been playing sport at the level you have, how have you been able to last that long?

KS: Good question.

[Laughter]

You make me feel really old right now.

TP: Well I think I’m older than you, so…

[Laughter]

…let’s say we’re both young.

KS: Yeah, young at heart.

TP: Yes.

KS: Just for my love and passion of the game and wanting to succeed and win trophies, that’s what’s been my driver for a number of years. I’ve had many injuries along the way and I’ve been out of the game for four or five years with injuries, long term injuries, and I’ve always had that drive to come back and be better as an individual and as a person. The number of times that I would want to quit due to the repetitiveness of my injuries and the emotional damage that it was doing to me, but I’m a fighter and I always come back, which I’m very proud of. Yeah and I just wanted to play for Arsenal and wanted to keep playing for England and your career is only short as a footballer so to quit early due to an injury or a setback, I didn’t want to do that, I would probably have viewed myself as a failure. I wanted to play for as long as I can then I’ve had enough advice over the years that people have told me don’t retire too soon you’ll regret it, and you’ll know when the time is right with your own body, and I felt like the last couple of years in the back of my mind I thought I know it’s come to an end because…

TP: This was going to be my question, how do you know when it’s the right time to retire?

KS: I think a lot of my peers of a similar age group that I was playing with at Arsenal were leaving the club, their contracts weren’t getting renewed or they were moving on, and the kids were coming through and I felt I didn’t really have a lot in common with them in the dressing room, I felt like more of a mother figure than a team mate at times, which I was more than happy to take on, but you just look around the changing room and you think there’s new fresh blood coming in. And on the training field, I wasn’t training as much as I would have liked due to just tiredness in my body and the impact that my body has had playing football over the years that I was only training two or three days a week, and even though I could keep up with everyone on the field and that it wasn’t a problem it was just…

TP: The body needs a different recovery?

KS: Yeah, it takes longer for me to recover after games. And then there were games – certainly last year in the FA WSL where I thought I would have made the squad, and I wasn’t in the squad I was in the stands and I just thought probably is this how I really want to go out just a bit part player? And I thought, do you know what, I want it to be on my terms, I don’t want it to be on an injury or the manager phasing me out, so I think even though I probably made the most that I’ve played for Arsenal I was as fit and health as the last season. And, to be fair, I think could have played another couple of years and managed my body with the way that I had, but I think obviously I wanted to have a child and focus on my family and my body clock was ticking and I felt that my enjoyment a little bit of it was fading away and I think when I’ve loved the game for so long as I have and that started to fade a little bit, then I thought, do you know what, the time is right.

TP: Now is the time, yeah.

KS: Yeah.

TP: Talk about life since retirement then. You’re now very much on the other side of football, what’s it like looking through the other lens of coach of commentator, are you seeing football differently?

KS: Yeah [laughs] certainly. Being a coach is so different to obviously being a player, when you return up as a player all you’re focussed on is yourself and going out and performing and obviously your team mates, but as a coach there’s a lot of planning going on behind the scenes, a lot of prep work, a lot of communication to the players and man management or female management of players should I say? And it was replying to emails, setting up coaching sessions, talking to your players it’s just a whole different ballgame.

TP: I sound exhausted [laughs] just listening to it?

KS: Yeah it’s been an eye opener, but I’m still obviously on my coaching badges and learning so much about myself and about my coaching style and how I can develop and help the players in a different way.

TP: Is it weird being…because you’ve been performing at an incredibly high level to then go start to coaching and you’re saying you’re getting your coaches badges to be sort of in that learning zone again, is that weird, is that exciting?

KS: Yeah it’s both of them. It’s difficult too because as a player, as I said, you just go out and you go and perform that’s all I’ve known for 20 odd years, but as a coach it’s all about communicating and getting your message across and your points across and making sure your players understand where you’re coming from and what you’re asking of them. So even for me at times it’s extremely hard to breakdown what I’m trying to get across because as a player you do it naturally, but to physically go in and stop sessions and put your idea across and make sure they see the pictures it’s challenging, very challenging. And I know I’m at the bottom of the ladder and I’m probably not very good and where obviously just starting out I’ve got a long long way to go and I want to learn as much as possible.

TP: This podcast is about performance, it’s about different people’s views on what success is, what is success to you, what does that mean?

KS: As an individual, success for me is winning trophies, winning FA cups; winning league titles and playing for your country is success for me. If you look at it like that, for me, taking a stepping back after my retirement I think I’ve had success in helping raise the profile of the women’s game over the years. It’s probably not all about winning trophies it’s about raising the profile of the women’s game and seeing that it’s in such a healthy state right now and there’s so much more than can be done for the women’s game and I feel like it can actually go to another level again. So for me that’s been a success seeing it from playing for a team called Wembley when I first started to a couple of men and their dogs in the park to now playing in front of a few thousand, that for me is a success and having the games on TV is a success and seeing England do so well and being the highest ranked that they’ve ever been is a success. But the next success is obviously for England – I keep speaking about England because I’m so passionate about the national team – is for them to win the Euros this summer in Holland.

TP: And chances of that?

KS: Yeah, I certainly think they’ve got a fantastic chance having seen them play in the She Believes Cup they’re very well organised, they’ve got a good manager behind them. It’s going to be difficult, teams such as Germany, Norway and Sweden have all got a chance of winning, but I think England need that extra bit of luck along the way, which they’re more than capable of getting. It’s going to be a tough feat but one that I think they can do.

TP: I’ve just got some quick fire question for you. What did you eat for breakfast?

KS: [Laughs]. I had Special K cereal with some raisins put on top.

TP: Brilliant. What’s your favourite piece of sports kit?

KS: Favourite piece of kit? I only ever wore one sports kit when I was in England and that’s the Arsenal training strip.

TP: Brilliant.

KS: Although it is an ugly colour its grey bottoms and a red and grey top and when you wear the whole outfit with the jacket you actually look like you’ve got your pyjamas on because it’s all grey…

TP: [Laughs].

KS: …it’s disgusting; I don’t know what Puma and Arsenal were thinking putting that colouration together. I can’t wait for it to change!

TP: Fantastic! Sporting hero?

KS: Sporting hero within football was Ryan Giggs of Manchester United, I think because we’re of a similar age, similar position on the field, both left footed and both attacking players. And I modelled my game and certain things that he did on the pitch I tried to emulate and copy and I learnt so much from watching him breaking his game and brought into my game and then obviously became the player that I have been today.

TP: Most useless piece of advice you have received or given to somebody else?

KS: [Laughs]. Useless piece of advice? I can’t answer that one I’m afraid.

TP: If not that, then let’s flip it around or a great piece of advice that you were given?

KS: Play with a smile on your face because it is the best game for me in the world to be a part of, and there’s no better feeling than going out there with your friends in a park or in the street, in the playground or at Wembley playing football with your friends is just a phenomenal feeling.

TP: Greatest passion outside of sport?

KS: [Laughs]. My dogs, I absolutely love dogs! I’ve got two dogs, one is a Boston Terrier and one is Scottish Deer Hound and they’re dear to my heart and I walk them every day over Hampstead Heath Park and get so much enjoyment from seeing them run and chase each other and play fight. You get to meet people over the park too and talk about dogs it’s quite cheesy [laughs].

TP: And I’m not sure whether listeners will actually be able to hear a bit of snoring in the background [laughs] but…best performance enhancer?

KS: Imagery, I was taught it from a sports psychologist or the England setup years ago and that certainly help me go out and perform to the high levels that I did. And what I was taught was just to take myself off to a quiet place, your bedroom or your coach or wherever, close your eyes and envision yourself moving across the pitch doing things successfully, so maybe taking a few players on and that feeling of beating a player and then shooting and scoring a goal and that feeling of doing that maybe like making a tackle and then coming out the other side with the ball, all positive imagery stuff. And just do that for three or four minutes and then you come out of that and you have all those memories edged in your brain and then you go and perform and that certainly helped me.

TP: You relive that experience?

KS: Yeah.

TP: Well it’s been fantastic talking to you today, Kelly.

KS: Thanks for having me on.

TP: Thank you.

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TP: Thanks for listening. You can follow the conversation on Twitter, Facebook and also don’t forget to subscribe online to aquestionofperformance.com.

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