Andrew Smith, Beijing Olympic Bronze Medallist with the Australian Men's Hockey team, the Kookaburras, and now a winning coach with the Victorian Vikings, believes that faith in the Lord Jesus means you don't have to do everything yourself.
The move to coaching began in university where Andrew studied Physical Education teaching. Prior to his selection in the Kookaburras Andrew coached a variety of junior teams at his home club, Doncaster Hockey Club, as well as a few school teams that played in the private school competitions in Melbourne.
It wasn't until after he retired from the Kookaburras in 2008 that Andrew started to take the coaching more seriously. From 2010-2012 he coached the Victorian Under 18 Boys team at the national championships, in 2013/14 Andrew coached the senior men's representative side from Geelong that competed in Hockey Victoria senior competition.
Along the way he also participating in Hockey Australia national junior camps as a member of coaching staff. In 2015 Andrew began his stint as assistant coach of the Victorian Vikings, with 2016 being his second year with group under Jay Stacy's leadership.
Andrew Smith this past week has been celebrating with the Victorian Vikings beating the Western Australian Thundersticks 3-1 in the Australian Hockey League Final. Andrew said of the win, 'There was a huge amount of pride in the playing group following the win. This is a title that we have not held since 1998, and a lot of hard work has gone in to preparing the playing group. The joy on the faces of the players when the final siren sounded was great to see and brought a great sense of pride in the coaching staff.
Australian Missionary News IPTV
Back in 2010 Andrew Smith was interviewed on the Australian Missionary News IPTV in Melbourne as a Christian Olympian by anchorman Mark Tronson (view interview at the end of this article).
He was born in Wollongong, where his father, Eric, played Hockey for St Matthews and the Illawarra Rep. Team, and one of his team-mates was Mark Tronson. Young Andrew played for various junior hockey teams as Eric Smith's work took the family from Wollongong to Canberra, back to Wollongong, then to Newcastle.
It was in there that Andrew's hockey came to be noticed, and he was selected to play in the NSW Primary School team and then in the NSW Under 13 team. In 1990 the family relocated to Melbourne, where he was subsequently selected for the Victorian Vikings team in 1998 in the Australian Hockey League (AHL). Although he retired from national competitions in 2009, he continued to play for the Melbourne club Doncaster.
The amazing prowess of Andrew Smith was seen in 2002 and 2003 when he was the top goal scorer in the AHL for both those years: his scores have not yet been bettered. As well as being a highly skilled forward goal attack, Andrew was a specialist penalty corner flicker, and it was from that position that many of his goals came. You can notice this tactic even now, if you watch the Kookaburras play.
Kookaburras
In 2002, that Andrew debuted for the Kookaburras in Adelaide and proud parents Eric and Alyson flew to watch their son play for Australia. Although he was out injured for some important matches, his wins with the Kookaburras in the Champions Trophy in 2005 and 2008 were very special. This is a Trophy contested each year by the top six hockey nations.
Despite all this success, Andrew was on the outer when it came to Olympic and Commonwealth Games selections. He was reserve in the Athens Olympics in 2004 when the team won Gold, he was out of the 2006 Commonwealth Games team played in his home town of Melbourne, and he was reserve for the Beijing Olympic team in 2008.
"In Beijing, me and the other reserve were not permitted to be in the Olympic village but nevertheless we were required to train with the Olympic squad for any eventuality," Andrew explained. "Then in the final pool game against England, forward Grant Schubert was injured in the final minute of the match and I got my call-up notice."
At the presentation of his Olympic hockey gear and ring, Coach Barry Dancer welcomed Andrew to the squad and into the Olympic Village with the words that he had a commitment and dedication to the team which he regarded very highly; a team focus. This time, Andrew recognised he was the Groom and not the Best Man. His first game was the semi-,final which they lost to Spain but they went on to win the Bronze against the Dutch 6-2.
Following the Lord
Mark Tronson asked Andrew Smith, as a man of Christian commitment with Salvation faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, what comments he might wish to make for young people. Andrew Smith explained, that Jesus Christ was a focus in every part of his life. He recognised that for him, God is in control in both good and bad experiences, and there will be challenging times.
He counsels young people that the Lord knows what we are all going through, and therefore knows what is good for us, so there is a need to trust in the Lord, regardless. Andrew said that he does not need to control every part of his life, he needs to turn that over to the Lord. He suggests that Faith means just this – that you don't have to do it all yourself. Trust Jesus!
Andrew Smith married Jane Goodson in 2011 and they now have two boys, Noah (3 years old in November) and Addis (nearly 18 months old), with Mum and dad Eric and Alyson Smith as delighted grand-parents.
2010 Australian Missionary News IPTV interview of Andrew Smith may be viewed below:
Dr Mark Tronson is a Baptist minister (retired) who served as the Australian cricket team chaplain for 17 years (2000 ret) and established Life After Cricket in 2001. He was recognised by the Olympic Ministry Medal in 2009 presented by Carl Lewis Olympian of the Century. He mentors young writers and has written 24 books, and enjoys writing. He is married to Delma, with four adult children and grand-children.
Mark Tronson's archive of articles can be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/mark-tronson.html