A journey to Wanderland almost 20 years in the making: Proof perseverance pays off

It’s been a long road, but Kat Smith is finally a Liberty A-League head coach.

Regarded as one of the top female coaches in Australia, new Western Sydney Wanderers boss Smith has had to bide her time while juggling various positions across domestic and international football.

She’s gone from skill acquisition level, to NPL Technical Director, to NPL head coach and A-League Women assistant to opposition analyst for the Matildas at the 2019 Women’s World Cup and Junior Matildas assistant coach and performance analyst.

She has also worked as a teacher at SEDA Group, dating back to 2010. The SEDA curriculum focuses on practical hands-on education for talented footballers while completing year 11 and 12, gaining nationally recognised VET qualifications.

Smith, who has been juggling her commitments as head coach of Alamein FC in NPLW VIC and Junior Matildas assistant in 2022, has covered it all in a journey to the Wanderers spanning almost 20 years.

This is her moment.

Speaking to KEEPUP, Smith said: “For me, any opportunity to work in football is a privilege.

“This opportunity comes with a little bit more personal bandwidth that I can just fully focus on football and that’s the intention.

“With that structure supporting the club and the club supporting me to do that, for the players they have full-time staff looking after the program, helping them to perform and develop as well as the success for the club. That’s what I’m excited about.

We know that’s almost a luxury in football that you can get a role where it’s full-time at a professional club. In that context, it’s been a long journey to get to that.

“It was certainly an ambition of mine to take an opportunity where I could fully focus on football and not juggle other full-time work or responsibilities outside of football. That’s what I’m looking forward to most.”

The apprenticeship

Smith has worked at all levels and her resume speaks for itself, but her coaching story is one of perseverance.

An AFC/FFA Pro License holder, Smith spent seven years as an assistant at Melbourne Victory in the A-League Women.

She worked with David Edmondson, Joe Montemurro (now in charge of Juventus Women) and the league’s most successful coach – Jeff Hopkins – during her time with Victory.

In that period, Smith was part of the 2013-14 Championship team and 2018-19 Premiership-winning squad in Melbourne. She also oversaw a brief interim period in charge of Victory in 2015-16 before being named the Female Coach of the Year in 2018.

At the same time, she served as head coach of Galaxy United in NPLW VIC and guided the club to back-to-back runners-up performances.

Now, Smith has her chance and feels equipped to tackle the role at Wanderland.

“I had some fantastic mentors and they continue to be my mentors in Dave Edmondson, Joe Montemurro and Jeff Hopkins,” said Smith.

“To establish an understanding of outside looking in at the role of a head coach and leaning on them to draw on their knowledge and experiences. It also gave me a deeper appreciation of role responsibility being an assistant coach because it’s completely different to a head coach.

“While assistant coach might be your traditional traineeship into a head coach role, they’re two different skillsets and responsibilities, and pressures and understandings that you have within the club.

Smith added: “I’ve been fortunate to work in environments where it’s been less hierarchical around head coach, assistant coaches being just a clarity of what you bring, the strengths you bring regardless of the title.

“Having said that, more of my apprenticeship has been in NPL land.

You’re less resourced, there’s different challenges you take on – you’re the head coach, you’re almost the head physio, head analyst, operations manager, team manager, first-aid officer, you’re all of these roles at once.

“That hopefully fills my toolbox to enable me to select the right tool when those challenges come up. As well as harnessing and drawing back on my experiences in the league at that level as an assistant coach.”

The Wanderers role

The perfect job at the perfect time?

Smith has long coveted a head-coaching role in the A-League Women, but as she said: “It’s fate the way the universe works”.

She takes over a Wanderers team that claimed just one victory in 2021-22, but joins a club committed to investing as part of their long-term vision to not only win but provide a pathway for future stars.

And Smith will work alongside Head of Women’s Football and legendary coach Tom Sermanni in Western Sydney.

“I’m really excited. I think having completed a few interviews, which gives you the opportunity to reflect on your journey, there were times when you thought you were perhaps ready for certain opportunities that popped up,” she said.

“That excitement is solidified by perhaps it is the perfect opportunity. I’ve had a little bit more experience.

“The investment the club are making with the appointment of Tom Sermmani, that to me has wrapped it all up and put a bow on it.”

Smith continued: “It’s a performance/results industry, we know that.

“With the investment the club are making in their personnel; the investment through infrastructure and behind the scenes, support staff. What has hindered results in the past has been the lack of continuity.

That’s what they’re trying to address to establish a platform, pipeline and pathway for players in that region so they see the pathway, whether it’s playing for the Matildas or going overseas, one of the critical stepping stones will be Western Sydney.

“There’s a multitude of things but for me it’s going back in and ensuring the systems, process and right personnel are around the program with a strategic outlook of long-term athlete development, not just this season on season, plan for season 15, plan for season 16.

“It’s to get things in place so through those systems, players come through and by that, results, winning and on-field success are your by-product.”

The FIFA programme

It’s an exciting time for Smith. Not only is she preparing for her first ALW season with the Wanderers, but she is one of 20 female coaches to be accepted into the second edition of the FIFA Coach Mentorship Programme.

Smith will link with Athletic Club Women’s head coach Iraia Iturregi.

Coach Mentorship aims to develop and empower a new generation of female coaches who will be individually mentored by a top coach from the women’s game over the next 18 months.

“An honour and massive privilege to be able to link with coaches and delve into their knowledge and expertise, their challenges, their successes of their own footballing journeys,” she said.

“The nuances and intricacies of football in Europe or across other parts of the world, I think that’s invaluable.

“Having those additional mentors as well as Tom Sermanni is not to only access that information – we have that access to information with internet and technology these days – importantly it’s around having that additional support in the application of those new learnings.

“To work through not only having the knowledge, but how do I apply it, tweak it, modify to suit the challenges or achieve the outcomes we want at Western Sydney Wanderers.”

The World Cup

Smith’s appointment at Wanderland and role in the ALW comes at a time when women’s football is booming, and with a World Cup on the horizon.

Australia and New Zealand will co-host the showpiece event, which hit the one-year countdown on July 20.

Smith has been involved with the Matildas and Junior Matildas, and she’ll play another important role as Wanderers hopefuls stake their claims for World Cup selection in 2022-23.

“It’s a dream come true,” she said. “With all the hard work and sacrifices you make to get to this level of the game. Players do it, coaches do it, administrators do it.

“I think it’s a reminder when you get to the top of something, you have to look at the view and look back at how far you’ve come. But people at this level of the game, they’re always looking forward. That’s how they’re driven and motivated to innovate and get better.

“It’s important just to reflect and appreciate what we’ve achieved to have the World Cup, to have a league expand and plans for it to service the players, game, administrators and coaches longer.

“And we know what the by-product that will be for football in Australia. The quality of coaches, players and commercial as well. The benefits are there. It’s really exciting.

The game at the moment is changing opinions and changing the game. There’s excitement for the unknown but that wave or feeling to get this right because it’s a really important milestone for the game.”