In late 2021, Austin Smith announced his retirement from International Hockey.[1] Smith has been a substitute supervisor and teacher in the International School Eindhoven in recent years.
Smith competed for South Africa at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, the 2010 and 2014 Hockey World Cups, and at the 2010 and 2014 Commonwealth Games.[2] He has also competed at the 2005, 2009 and 2011 Men's Champions Challenge. He became captain of the side in 2009.[3] He also joined in the Tokyo 2021 Summer Olympics and played for the South African national team.
Biography
Smith was born in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. He started hockey at the age of five years, and his parents played hockey for several years in South Africa and England. At Smith's Primary School, Pinelands North, he was introduced to hockey, among other sports. His coach at Pinelands, Murray Anderson, inspired Smith to focus on hockey.
When Smith started at Pinelands High School, he had already succeeded, representing his Province at the U13 level. He went on to represent South Africa's U16 and U18 teams and became captain of each. He attributes a large amount of his achievement to one factor: "I was extremely lucky to have such dedicated coaches at both my Primary and High School. Michael McConnachie, who spearheaded the hockey at the High School, was my biggest mentor and made me truly believe in myself."
In March 2004, aged 18, Smith achieved his lifelong dream of representing his country at a senior level. "It was an incredible feeling walking onto the field to play my first match for South Africa, and it remains a special moment every time I wear the green and gold." In 2005 Austin represented South Africa at the U21 World Cup in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Smith moved to the United Kingdom in 2005 to join Reading Hockey Club. He spent four seasons at Reading, winning the Premier League twice and making the final eight of the Euro Hockey League on consecutive occasions.[4]
2008 was a defining year in Smith's hockey career as he achieved another childhood dream by attending the Olympic Games. Despite South Africa's final placing of 12th in Beijing, he was the team's top goal scorer with four goals. To finish the year, he was named South African Men's Hockey Player of the Year and Reading Hockey Club's Player of the Year.
In 2009 Smith decided to leave the UK to join HC 's-Hertogenbosch in The Netherlands. Earlier in the year, he was named the captain of the South African squad, leading them to victory in the African Championship to qualify for the World Cup in 2010. Smith was also named in the World All-Star Team for his performances in 2009.
In 2010 Smith captained the South African squad at the World Cup and the Commonwealth Games, where they finished in 10th and 5th, respectively. Later in the year, he was named South African Men's Hockey Player of the Year for a second time.[5][6] He announced his retirement from international play on 9 September 2021.[7]
References
^"South Africa Hockey : Austin Smith announces retirement from International Hockey". TheDragfick.com. 19 August 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
^. Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
^"Austin Smith (Captain)". sahockey.co.za. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
^"EHL statistics". Fixtureslive.com. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
^, archived from the original on 12 July 2012, retrieved 17 November 2012
^"Glasgow 2014 – Austin Smith Profile". Retrieved 10 December 2014.
^"Retirements & coaching switches dominate post-Tokyo 2020". fih.ch. 9 September 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
austin, smith, field, hockey, this, article, autobiography, been, extensively, edited, subject, someone, connected, subject, need, editing, conform, wikipedia, neutral, point, view, policy, there, relevant, discussion, talk, page, august, 2014, learn, when, re. This article is an autobiography or has been extensively edited by the subject or by someone connected to the subject It may need editing to conform to Wikipedia s neutral point of view policy There may be relevant discussion on the talk page August 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message Austin Charles Smith born 20 May 1985 is a South African field hockey player who plays as a defender for Dutch club HC Den Bosch and the South African national team Austin SmithSmith right at the 2014 Commonwealth GamesPersonal informationFull nameAustin Charles SmithBorn 1985 05 20 20 May 1985 age 37 Cape Town South AfricaHeight1 79 m 5 ft 10 in Weight73 kg 161 lb Playing positionDefenderClub informationCurrent clubDen BoschSenior careerYearsTeam2005 2009Reading2009 Den BoschNational teamYearsTeamApps Gls 2004 2021South Africa183 45 Medal record Africa Cup of Nations2013 NairobiLast updated on 2021 12 21In late 2021 Austin Smith announced his retirement from International Hockey 1 Smith has been a substitute supervisor and teacher in the International School Eindhoven in recent years Smith competed for South Africa at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics the 2010 and 2014 Hockey World Cups and at the 2010 and 2014 Commonwealth Games 2 He has also competed at the 2005 2009 and 2011 Men s Champions Challenge He became captain of the side in 2009 3 He also joined in the Tokyo 2021 Summer Olympics and played for the South African national team Biography EditSmith was born in Cape Town Western Cape South Africa He started hockey at the age of five years and his parents played hockey for several years in South Africa and England At Smith s Primary School Pinelands North he was introduced to hockey among other sports His coach at Pinelands Murray Anderson inspired Smith to focus on hockey When Smith started at Pinelands High School he had already succeeded representing his Province at the U13 level He went on to represent South Africa s U16 and U18 teams and became captain of each He attributes a large amount of his achievement to one factor I was extremely lucky to have such dedicated coaches at both my Primary and High School Michael McConnachie who spearheaded the hockey at the High School was my biggest mentor and made me truly believe in myself In March 2004 aged 18 Smith achieved his lifelong dream of representing his country at a senior level It was an incredible feeling walking onto the field to play my first match for South Africa and it remains a special moment every time I wear the green and gold In 2005 Austin represented South Africa at the U21 World Cup in Rotterdam the Netherlands Smith moved to the United Kingdom in 2005 to join Reading Hockey Club He spent four seasons at Reading winning the Premier League twice and making the final eight of the Euro Hockey League on consecutive occasions 4 2008 was a defining year in Smith s hockey career as he achieved another childhood dream by attending the Olympic Games Despite South Africa s final placing of 12th in Beijing he was the team s top goal scorer with four goals To finish the year he was named South African Men s Hockey Player of the Year and Reading Hockey Club s Player of the Year In 2009 Smith decided to leave the UK to join HC s Hertogenbosch in The Netherlands Earlier in the year he was named the captain of the South African squad leading them to victory in the African Championship to qualify for the World Cup in 2010 Smith was also named in the World All Star Team for his performances in 2009 In 2010 Smith captained the South African squad at the World Cup and the Commonwealth Games where they finished in 10th and 5th respectively Later in the year he was named South African Men s Hockey Player of the Year for a second time 5 6 He announced his retirement from international play on 9 September 2021 7 References Edit South Africa Hockey Austin Smith announces retirement from International Hockey TheDragfick com 19 August 2021 Retrieved 23 August 2021 Austin Smith Bio Stats and Results Olympics at Sports Reference com Sports Reference com Archived from the original on 18 April 2020 Retrieved 18 April 2013 Austin Smith Captain sahockey co za Retrieved 10 December 2014 EHL statistics Fixtureslive com Retrieved 10 December 2014 Austin s Story archived from the original on 12 July 2012 retrieved 17 November 2012 Glasgow 2014 Austin Smith Profile Retrieved 10 December 2014 Retirements amp coaching switches dominate post Tokyo 2020 fih ch 9 September 2021 Retrieved 9 September 2021 External links EditAustin Smith at the International Hockey Federation Austin Smith at the European Hockey Federation Austin Smith at the South African Hockey Association Austin Smith at Olympics com Austin Smith at Olympedia Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Austin Smith field hockey amp oldid 1135668086, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
