Channel Grill: Ashley Smallfield
The Shore’s Waterpolo Professional
As this issue of Channel Magazine was being put together leading North Shore Waterpolo player Ashley Smallfield was on her way to Europe to take up a contract playing professionally in Spain. A Rangitoto old girl, Ashley has played Waterpolo since her secondary school days and in June she won the MVP award at the New Zealand Women’s Waterpolo National Championships, representing North Harbour. She has only recently returned from a month away representing New Zealand at the Waterpolo World Cup in Shanghai (China), playing the tough position of centre back that saw her defending against some of the world’s best players. Channel Magazine’s Aidan Bennett put some questions to her for ‘The Channel Grill’ in mid-September via email while she was just arriving in Seville, Spain.
AIDAN BENNETT: How did you get in to Waterpolo (when, where, how)?
ASHLEY SMALLFIELD: When we were 11 years old, my twin sister Lauren and I decided to play waterpolo at Takapuna Normal Intermediate School. We had never even heard of the game before but we were both good swimmers and a lot of our friends were playing. It sounded like it would be fun. Before the season started we were really lucky to have a family friend, Cal Chamberlain, who was an ex New Zealand player take us down to the Navy Pool and show us how to throw the ball. That was our very first time playing waterpolo and hard to believe it was just 10 years ago.
AB: Tell us about your gig in Spain? $1 million salary?
AS: The invite to play in Spain for the Dos Hermanas club came after playing for New Zealand in the World Cup in China in July. It was a big surprise and the opportunity to play professionally in the Spanish League is something I just couldn’t turn down. The contract is for eight months and includes airfares, accommodation and more than enough Euro for me to live on and see a bit of Europe. I am extremely grateful to Stu and Olivia at David Forman for supporting me in living my dream and making it as easy as it could be to make the decision to leave New Zealand and four weeks later be playing professionally in Spain.
AB: How’s it going so far?
AS: The League starts on the 1st October so at present we are training and playing a few pre-season games. I was really pleased to discover I was one of the fastest in the team and feel I have fit in really well. The girls in the team have been most welcoming and the coaches very encouraging. There are quite a few differences in the style of waterpolo they play here and just as we drive on a different side of the road, they swim down the pool on the opposite side to what we do as well.
AB: Can you speak Spanish?
AS: When I arrived in Spain I only knew how to say my name, “hello” and “goodbye”. My Spanish has already improved considerably from just being around my team mates. It is quite hard at training as my coach doesn’t speak English so I have to concentrate extra hard and watch the movements so I can understand what I am meant to be doing. I learned how to say “help” very quickly and use that quite a bit. I will shortly have the opportunity to teach English in return for Spanish lessons so hopefully by the end of the season I will be able to hold a proper conversation in Spanish.
AB: Been to Europe before?
AS: Yes I have been to Rome and Germany as well as living in Hungary for three months. I think Seville is one of the most beautiful cities I have been to so far in Europe.
AB: What non-Waterpolo things are you looking forward to doing while there?
AS: The top thing on my list so far is to see a flamenco show. I am also looking forward to travelling throughout Spain and experiencing some of the other cities!
AB: Looking for a Spanish Amante?
AS: Lets just say I am under strict instructions from my mother that I can’t fall in love and move over here. However, should Rafael Nadal ask me out I would not be saying no!
AB: You have an identical twin who is a good sportsperson as well. What is Lauren up to
these days?
AS: Lauren and I both played waterpolo and netball at Takapuna Normal Intermediate School and then Rangitoto College. Waterpolo was my focus and netball was hers. She was also a really good triathlete and is still very fit and active. At present she is living in Sydney with her partner and one year old daughter, Kiara, who is keeping her extremely busy.
AB: Any other brothers or sisters?
AS: I have a younger sister Caitlin who is really focused on her football. She captains the Rangitoto College Girls First X1 and I try to watch her club side, Glenfield Rovers, as much as I can to pay her back for all the waterpolo games she has watched me play. They won the national women’s club competition the weekend before I left for Spain and I was disappointed not to be able to see her play that game.
AB: Your stated ambition is to play for New Zealand at the Olympics. Will that be London or Rio or...?
AS: I guess it is every sportspersons ambition to represent their country at the Olympic Games. It is a big dream for us Kiwi girls however, as to qualify we would have to beat Australia which is currently ranked in the top five in the world. We really need to improve our world ranking and get more funding to enable us to take on the Aussies but I am hoping my time in Spain will help to make me more competitive.
AB: What does your weekly training consist of?
AS: We train every day from 7.30pm – 11.30pm at night. It feels really odd to be training so late, but it is essential due to the heat and to accommodate the siesta. We start off by running and doing boot camp style land-based training for an hour. Then it’s into the pool for an hour’s swim training and then a two hour water polo session which usually involves a game between squad members. Every session is long and intense – you just couldn’t train this hard and work as well!
AB: What are you going to miss most about
New Zealand?
AS: Family, friends, barbeques, the New Zealand summer and the Rugby World Cup!!
AB: Missing Selva’s workouts?
AS: I can honestly say I really am missing getting my ass kicked every Wednesday and Friday mornings. The feeling of getting up and achieving something before 7am and starting the day fresh is very rewarding! I don’t see myself getting up before 7am over here anytime soon!
AB: Your Spanish contract finishes in June next year, what will you do after that?
AS: I would like to travel around Europe for a month or so during the summer break and then hopefully end up at the Olympics to watch the waterpolo in London. I would like to have the opportunity to keep playing professionally and see some more of Europe but we will just have to see how this season goes.
Doing what I love doing
