The desire, drive and talent that took Sally Shipard to the top of her chosen sport was forged at a young age in fierce family duels in Wagga.
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“Having grown up with three brothers I was already very competitive and aware of having to prove myself in the eyes of boys but every Friday night or whenever it was, I’d turn up with that raw emotion inside of me, where I was like, ‘Okay, I need to prove myself, that I can be here’,” Shipard recalled on a flying visit home on Friday.
But as the ex-Matilda dropped in on a mini Matildas gala day in Wagga, she was inspired by the sight of nearly 350 school girls playing. And not a boy in sight.
A day after her 29th birthday, Shipard declared it unimaginable two decades ago.
“Absolutely not,” she said.
“And back when I was in primary school a big deterring factor was that there were no all-girl teams so this is fabulous.
“They’re in the company of their friends and that’s such an important aspect to girls playing sport at a young age.”
More than 30 teams from 15 primary schools took part in the non-competitive carnival.
The gala day is designed to give girls exposure to soccer in the hope some may then be interested in pursuing it with a club team next winter.
Shipard said the message that “you don’t have to be elite, you can just play to enjoy” is most important.
But her story is testament to what is possible.
From the age of 16 until she was 26, Shipard travelled the world representing Australia 62 times, including in two World Cup campaigns and the 2011 Asian Cup success.
It’s not lost on Shipard that the sporting landscape is changing – broadening – for girls in sport. For someone who played as many sports as often as she could before getting serious about soccer, the launch of women’s AFL, Olympic success in rugby sevens and increased opportunities in women’s cricket are all cause for celebration rather than concern.
“In terms of like ‘women in a man’s world’, football was certainly at the forefront but I think the true pioneer (for women’s sport) was netball… but it’s fabulous to see the growing momentum and shift around women’s sport, and the support for it,” she said.
Of Australia’s rugby sevens gold medal in Rio (featuring a fellow Wagga product, Alicia Quirk) Shipard was in awe: “Granted, it’s a foreign game to me but what women! Powerful women, showcasing their skills on that world stage… it’s good to see and I’m in full support of all women’s sport.”
Shipard’s position is echoed by Football Wagga which says focussing on women will continue to be a priority but it also welcomes more opportunities for women and girls through other sports.
President Erwin Budde said expanding girls competitions is a focus as well as looking at its senior women’s competitions, and trying to create an elite pathway for talented players.
Budde said the success of the Matildas helped grow the game enormously, particularly in the era in which Shipard played.
The former Wagga PCYC player – who retired three years ago with a W-League best player award and a premiership on her resume – said the importance of the national women’s team’s achievements wasn’t an overt talking point, but nor did it go unnoticed.
“When you’re in the moment, you can sense that there’s eyes on you, but I think it was really just beginning – in terms of our results, in terms of attention our performances were garnering in newspapers whenever we’d be overseas, you could sense that there was kind of building momentum,” she said.
Having been part of an historic era for the Matildas, Shipard now gets a kick out of seeing the next generation make the most of what is on offer in sport, and play their part in a changing world.
“Just because you’re a girl does not mean you cannot be participating in sport and that’s fantastic that there’s a little revolution of young kids coming through (wanting to play all sports) and it’s because they don’t know any different,” she said.
“In terms of broader society, gender equality is very much at the forefront in terms of politics at the moment and it’s almost like the younger generation don’t see that – we can learn a lot from them, in a sense.
“I think sport’s a great building block for any kind of life lessons. I’ve certainly managed to get away with my life away from the football pitch due to lessons I’ve learnt on the field that have easily translated.
“I think for any kid to be physically active and just to get the confidence from using their body – I think there’s a lot of advantages to running around chasing a round ball.”
Summing up the variety her life is taking in, the Sydney-based Shipard was in Wagga for the weekend wedding of a childhood friend – at which she’ll be the celebrant.
And variety being the spice of life, next week, she’s off to India for a Football Federation Australia initiative where her profile as a former Matilda will help deliver some of the messages that are close to Shipard’s heart.
“They’ve aligned themselves with India Football and the programs they deliver are targetted at kids around this age, eight to 12, and educating these kids in health and hygiene, and gender equality,” she said.
“Community level stuff and societal issues like that – if you can be relaying messages to kids via a sport, then why not? I’m absolutely stoked about the opportunity and can’t wait to get over there.”
And Football Wagga has a local wedding to thank for this qualified marriage celebrant – and former Matilda – having a Friday afternoon free to drop in with messages of inspiration, worthy of the rest of the world.