Field hockey: Smith makes quick visit before return to training

By Matt Corbett
The Daily Item

May 12, 2008 06:06 am

— SELINSGROVE -- Keli Smith flew in for a quick visit with family and friends this past weekend. The brevity of the trip was necessitated by a single urgency: the upcoming Beijing Olympics.
Smith -- a legendary figure in Selinsgrove field hockey, an all-American at the University of Maryland and a long-time member of the U.S. national team -- was able to spend fewer than 48 hours locally before jetting back to the West Coast to rejoin her teammates in preparation for the Summer Games, scheduled for Aug. 8-24 in the Chinese capital.
"Practice resumes (today), so I've got to be there," said Smith, 29, one of the senior members of the U.S. team that qualified for the Olympics on April 27 after winning a qualifying tournament in Kazan, Russia. "(Making the Olympics) is very exciting, but it's a little surreal. You work so hard to reach the Olympics, and it can all be over in one game."
The daughter of Neal and Sharon Smith, of Selinsgrove, Smith, a forward, starred during the qualifying tournament with a pair of goals as the U.S. -- ranked 11th in the world -- went 5-0 to take first place despite some initial concerns.
"We were a little nervous (going to Russia). We didn't know what the field or the facilities would be like, and when we arrived it was very cold," said Smith, a 1997 graduate of Selinsgrove who helped Maryland to an NCAA Division I championship in 2001. "But the organizers did a great job. The weather got warmer, and everything was world-class: the field, the stadium, the hotel. We were actually glad that we went to Russia."
Smith said Holland, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand and Germany are the likely teams to beat in Beijing, but feels the U.S. has an outside shot of reaching the podium.
"Our goal is to place in the top five in our bracket and put ourselves in position to win a medal," she said.
A detour
It wasn't a given that Smith would even be on this year's team. After the U.S squad failed to qualify in 2004, she left the team to pursue business interests, joining ADP, a payroll and tax-filing company near Washington, D.C., while playing on a club team in the D.C. area.
"Not qualifying in 2004 was very hard to take. I'd say 90 percent of the players and coaches retired, and I felt like it was a great opportunity to work in the corporate world," Smith said. "When I did walk away I didn't think I'd come back. But after two years off the team, I realized I really missed the friendships and the bonds I had made. When I came back in 2006, it was because I felt I would always regret it if I didn't give it another shot. I had to give it another chance."
Always flying
Smith returned to the team's training site in Chula Vista, Ca., on Sunday and resumed rigourous workouts today. The team trains twice a day, with two field practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and weight training before a field session on Mondays, Wednesday's and Fridays.
The squad will also travel to Europe in July for exhibition games against other national teams, and will spend two and a half weeks at the national field hockey training center in Virginia Beach.
Despite the busy schedule, Smith keeps up with the goings-on at her alma mater and maintains regular contact with coach Cathy Keiser.
"Cathy and I are still very close. I consider her a mentor," Smith said. "They do a great job with their Web site, and I go there often."
She even watched approvingly -- from long distance, of course -- as a protege broke one of her longstanding records at Selinsgrove.
In 2007, prolific senior Morgan Fleetwood scored 47 goals to break Smith's single-season record of 41. Smith still holds the Seals' career scoring record with 124 goals.
"I think it was great. Morgan is such a talented player," Smith said. "I had her at a camp (last) summer, and we were joking about her breaking the record."
Smith, now one of the established veterans on the U.S. team, says she's unsure what the future holds after August.
"I think it's 50-50 (whether she'll remain on the U.S. national team) at the moment," said Smith, who is currently a part-time consultant with a West Coast field turf company, working primarily with college programs. "That's a conversation I'll have to have with Coach (Lee Bodimeade) after it's all over."
One possibility is playing on a professional club team in Barcelona, Spain. But that decision is still a few months away.
Until then, Smith will continue to chase that Olympic dream.

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