Working, playing, coaching, refereeing: when it comes to football, midfielder Kath Smith has seen it all…
“REFEREE!” fans shout in disbelief up and down the country on a matchday, blinded by bias and convinced decisions are going against them. Officials are accustomed to being berated, told they are not up to scratch and scapegoated for any mistakes.
The want for those in the middle to have played the sport to a high standard seems to be a developing trend in football and for Leeds United Women star Kath Smith, it might offer a pathway to explore once her playing days are behind her…
Football consumes Smith’s life. When the midfielder isn’t donning the iconic white shirt, she is working hard in her career with the FA. When the out of office email response goes on, albeit rarely, her attentions have turned to coaching. When the tactics board is cast aside, she has picked up a whistle.
It is rare in football for players to be putting so much thought into what comes next while still performing at such a high level, but Smith, who admits to never having a break outside of the sport, has it all mapped out.
“I got to referee a game at Rotherham United’s stadium in the summer, which was pretty cool,” explains the 31-year-old. “I think there were around 2,000 people there for that and I have refereed games at Old Trafford. These are nice opportunities that I would not have got before.
“I can’t really go any further just yet, but the idea would be to referee in the Women’s Super League when I have finished playing!”
Seeing the game from a different perspective is just one of the ways Smith is keen to enhance her own footballing education and continue her development, admitting it has made a difference in how she responds to on-field decisions.
“I don’t really tend to shout at referees, anyway. I will leave that to the Danbys of the team,” she laughs. “But I can understand it from their point of view and also be thinking what I would do in that situation?”
It is that drive to consistently improve on the pitch both technically, and in the mental aspect of the game, that is seeing Smith, or “Smudger” to her teammates, reap the rewards from midfield so far this campaign, already netting seven goals across all competitions.
And in some variety that tally has come – clinical from the penalty spot, deadly from distance and even an aerial threat from set-pieces.
“That took about 10 minutes to loop in, I was in disbelief!” the former Barnsley player chuckles as we discuss her header in a recent victory over Cheadle Town away from home.
Smith, diminutive in stature but not afraid of putting in a challenge where necessary, is now approaching the 100-game landmark with the Whites and, alongside her refereeing progression, the love of football transcends simply crossing that white line on a Sunday afternoon.
“I did sports coaching at university and in my last year we had the opportunity to go over for five months or so, working and living in Chicago and then having the chance to do a bit of travelling in America.”
It was on the banks of Lake Michigan where Kath first got a taste of elite sport, joining the academy coaching set-up at Major League Soccer outfit Chicago Fire in Illinois.
“The standard was insane. I remember Spurs coming over and doing a coaching clinic and telling us they couldn’t do what we were doing with those age groups because they weren’t at that standard back home.
“We had some girls as well because obviously women’s football in America had progressed a lot further than it had in England, at the time. We did the session with the girls and I can remember their coaching staff were amazed; the girls in America were technically a lot better.”
Back home and representing her childhood club Barnsley once more, via a detour to ply her trade in Australia, the creative midfielder played alongside a number of current Leeds teammates.
Those included Sarah Danby (who she made the switch with up the M1 a few seasons ago) as well as twins Darcie and Drew Greene, sharpshooter Amy Woodruff and defender Lucy Turner.
“After the pandemic, the team just kind of fell apart,” Smith explains, as attentions turn to her time prior to joining Leeds United. “I was looking in and around teams near me for a new club and it was the best opportunity to go to, to not drop down and not drop the standard. Since I have been here, the standard has just got higher and higher.”
Like many of the current squad, limited opportunities in girls’ football growing up meant Kath played for a boys’ club from around the age of seven and forced her brother, who “wasn’t very good” she quips, to get involved, only linking up with a female side as a teenager.
Those memories feel almost a lifetime ago for Smith, who proudly wears the number 10 shirt for Simon Wood’s side and will star on the Elland Road turf in next weekend’s FA WNL Division One North clash against York City Ladies, in front of a bumper crowd.
It won’t, however, be her debut at the famous old ground as she featured there in a previous season for Leeds. Yet, as the women’s side continues to progress, having competitive fixtures with thousands cheering on from the terraces is testament to the direction the sport is headed, the playmaker believes.
“I can see the development of women’s football first-hand. I think since the Lionesses won the Euros, the number of female players has doubled because of the investment that they put in. The standard is just going to get higher. You can see the development pathway and it is nice for us to be a part of that.
“I am lucky enough to have played at Elland Road and it was an insane experience to play at such a big stadium. Hopefully we can get just as many fans as last time, if not more. Nothing beats playing in the big stadiums, that is what we are in football for.”
We speak on a free weekend due to fixture changes, a rare commodity in the relentless schedule, but Smith hadn’t let up, as she catches her breath from the squash courts. A 10km run is already in the bag.
“Season on season, I set a bit of a goal to do better in terms of appearances. I don’t like it if I miss a game, so keeping myself fit and making sure that I am available is key. Other than that, I think more than anything, it is about learning as a team – new formations and tactics to try and putting it all into practice. We know how to play and we have got plan A, plan B and plan C.”
Kath’s experiences, on the pitch, in the dugouts or with the whistle in hand have all shaped her career so far. Those cold winter nights as a child, overseeing training sessions in Chicago and the painstaking hours that go into maintaining performance levels means that when Elland Road comes calling, Smith is ready to make her mark.
Smith and her teammates are in action at Elland Road this Sunday against York City Ladies. Buy your tickets HERE.
