INTERVIEW | Championship player Jodel Liberty Shai is enjoying the #Lilywhites great start to the league campaign and confident the team can continue to thrive and develop throughout the season under the leadership of coach Jesus Bueno
Jodel said “The transformation from last season has been amazing and I put this down to the clubs #development and #pathways strategy. There are several girls from our Grade 16 Prems team and some fantastic players amongst them!”
“There is no doubt in my mind that the majority will push on to play Lotto NRFL Prems football and I suspect there are a few future Football Ferns as well.”
Talking about her own football journey Jodel said “I started playing football in England for Ossett Albion FC (now Ossett United FC) in 2006 and also represented my local County Football Association (West Riding County Football Association) for a couple of seasons, playing against other regional academy teams such as Leeds United, Newcastle United and Middlesbrough before moving to New Zealand in 2011.
Since arriving in Auckland Jodel added “I had the dream start and won the AFF Grade 14 Prems Division during my first season. I also played several representative games for Auckland Football Federation and in 2015 joined Papatoetoe AFC.”
After a solid season in the Reserves, Jodel seemed destined to make the step up to Prems before an ankle injury and subsequent operation kept her out for a year. “It was gut wrenching and I was devastated. To make it worse upon my return I really struggled with the impact training and matches had on my ankle. It probably took me another year or so to get over it both mentally and physically. In hindsight I probably returned too quickly, but was desperate to get back on the pitch and play again!”
“Having said that my time off the field turned out to be very constructive and during that period I attended the Auckland Football Federation Club Based Referee course, completed my New Zealand Football Level 2 Junior Coaching Award and coached on the AFF Holiday & Schools Programme. I found coaching a great experience, very rewarding and am keen to return, but probably not until my playing days are over and I can give it my full attention as juggling the two is tricky.
Joining Eastern Suburbs in the Championship felt like and turned out to be the perfect fit for me, it’s a great club with awesome coaches and great facilities.
Since my return and joining the #Lilywhites I certainly appreciate playing football more and don’t take it for granted. This has led to a slightly more relaxed approach to football, which I’m not sure is a good or bad thing, but it works for me and like millions of others I enjoy taking to the field each week and giving it my all!