Not even 18 years old, Football SA National Training Centre (NTC) goalkeeper, Grace Wilson has shown maturity beyond her years both in her on and off-field achievements.
On the field, Grace maintains a busy footballing schedule, balancing the Liberty A League Women’s season for Adelaide United, commanding the NTC team in South Australia’s Women’s National Premier League, and fulfilling national team duties, including returning this week from a Young Matilda’s Camp in preparation for March’s AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers under the tutelage of head coach, Leah Blayney. Speaking of the camp, Grace said:
“It was a great camp with great facilities. It is always great to be in those national team environments. It was quite high stress, but good!”
Although it is not a path most kids endeavour to follow from the beginning, it was inevitable that Grace would end up with the gloves on. Goalkeeping blood runs in the Wilson family and visions of watching her sister in goals form her earliest footballing memory:
“My earliest memory is going out and watching my sister play. She is a goalkeeper too, so that is why I wanted to get in goals. When I was chosen for SAPSASA (South Australian Primary School Amateur Sports Association) at age 12, I was kind of told that if I want to be in this team, then it needs to be between the sticks, but lucky enough I fell in love with it. I hadn’t really played in goals before that, so I went onto YouTube, watched 4 or 5 videos, and then asked my dad to take me down to the local park and have a kick about.”
Off-field it can be quick to forget that Grace is still a high-school student, and it was in this environment amongst friends that Grace decided she would take part in The Leukaemia Foundation’s World's Greatest Shave:
The past couple of years my school has run it as a school charity event, and so when it came up, myself and a couple of friends thought it would be good if we did it. We had about 5-7 people who were going to do it, so we knew we could raise a fair amount of money”.
The opportunity to give back to a cause close to her heart was not lost on Grace:
In the past I have had family members and friends unfortunately pass away from cancer, so any opportunity to raise money for that is something I really want to be a part of”.
Through using her footballing profile and social media prowess, Grace was able to raise $1000 as an individual, with the school raising over $10,000 on the day through friends, family, and teammates. Grace also donated her ponytail to the Leukaemia Foundation:
I sent that off so now someone has my hair in their wig!”
Anyone following Grace’s journey would see how she has embraced the new look, maintaining the cut well after the event and using it as a form of expression:
I’ve had a really positive reaction to it as it was quite a big cut. A lot of people really enjoyed it, and I was fortunate enough that I really liked it, so I’ve had a lot of fun with it. It’s a fun way to show my creativity and I’m friends with a fantastic artist who comes over and does the designs for me…
With Pride Round coming up in the A League Women, I do have some secret plans for that and then depending on other events, I’m going to shape my designs around that too”.
Although she has a lot less hair on her head to part with, Grace wants to find a way to continue to give back this year:
I’m thinking if I can grow it back next year or later this year, I’ll do it again and raise even more money”.
Women’s National Premier League fans can see Grace return to the NTC side this year following the completion of the Liberty A League Women’s season, in what is going to be a promising time for upcoming footballers in the NTC system as the experienced Grace takes on a leadership role:
It will be a very exciting season, we’ve got a new group of younger girls coming up, so it is great to be able to help coach them along and shape how they’re going to play.”
The 2023 Women’s National Premier League season kicks off in a fortnight’s time on 10th March with Adelaide Comets facing newly promoted, Flinders United to open the curtains on what will be an exciting year for female football with Australia hosting a World Cup on home soil. Wilson’s NTC side can be seen on Saturday 11th Match, away to Fulham United to open their 2023 campaign.
