Paige Satchell first fell in love with football at the age of five and has not looked back.

The Rotorua-raised winger has used her blistering pace to earn a spot in the Football Ferns squad, having also played in a FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup and two FIFA U-20 editions of the tournament. In the recent FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifiers in New Caledonia, Satchell earned her first start with the Ferns and is beginning to stamp her mark on the side.

Satchell’s style of football is exciting, characterised by her speed. That’s been a constant theme throughout her career. “It’s pretty cool to be able to be recognised for being fast. I’ve always been known for that because I was pretty speedy in my younger years so being recognised for that is cool actually.”  

In those younger years, Satchell’s pace to aid her exploits at first Ngongotaha Football Club, where she played with the boys, and later at Rotorua United.

Satchell chose football over her other favourite sport, athletics, late in high school because she enjoyed it the most. By that time, she had been selected into first National Talent Centre camps, then the New Zealand U-17 side.

Pulling on the New Zealand jersey for the first time was an experience Satchell said she will never forget.

“You’ve put so much hard work into training and games at that point, so it’s cool to represent yourself and your country and make your family proud,” said Satchell.

“Working so hard throughout your journey and to get to that point where you’ve made it to the Ferns, it’s just indescribable really. Getting my first start in New Caledonia, that was really special for me, especially coming back from a pretty long-term injury”.

The long-term injury was an ACL tear, sustained whilst playing for Three Kings United in 2016. The injury was devastating, and thrust Satchell into uncertainty about whether she would be the same player as before she was injured. But whilst she acknowledges that fear, Satchell worked through her recovery with characteristic determination and has come back better than ever. She was called up to the Ferns upon her return.

“It was scary at times, obviously it was a bad injury going through knee surgery and there was a lot of rehab involved. I had a lot of support from NZF and my family to be able to do that the best I could and get back playing to where I was before. One of the first questions I asked my surgeon when I found out I had done it was ‘am I still going to have my speed?’ But I rehabbed really well and I’m back to normal and I still have my skills and my pace.”

Having overcome her injury, Satchell is now training with the Future Ferns Domestic Programme, where she says she has grown as a player.

In the Ferns environment, she has worked on using her pace to her advantage and effectively. Watching her play, the evidence of that work is clear. Talking to Satchell, she is driven not only by her hunger to constantly improve, but also by her love of the game. For Satchell, that love has been there since day one.

“I’ve loved it since I was five. I think I’ll always love it. It’s the team aspect. You meet a lot of people. I’ve made close friends along the way. I’ve had a lot of support, too-my dad used to drive me up to Auckland every week for training-and mainly it’s always been enjoyable. I use it as an escape. Work, university, they can be stressful. I unleash on the field,” she said.

Football has also been a key element of the person she has become off the pitch. It has given her confidence.

“It gave me a really clear sense of what I wanted from life. I always knew I wanted to be a Football Fern.”

Even now, having achieved that goal and reached the international stage – which she said brings with it more pressure to perform – she views football as an escape, and she loves it.

The winger is also motivated to be a role model to young girls, as the Football Ferns once were to her. Satchell still has the shirt from her first ever National Talent Centre camp that was signed by Rosie White.

The pair are now teammates, both of whom have been involved with Girls and Women’s Week, where they have inspired young female footballers at various festivals over the last few days. Satchell is keenly aware of the importance of that position.

“Having role models is a big thing. That’s why having the Girls and Women’s Week is so important. It’s really important to get out there and show them that it is possible if you really enjoy it and put the work in.”

Satchell offered this simple advice for young players around New Zealand who aspire to be Football Ferns.

“Make sure you enjoy it. Stay positive, maybe things won’t work out every time, but keep working hard and dream big.”

Article added: Thursday 21 February 2019