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When Heather Garriock was inducted into the Football Australia Hall of Fame last week, she became the first ever Western Sydney Wanderers player to be given that honour.
Garriock, who grew up in Campbelltown and was a Leppington Lions junior, is a western Sydney girl through and through.
She attended Robert Townsend Primary School in Raby and then Westfield Sports High at Fairfield West.
When the Wanderers came into the W-League in 2012, she jumped at the chance to represent her local club.
“It was special to play for a club that represented the western suburbs where I grew up,” admitted Garriock, who was the inaugural captain. “It meant a lot to me to pull on the red and black.”
To show she was a proper girl from the west, Garriock admits she had a rebellious side growing up, but football was always there to keep her on the straight and narrow.
“I was the one always causing mischief,” she laughed. “Growing up in a family of five, it was a battle to gain attention.
“I was a spirited kid that had passion and determination to achieve my goal, which was playing for Australia. Football always kept me on the correct path to follow my dreams.”
(Photo by Tracey Nearmy/Getty Images)
Garriock dedicated her induction to her parents, Bill and Joan, who raised her and four siblings Roxanne, Vanessa, Dean and Nathan; and also her husband Mat and three kids Kaizen, Noa and Astin.
“I just want to thank my mum and dad. Without them I wouldn’t be standing here today. I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart, my mum and dad,” she said. “Also my husband and my three kids.”
Garriock also underlined the importance of youngsters having dreams and heroes, and was pleased to see so many visible women in football who now fulfil that role.
“This beautiful game, I had a dream as a little girl to represent my country on the world stage and was lucky to be able to achieve that,” she said.
“Without football, without dreams, without role models, without having a poster on the wall like I had as a youngster. Without people to look up to, I wouldn’t be standing here today.
“It’s fabulous to see we have so many role models in our female game and especially the Matildas as well, players like Sam Kerr and Ellie Carpenter.”
Garriock’s international career saw her earn 130 Matildas caps, the fourth most overall. She played in three World Cups in 2003, 2007 and 2011, and represented Australia at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the 2004 Athens Olympics.
She was part of the Matildas teams that won the 2003 Oceania Women’s Football Championships and the 2010 Asian Cup.
She won domestic titles in Australia, Denmark and Sweden, and also played in America. In 2003 she won the Julie Dolan Medal while playing for Queensland Sting in the old Women’s National Soccer League.
Post her playing career, Garriock was involved in coaching at Sydney Uni in the NSW NPLW and Canberra United in the W-League. She has also worked in the media, providing expert commentary for Optus, Fox Sports and the ABC.
Garriock is now the CEO of Australian Taekwondo. Last year, she helped rescue seven female Afghanistani taekwondo Olympians from the hands of the Taliban. These women now live in Australia.
Garriock will still be involved in football, though, after taking up a role as a director on the Football Australia board last year.
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