Soccer: Strom adds to his growing collection of elite stadiums

Nathan Strom. File photo / Brett Phibbs

Nathan Strom has plied his sporting trade at many soccer and cricket grounds around New Zealand.

On Sunday afternoon he adds one of the more famous to that list when Waikato FC run on to AMI Stadium to play Canterbury United.

"It is a game we have been looking forward to since the draw came out," said Strom.

"Not only is it a great venue but to play the curtainraiser to the Phoenix means we might get a half-decent crowd. I played at North Harbour Stadium a few months ago in the Chatham Cup final so this will be another chance to play at an iconic ground."

That final was not a happy affair for Strom as Bay Olympic - his winter club - went down to Miramar Rangers 3-1 in the final.

There was some irony in that.

As a kid Strom used to spend hours at Miramar Rangers' Centennial Park watching his father Jeff, who played for the All Whites in the early'80s, coach teams that included Chris Jackson, Raf de Gregorio, Stu Jacobs, Michael McGarry and Simon Elliott.

"I grew up in Johnsonville but Miramar was my team," said Strom, 27. "Then our family came to Auckland when I was 16 and I started out playing at Fencibles."

And for Howick Pakuranga in the Auckland club cricket competition where he showed out as a more than useful medium-fast bowler in what he admitted at the time was his first sporting love.

Good enough to catch the eye in Wellington, he returned to play for the Onslow club and Wellington A including games at the Basin Reserve which he tags as his favourite ground.

He has no hesitation, however, in naming Kiwitea St as his favourite footy field. And not just because it happened to be the venue of one of his most memorable New Zealand Football Championship games.

Playing for Otago United, Strom and his teammates turned up at the hallowed park in the 2005-06 season as the longest of long shots against Auckland City.

"Even my parents turned up thinking it would be a cricket score," said Strom. "But we really turned it on that day and won 1-0. It is a game that will long live in my memory."

Two things stick in the mind from that game. One, the mercurial midfield magic of pint-sized Michael Eisenhut and the Strom long throws which brought panic to the City goalmouth.

Those throws have continued to be the bane of many opposing teams and have often brought derision from his opponents. Why? It is a genuine attacking weapon and a shame not enough players are good at it.

Twice red-faced New Zealand goalkeepers, Michael Utting and Tamati Williams, playing club football, got their hands to Strom long throws and scored embarrassing own goals.

Strom, good enough to play internationally at under-20 level in Fiji - "beaten 1-0 in the sun" - and for New Zealand Secondary Schools in Australia and Europe, progressed from Fencibles to Mt Wellington and East Auckland before heading to Otago.

He later returned to Auckland to play at Lynn Avon under Shane Knowles, had a season with Waikato FC under Dave Edmondson a couple of years ago before linking again with Knowles this past winter at Bay Olympic.

Now working for a printing business, Knowles was resigned to having a summer off from soccer until he got a call from Willy Gerdsen who enticed him to return to Waikato.

"He can be quite persuasive and sold me the idea," said Strom, who will miss a couple of games around Christmas as he takes a break to visit his girlfriend in Canada.

"I am really looking forward to Sunday's game which could really define our season."