Softball: Excellence - it's the family business

If the words bunt, homer or strike go straight over your head, you would have little chance of surviving in the Smith/Rice household which lives and breathes softball.

Former Black Sox legend Dean Rice is the assistant coach of the national women's team, and his partner Jackie Smith has just returned to the side after the birth of the couple's second child, Hunter.

Smith, an infielder, has played on and off for the national side since 1990.

She has competed in three world series and has her heart set on the next series, in Beijing next year.

"I had always planned to get back into softball after Hunter's birth," she said.

"But in terms of the international stuff, I guess when I got back playing this season I realised that I was still good enough to play at the top level."

The White Sox finished a disappointing sixth in the 2002 world series and have a gruelling 12 months ahead as they build towards the next world series and qualifying for the 2008 Olympics.

First up is next weekend's tri-series against a Japanese team and an All Stars team in Christchurch.

The Japanese, ranked in the top four in the world, will bring a development side to Christchurch.

"They can do that and they'll still be very competitive because they have got such a huge pool to chose from, whereas we are totally the opposite," Smith said.

"We don't have as much funding to allow us to get as much competition as they get so they can develop their players.

"The few chances we get to play international games our top players need to be there to get the experience so we are ready for the world series."

She said the Japanese side would take some beating.

"They are always an extremely polished team who do the basics very well. Softball is pretty much professional in Japan, so they play full time all year round which makes them very competitive."

The All Stars team, coached by Wayne Nichols of Wellington, has players from New Zealand, Japan, South Africa, the USA and Australia.

Its New Zealanders are Lisa Kersten, Angela Stubbs, Melanie Hulme, Brooke Lockhart and Katie Hetherington, all of whom are pushing for White Sox spots.

Only a few players are unavailable, so the New Zealand team is virtually at full strength for the series.

The team's last international hitout was in June in the Canada Cup where they reached the playoffs.

The Black Sox have led the way in world softball in recent years, but the White Sox have not been as successful. They finished in the top three in their first four world series (1978, 1982, 1986, 1990), then were sixth in 1994, 11th in 1998 and sixth in 2002.

But Smith is confident progress is being made.

"The team has definitely shown over the last four years that they are moving forward," Smith said.

"Players have a different mentality now in their approach to the game and their understanding of it.

"I believe if we can get back a number of players who are deciding if they want to play at the White Sox level and keep the players that are here, this team will be competitive at the next world series."

One of the veterans in the side, Smith followed her parents Bill and Manu into the game. Bill is New Zealand's chief umpire.

It was obviously through softball that she meet Rice.

"I admired him as a player, as everyone does. In 1990, when I decided that I wanted to make the women's team, I saw myself as a similar type of player.

"I started training with him and he taught me how to slap [drive the ball] and bunt [tap the ball down], and just play the game he has always played.

"He has developed my game and coached me in his ethics and skills and training. Through that we got together and have now been together 11 years."

She said having Rice, who played for the Black Sox for 13 years, as the team's assistant coach had never been a problem.

"It works really well ... we have a very clear understanding of how we need to keep a good balance of our personal lives and then what is required to perform at the top level. Fortunately we get a lot of support from our families which allows us to do what we need to do."

JACKIE SMITH

* Lives: Auckland
* Age: 35
* Position: infielder
* Occupation: Sales rep
* Status: Partner Dean Rice; children Allison, 13, Jackson, 3, and Hunter, 9 months.
* Club: North Harbour
* Career Highlights: 1990-2004: Member of the White Sox side (on and off), 1990, 1994, 1998: World Series.