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Jenny Bindon - One Goalkeeper Who Sure Ain’t Crazy!
by Jeremy Ruane
 It’s said you have to be crazy to be a goalkeeper. It’s also said that goalkeepers are born, not made.The latter statement far more accurately sums up the footballing life of New Zealand women’s national team custodian, Jenny Bindon, than the former could ever hope to. For crazy this Belleville, Illinois native most definitely is not!!
"It’s usually the person who is unfit or the weaker player who ends up being put in goal, but that wasn’t the case with me by any means", recalls the near six-foot tall glove-wearer.
"I started playing soccer along with my twin sister, Sarah, at the age of six. My dad was the coach of my first team, Belle Clair, and we didn’t have a goalkeeper. So we all lined up, and whoever could punt the ball the furthest got the job … I’ve been in goal ever since - and I love it!!"
The rewards for continuing to work hard at this most unique of on-field positions over the years have extended far beyond the soccer pitch for 31-year-old Jenny. It helped secure her a scholarship, which took her to Lewis University, near Chicago.
There, she was captain of her college team from 1998-2001, earning the Coaches Award in 1999 and GLVC Academic All-Conference honours in the 2000-01 season. It’s also where she met her husband.
 "Grant is the captain of the New Zealand men’s volleyball team. He’s a Kiwi, who secured a volleyball scholarship to Lewis. We met there, got married in 2001, and moved to New Zealand the following year".So the shot-stopper who has three New Zealand appearances to her name to date finds herself a long, long way from St. Louis, where her ever-supportive parents and twin sister live, and the place she regards as her true home town. Not that that bothers her one iota.
"I had no expectations when we moved halfway round the world to here. I was pretty happy to come, and to explore a beautiful country, and planned to do something totally different, like kayaking and things like that.
"However, the soccer bug bit as a result of playing seven-a-side social soccer with friends, and in 2002 I played in the Premier League for Bay Olympic. During the season I met Glenfield Rovers coach Peter Buchanan, and as I live and work on the North Shore, it made much more sense to me to play for a club on the northern side of the Harbour Bridge".
 Soccer is fortunate to boast the talents of this ER fan, for Bindon is equally talented in basketball, softball, track and field events, cross-country, and tennis - in which she did quite well at high school."I wanted to play two sports at university, something which isn’t commonly practised. It was through playing basketball and soccer that I secured my scholarship.
"Playing sport is a gift. I believe everyone has a talent, and I believe mine is in playing sports which require very good hand-eye co-ordination, which sports such as soccer, basketball and tennis all require".
Those talents have led Jenny down a path which saw her keep a shut-out in her final game for Lewis, against Northern Kentucky, a team which went on to make the final four of their competition in 2000-01.
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"That was a special highlight of my career, but no prizes for guessing the biggest one to date!" The little matter of donning the gloves for her country at the Australia Cup tournament in Brisbane in February, results notwithstanding, perchance?
Silly question - representing your country ranks as the ultimate objective for any sportsperson. But in her typical no half measures way, Jenny has set her sights higher still.
"My main goal is to play a part in this team and go to the 2007 Women’s World Cup Finals in China - doing this is the most important thing to me, ’cause I’m very much a team player", says Bindon, who has two brothers and ten nieces and nephews in her extended family.
 "If it’s best for the team that I’m the first-choice goalkeeper for that to occur, so be it", she says modestly, mindful of the strong competition for New Zealand’s number one jersey offered by, among others, her national and federation goalkeeping rival, Rachel Howard."To be playing for New Zealand at my age is pretty much a dream come true for me. I certainly plan to make the most of the chance, and do everything in my power to do so.
"Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff was forty when he captained Italy to World Cup success in 1982, but although I’m not getting any younger, I’m not too fussed about my age - you’re as young as you feel, I say!!"
The day will come, however, when it’s time for this fan of Morgan Freeman and Julia Roberts to hang up the gloves for good. "I think I’ll always be involved in the game, if not through coaching, then as a parent. But I’ll always be a soccer fan, come what may".
Meantime, life isn’t quite all soccer for Jenny - the game the world plays doesn’t pay the bills in this neck of the woods!! But being employed by one of the code’s prime sponsors is more than adequate compensation!
 "Since arriving here three-and-a-half years ago, I’ve worked for Nike New Zealand as their Marketing Co-ordinator. It entails working with retail development and event marketing, and while it isn’t the easiest job in the world, there are plenty of spin-offs, particularly in terms of meeting lots of interesting people."As a result, working for an innovative and inspirational company as Nike is is quite spectacular. And while others have a laugh at our expense, it’s also quite ironic for Rachel and I, in that as well as being goalkeeping friends and rivals, we have similar jobs - with Adidas in her case".
Away from the environments of work and football, Jenny enjoys relaxing with her husband, listening to music - "anything from rap to country and all points in between, but I particularly like Allan Jackson" - and a good sports biography.
"I’ve always been interested in people who’ve inspired me, be they athletes, leaders, whoever. In that regard, US cyclist Lance Armstrong’s books, ‘Anything But The Bike’ and ‘Every Second Counts’, are particular favourites.
"But the quote from which I have gained most inspiration, and by which I endeavour to live my life, both on and off the soccer pitch, comes from my favourite athlete, Michael Jordan.
"‘I don’t do things half-heartedly. Because I know if I do, I can expect half-hearted results’".
With such an approach to life, few would bet against Jenny Bindon achieving the footballing ambitions this goalkeeper cherishes. Crazy? You must be joking!
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