Now with the Super Rugby outfit Queensland Reds, the Atlanta Olympian was back home to help out at the NIAS Inter Academy Hockey Weekend.

“It’s good to see the teams coming together and training together,” Smith said.

“I don’t think it hurts to have different voices.”

Part of a golden era for hockey in Tamworth, Smith fondly recalled the grounding he received.

“I look back now and see how lucky I was to have some of the coaches I did,” he said.

He mentioned the likes of Barrie Pritchard, Richard Willis and Tony Ball, and questioned whether he would have gone to the next level if not for their commitment.

The main message he wanted to get across to the athletes was the importance of getting the basics right.

“If you haven’t got the basics right you can’t really learn the next level skills,” he said.

The Player Development Manager for the Reds since 2012, Smith “loves the role”, although he joked he is still trying to learn the rules of rugby, but is optimistic about Queensland’s chances.

“We’ve recruited really well with the likes of Quade Cooper coming back and George Smith and Stephen Moore,” he said.

“We’ve really got some quality, mixed in with some youth.”

His concern though is more what happens away from the field.

“70 per cent of the squad are involved in some type of study, which is really good to see. You see so many issues with that transition out of sport,” he said.

In his spare time Smith also helps out with the Queensland Academy of Sport hockey program, and last year assisted another Tamworth export Des King coaching the Queensland 21s women.

He added hockey needed to “be on their toes” to compete in an ever-broadening sporting landscape.

“We’ve got to make sure we’ve got good facilities and good coaches,” he said.

And a good product, Smith seeing a place for Nines and other shorter games, which encourage more touches, especially for young kids.