STARKVILLE — Johanna Hamblett admits the quizzical looks had an effect on her.
Although she felt confident about her decision to travel more than 8,100 miles from New Zealand to Mississippi, Hamblett couldn’t help notice the way friends reacted when she told them she was going to the United States to play soccer.
“I would get all of these reactions, like ‘Oh, that is interesting,’ or ‘Oh, that is an interesting place to go,’ ” Hamblett said. “That made me sometimes not doubt the decision, but I also kept thinking about it. I was always quite positive about it. I was really excited the whole way after deciding.”
Hamblett remains excited about the opportunity she faces as a member of the MSU women’s soccer team. The 5-foot-7 midfielder/defender has started and contributed in MSU’s exhibition victories against Memphis (3-0) and Iowa State (1-0). She and the Bulldogs will kick off the 2016 season at 6:30 p.m. Friday when they play at College of Charleston. MSU will play Virginia Tech at 10 a.m. Sunday to wrap up the first weekend.
Hamblett had to negotiate numerous obstacles to make the journey of 8,148 miles from her hometown of Christchurch, New Zealand, to Starkville, Mississippi. She said knowing friends like Victoria Esson (Texas Tech), Hannah Wong (Arizona), Soren Henderson (Rider), and others have had good experiences leaving New Zealand to play soccer in the U.S. made it easier for her to do the same thing.
“It was a little bit tricky, but I just said I had to do this,” Hamblett said. “I felt it was right and that it was the right decision to make. I had no idea what it was like.”
Hamblett was a member of the New Zealand Under-20 National Team. She led the Mainland Pride to three-straight championships in New Zealand’s National Women’s League from 2013-2015. She also was named the 2014 Player of the Year while competing for the Cashmere Technical Soccer Club Premier Team.
Hamblett said she worked with Jessica Pullar, who owns USA Sport Connects, a company in San Diego that helps New Zealand athletes find college opportunities in the U.S., to make contact with MSU women’s soccer coach Aaron Gordon. Pullar, who is originally from New Zealand, helped Hamblett make a four-and-a-half- to five-minute video and then served as a “guide” in the college recruiting process.
Pullar, who also is from Christchurch, played field hockey when she was in school. She said she would have loved to have played field hockey in college in the U.S. Going on three years in the business and having helped place nearly 50 male and female athletes throughout the U.S., Pullar credits friend Sam Ryburn for encouraging her to start her paid service. She said international recruiting and the number of companies working to help athletes continue to grow.
“We’re a small company, but a lot of big American companies are doing it,” Pullar said. “There are four or five operating in New Zealand as well.”
Pullar said she doesn’t do advertising for her company and that she works with athletes four days a week to help connect them with schools in the U.S. She said it is “challenging” to compile a highlight video that best showcases an athlete. In Hamblett’s case, Pullar said it was easy to work with Gordon and make a connection.
“He has been great working with me, and it has been really positive relationship from the start,” Pullar said. “He has been very patient with Johanna and showing her they were willing to wait for her to make her decision.”
Gordon said recruiting international players can be a “dicey” issue because he never has received a “bad video” from a recruit. He said he tries to gauge a recruit’s abilities by looking at the other players on the field. In Hamblett’s case, Gordon said he recognized Esson, a goalkeeper, from his time as a coach at Texas Tech, so he was able to analyze the level of play and discover Hamblett’s skills reminded him of another U.S. college player. He said he then talked with someone at Texas Tech to determine if his analysis was accurate.
“Every situation is a little different,” Gordon said. “You have to trust your own instincts, and when you’re not satisfied you have to figure out how do I be satisfied.”
Once Gordon was satisfied, the recruiting process took to the Internet. Gordon said he contacted Hamblett on Skype, a free-to-download Internet-based communication service that allows people to video chat on computers, televisions, or mobile devices. Hamblett also was using Skype to talk to friends to learn about U.S. women’s college soccer and which conferences and programs were the best. She said she liked what she heard about MSU and started to build a relationship with Gordon.
“There is no doubt you have to have a comfort level being able to try to create a relationship over a computer screen or a phone,” Gordon said. “I think in general kids or athletes today have a much better comfort level of that platform. Johanna and I spoke 10-15 times through the process. Sometimes the conversations would be like, ‘Hey, how are you doing?’ We were always making sure she had a comfort level while we were recruiting her and we were working toward the things we needed to do and she was doing the same things for us.”
Gordon credited Hamblett for sticking with the process because the time frame she was expected to arrive in Starkville changed. He also praised Hamblett because a couple of other schools tried to recruit her late in the process, but he felt the relationship he and his coaching staff built with her helped seal the deal.
Hamblett, who said she agreed by email and Skype to commit to MSU, said it was crucial to talk to Gordon and to learn about the team dynamic and the philosophy of the coaches. She admitted it was “frightening” coming to Starkville without seeing it first, but she felt the research she did and the relationships she built helped her make the right decision. She said she has been pleasantly surprised by how comfortable she has felt in Starkville as a new member of a “tight-knit family” in Gordon’s soccer program.
“I wouldn’t have been able to make a decision without having conversations about what it would be like coming here,” Hamblett said.
Hamblett is one of 21 players who saw action Saturday in the victory against Iowa State. She and freshman classmate MaKayla Waldner started both matches. Hamblett helped anchor the midfield with Kennadi Carbin, Carly Mauldin, and Kayleigh Henry.
Gordon has been impressed with what he has seen from Hamblett.
“I have gotten a real positive vibe from Johanna,” Gordon said. “I am super excited to watch her train. I think she is going to do great. She certainly is going to have an advantage being a year older.”
Hamblett has a good feeling about the season, too. She feels her speed, understanding of the game, and tactical knowledge can help the team.
“I am going to really work hard on getting strong and being a lot more physical,” Hamblett said. “I think that will be a big part of being in the Southeastern Conference. I will have to develop that over the next while.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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