Craig Smith

craigsmith_747@hotmail.com

Smith was born in Canada but grew up in the heartland of Scottish football in Greenock near Glasgow. Following in the footsteps of his footballing father's professional career, Smith played in Scotland and went on to play in the Australian 1st Division. He moved to Vancouver in 2002 and turned to coaching when his playing career came to an end. A Canadian National B level coach, Smith has gained a growing reputation working in the Vancouver area alongside coaches of the caliber of Tony Waiters, Derek Possee and Carl Valentine. Recently, he has worked with six 2007 Ottawa W-League players Ciara McCormack, Anna Laue, Marie-Eve Nault, Annie Hamel, Jenny Jeffers and Zoe Avner who have been spending the Winter coaching and playing in North Vancouver.

"Craig is  an excellent young coach who is very professional, passionate and enthusiastic in all that he does. I believe he is ready to take on the challenge of building on the Fury's enviable recent record in the W-League", commented Tony Waiters, the former England international goalkeeper who was the last head coach to take Canada to a World Cup finals back in 1986.

In his first season as the Fury W-League Coach, Smith led the girls to a 5th consecutive division title with a 13-1-0 regular season record. The Fury Women defeated the Chicago Gaels 3-2 in the Conference Semi-Finals, but feel to the W-League's first-ever professional franchise, FC Indiana, by a 4-3 score in extra time.