JEREMY BROCKIE
Jeremy Brockie has been a Professional Footballer since the age of 17 years old. In his sixteen year career he has played for thirteen different professional football sides in three different continents, Brockie has experienced it all. A teenage prodigy, Brockie had the choice of five different A-League teams and the big lights of Sydney FC were too hard to turn down. This was a decision that Jeremy regrets now looking back on his career, as it started a downward spiral into a rut where at 19 years old, he was considering giving up. With the prospect of the 2008 Olympic Games and encouragement from key coaches that believed in his potential, Brockie was determined to turn his form around and get on the plane to Beijing.
After a successful Olympic campaign, Jeremy was back playing Professional Football but it wasn’t until the 2012/13 season with his now fifth A-League side, the Wellington Phoenix, that he had his breakout season finishing runner up to the Golden Boot. Already making a number of appearances for his national side, being part of the historic All Whites Squad that had an amazing run at the 2010 World Cup, with being the only unbeaten side in the tournament. At 28 years old, Brockie’s career was coming together and he was set to make his home in Wellington and lead the attack for the Phoenix side. But a change of coach and new tactics proved to be a bad formula for Brockie, who now found himself on the outer. Seeking a new opportunity, Jeremy found himself and his family on a plane to South Africa. Joining up with SuperSport United, Brockie strung together his best years as a professional and won a few titles along the way. He was in the best form of his career and was wondering what he needed to do to get back into the national side, as he was determined to add to his one and only goal for the All Whites.
This form lead to a well-deserved contract in 2018 with one of the bigger clubs in the South African Football League, the Mamelodi Sundowns. The last few seasons have proven to be another test for Jeremy, as he has found himself in and out of the side. But Brockie still feels like his best years are still in front of him and wants to play the game that he loves for as long as possible. As you can imagine, Jeremy has a story to tell. In this episode, Brockie with host van Beek, they discuss; poor early decisions; key turning points in Jeremy’s career; the epic run of the 2010 All Whites World Cup; Ryan Nelson’s leadership; the constant highs and lows of trying to feel settled in a team; travelling to the other side of the world to find a new opportunity; dealing with frustrations; the amazing sacrifice his wife did for a close friend. Plenty more covered in this amazing journey that Jeremy is still on, a man who has built a lot of resiliency along the way, but ultimately a man who is fulfilling his childhood dream of playing Professional Football.
Chapters
New Job/Level 5/Charity run (3:05)
Family influences/Key lessons growing up (7:47)
Choices of A-League teams... made a bad decision (13:09)
Forgetful Sydney FC experience (17:21)
Career spiraling down at 19... (22:20)
Key turning point – lighting the spark again (26:46)
What is feeling like scoring a goal? / Getting “in the Zone” (34:21)
Mixed messages from Ricky Herbert (41:12)
Pushing to make 2010 World Cup Squad (44:52)
2010 World Cup Experience – Ryan Nelson’s Leadership (48:52)
What sets the Greatest Players in the world apart from the regular Professional Footballer? (54:16)
5th times a charm - Wellington Phoenix experience (58:59)
Goodbye NZ, Hello South Africa - Good times with SuperSport United (1:09:29)
Keys to a High Performing Team Culture (1:14:06)
45 games to score only All Whites goal (1:18:43)
Career best form - not getting called up to All Whites (1:23:06)
Football Fans in Peru (1:29:19)
Riding the bench at the Sundowns - At what point does the money become irrelevant and you just want to play Football (1:31:41)
How do you keep yourself balanced during the frustrations? (1:38:34)
An amazing sacrifice & gifts Jeremy’s wife did for a close friend – the surrogacy journey (1:42:40)
Where is Jeremy Brockie in 10 years time? (1:49:38)