Sasha Grove: "The team is really important to me"

Sasha Grove has a reputation on a football pitch.

She works hard. She runs fast. And – if you are tasked with marking her, or trying to slow her down – you better be prepared to stand your ground, lest you be bundled over by the Canberran coming at you full-throttle.

“All I want to do is help my team win,” the full-back told ����Ӱ�� media. “I know the age-old question – would you rather score or assist? I would rather assist, every day of the week.”

The 19-year-old is in Uzbekistan with the CommBank Young Matildas for the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2024™. Her on-pitch demeanour is the result of an internal determination to do whatever she can to support those around her.

“Sometimes I look a bit serious, but it’s just because I can’t see, so I’m squinting,” she joked, laughing. “But no… I don’t want you getting past me, you’re not going to score. That’s the end of the story. And I just love driving everyone in front of me to do their absolute best.”

“That’s something I love, the dynamics between all the players that we have on the pitch, because you know what everyone’s capable of, what their potential is. So it’s my job to really help them see that. By doing my best, and doing my job on the pitch, that’s how we are going to achieve that.”

Her love of the team environment grew out of a childhood in competitive running and individual sports.

“Growing enough, I was a competitive runner, and I wasn’t that bad at it either,” she explained, “so individual events was very normal for me, but it stressed me out a lot. I would often cry at starting lines because I was like, ‘I don’t want to lose.’”

“But there’s something about that camaraderie [of football] at the end of the day for me, that gives me the inner strength to really get the job done. There’s so much pride, in being with so many like-minded people at the same time and trying to get the job done, that I love so much more than anything that I could achieve running on the track by myself.

“It’s even more special with the team that we have behind us, be it the coaches, managers, physios, so many people that aren’t seen when it comes to results, when we win or when we lose. So it’s all paying homage to those people who have supported us along the way. The team is really important to me.”

The Canberra United youngster found that love of football, and the team environment, after some turbulent times growing up. It is those experiences that have shaped her into someone with a unique perspective on the game and wisdom beyond her years.

“To say I was naughty was an understatement,” she recalled.

“I just let it all out at home, and I didn’t really understand why… just because, you know, that’s the way that I was mentally wired. Having something like football where I could be with my siblings, be competitive with them, and take away any other discussions and just be free for those 90 minutes – that was really helpful for me, and really pivotal to who I am today.

“That amount of freedom I’ve gained through that [football] is special. There’s so much going on today. I know everyone has different struggles back in their home life, or just little stresses in the back of their mind. For those 90 minutes, there’s nothing else that I can think of apart from winning, but doing what I can for the team - because at the end of the day it’s the team that wins, not the individual.”

The friends and connections Grove has gained through football are the most important thing that the game has given her. The lifelong friends met through playing the sport, the school friends who she has connected with since the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ - the “family that [football] creates” is what keeps her motivated.

Learning to be more disciplined, trusting those around you, and staying on an even path whether she wins or loses are just some of the lessons that football has taught her.

“It’s such a human game… there’s a lot of human lessons to take out of it,” she reflected.

The AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2024™ – Grove’s first major tournament – will be another occasion full of such lessons. Grappling with a long overseas tour, dealing with different kinds of conditions and facing off against some of the best age-group players in the world is no easy feat.

Like everything in football, Sasha Grove is up for the challenge.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity for us to really show who we are, what grit we have to win games, and I think that was especially evident in our win against South Korea,” she explained.

“Challenges really help us learn about ourselves, and really test us to show what we’re made of. It’s okay sometimes, we fall down, or don’t succeed – because we’ve got to get up and do it again. In a game, you go down one goal, you try even harder to get that goal back. So challenges are always welcome.”

Sasha Grove and the CommBank Young Matildas are currently competing at the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2024™. You can catch all of the games live and free on 10Play.

Australia v Chinese Taipei
Date: Saturday, 9 March 2024
Kick-off: 1.00pm (local) / 7.00pm AEDT
Venue: DO’Stilk Stadium, Tashkent
Broadcast: 10 Play