Sam Kerr was always destined for greatness, but not in an academic sense – the Matildas captain revealing she was nearly kicked out of high school for being ‘mean’.
Chelsea’s star striker is recovering from a calf injury and preparing to feature for Australia against Denmark in their World Cup qualifier on Monday night.
Ahead of the tournament, she spoke in the Disney+ documentary Matildas: The World At Our Feet about her early days at Samson Primary School and Somerville Baptist College, now known as Kennedy Baptist College, in Perth.
“As a kid, all I wanted to do was play sports,” she said.
“I was just a normal, dirty, 10-year-old kid. I never wanted to brush my hair, I never paid attention in school.
‘I was naughty. I was asked to go in ninth grade.
Kerr made the startling confession while filming the documentary Matildas: The World at Our Feet for Disney+
Kerr described herself as a dirty kid who never brushed her hair and just wanted to play sports all the time
Kerr (pictured when she attended Samson Primary School in Perth) has always had a cheeky streak
Although Kerr was able to convince the school that she should stay, she wasn’t always in class as her football star continued to shine.
“I had Sam in my Grade 10 English class in Somerville. She was away a lot because even at 15 she was on the Matildas team and had plenty of tournaments and training camps to attend,’ English teacher Andrew Burton told The West.
“I would describe her at the time as having a lively, fun personality with a cheeky sense of humour. She was clearly focused on pursuing her passion for football, but never stood out, in terms of bragging or bragging about his accomplishments.
This love of football was also evident from an early age, with Samson Elementary School teacher Marion Burt recalling that Kerr was destined for success even at such a young age.
“We have what is called a sports award when our students graduate. She received the sports award for the year she left school,” she said.
“My very last line of her award said ‘Samantha, we look forward to following your international career’.
“I’m proud of the fact that I had to know, there had to be something about her that sort of said she was going to go far.”
Fast forward to today and Kerr’s partner Kristie Mewis told the Matildas documentary that the striker had natural leadership qualities that meant she was always destined for success.
“As a person, as a teammate, as a leader, she’s kind of like the whole package,” Mewis said.
“And I think that’s something that everyone strives to be, but she naturally has it.
“So I think that’s super inspiring and I think anybody would be lucky to have him on their team.”
Kerr is considered one of the best players in the world and football was much more interesting for her than studies in her early days.
Kerr (pictured at Matildas training on Friday) is working hard to heal her calf injury so she can play in the knockout stages of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Kerr’s partner Kristie Mewis (pictured together) said the Australian skipper had natural leadership qualities that came naturally to her.
But Kerr insists she’s no one special and puts her shoes on one foot at a time like everyone else.
“I’m like every other person, some days I wake up and feel like crap and I don’t want to go to practice,” she said.
“As captain of the team, I’m not this motivating captain or I get up and give these amazing speeches.
“But I’m doing everything I can to make us win.
“There is so much pressure to perform well and do something amazing for our country.
“The Matildas have become a household name and everyone expects them to win.”
The six-part documentary Matildas: The World at Our Feet is available to stream on Disney+ now.