New Napier City Rovers signing Matt Jones is already showing commitment on and off the football pitch. Video / Neil Reid
New Napier City Rovers signing Matt Jones hails from a tiny South Island farming village. Ahead of the Central League kickoff, he talked to Neil Reid about the travels and sacrifices he has made to play football.
Jones - who has a Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship from Missouri State University - has recently begun a multi-year traineeship programme at global freight business Mainfreight.
Inductees rotate through a range of roles within the company and in his current role Jones starts at 4am five days a week at the firm’s Napier depot.
“The trucks are coming in in the morning and we’re sorting that out and then getting the trucks out in the mid-morning,” he said.
If there ever was a time when the early starts and long days got tiring, the former New Zealand age-grade international’s desire to lay the foundations for life after football fired him up.
Matt Jones has been arriving at Napier City Rovers' pre-season training 15 hours after starting work for the day. Photo / Neil Reid
“My overall vision is where I see myself in the next five or 10 years,” he said.
“Obviously, football is a massive part of it.
“But with the whole university pathway [I have] aspirations outside of football.
“Kind of my whole childhood really has just been you’ve just gotta do what you do... try and crack on with it.
“The whole kind of business thing is something I aspire to.”
“My upbringing is very rural, I enjoy the outdoors a lot and obviously there’s a bit of hard work at the same time.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m super grateful for that.”
New Napier City Rovers signing Matt Jones (left) with teammate Cam Emerson at training. Photo / Neil Reid
Life on the land has been a world away from some places football has taken Jones in recent years.
He has studied and played football at American universities in Pennsylvania and Missouri.
“It helped me grow a lot as a person, I think that’s probably the best thing that the US gave me,” he said.
“You’re on your own, you’re in your late teens and early twenties... you just have to deal with it. Your parents are on the other side of the world... the biggest thing that I learned over there was growing overall [as a person].”
The relaxed rural surroundings of Swannanoa were also a world away from what Jones experienced in 2017 when he travelled to India as part of New Zealand’s team at the Fifa Under-17 World Cup.
Matt Jones footballing journey has taken him from a rural Canterbury village to America, India, Australia and now to Napier City Rovers. Photo / Neil Reid
Last year, after completing his studies in the US, he played for Melbourne club the Eastern Lions.
“[This year] I hope to play in all games, hopefully be a decent team player for the Rovers and make the National League,” Jones said.
“I hope to have a good, successful season and get 30-plus games under my belt. I do like to help people on the team and hopefully lead by example, the best I can.”
Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 30 years of newsroom experience.
