Friday, 03 September 2010
GRACE Parkinson is fulfilling her dream to represent New Zealand playing football.
The Opotiki girl, who briefly attended Ohope Beach School and played her first competitive football for a tenth-grade Ohope Junior Soccer Club side, is one overwhelmed 16-year-old this month after being named in the 21-strong New Zealand under-17 world cup football squad.
Grace, schooled now at St Peters College in Cambridge, left last week for Trinidad and Tobago for the 16-nation tournament, which runs from September 5 to 25.
“I was bouncing off the walls and kept saying ‘thank you, thank you’,” she said about receiving the call from coach Dave Edmondson.
“The whole selection process has been difficult and I was nervous because everyone who trialled is at the same skill level and are really good players,” she said before she left.
Grace plays women’s soccer for Hamilton club Claudelands Rovers.
She dedicates her mornings to personal fitness and conditioning training, she trains with her club team on Tuesdays and Thursdays and she heads to Auckland on Fridays to train with the New Zealand team. She plays competition fixtures on Saturdays and Sundays.
Juggling an overloaded training regime with school work is a challenge.
“I’ve had to make so many sacrifices this year and all the hard work I’ve had to put in can be stressful, but it has all been worth it,” she said.
Boxes filled with dozens of trophies and medals are a reminder of just how talented she is. Included in the haul are Golden Boot trophies from 2007, 2008 and 2009 for being the country’s top goal scorer in her age group.
“I wasn’t into soccer when I was younger; I loved rugby,” the second oldest of seven children said.
“It was my older brother Mitch who encouraged me when I was nine. He got me out in the yard kicking the ball around.”
The Young Football Ferns stopped off in Miami for two warm up matches they lost narrowly on the way to the cup venue. They were beaten 1-0 by Korea on Sunday and 2-1 by the Republic of Ireland on Wednesday. The team meets Venezuela on Monday in its first group C world cup clash.