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Arsenal
Playing For A Living - What More Could A Girl Want?
by Jeremy Ruane
Life for Amber Hearn right now couldn't be sweeter. The 2004 New Zealand Women's International Player of the Year is having a ball while living the life any footballer in this country would crave for - playing the game for a living, and for Arsenal, the reigning League and FA Cup holders in English women's soccer, to boot.
Hearn returned to 'Goonerland' at the end of January 2005, but before concluding her Christmas holidays, a chat with Soccer Talk was in order, thus bringing the NZ football community up-to-date with how things have gone so far during a fledgling English career which has seen the Lynn-Avon United graduate make nine appearances all told for her club, all but one as a substitute.
"When I first arrived, in August, I was put straight into a game, and I wondered to myself, 'What have I got myself into here?' It was quite hard, and I was playing well out of my comfort zone for the first couple of weeks.
"But the girls have helped me out heaps. I live with two of them at present, and they're my best mates there. We live in an apartment right
next to Highbury, so all we have to do when the guys are playing at home is tell the security guards who we are, and they let us in!"
"It was cool getting to meet all the guys from the Premier League squad, too. My first time at lunch, and everyone in the Arsenal canteen was looking at me - I was so excited, yet so nervous at the same time. I was terrified I'd make a mistake!
"I've met David Beckham, too - he's hot!! That was when England used our grounds for their training sessions before an international".
The London Colney grounds play a key part in Amber's week, although she has the luxury of not having to get up before 10am! "Vic Akers, Arsenal's coach, is a good guy - he took me under his wing when I arrived.
"It's his preference that all the Arsenal girls work for the club, so three of us, including myself, coach up to sixty young players during the week. It's great - there's no homework, no thinking to do, it's just football, football, football!
"Our team training sessions take place between 6pm and 8.30pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays - we usually train three to four times a week, but once a day. Our training sessions are basically two-touch football, with plenty of emphasis on fitness work.
"For instance, we do 'Horseshoes' every Thursday round Highbury - we sprint round the running track ten times! We also run up and down the stairs there. I love their trainings - they're practical but fun".
Almost all of Arsenal's games are played on Sundays, which means Monday is a rest day for Amber and her team-mates, several of whom are English or Scottish internationals. "Monday has become my movies day, while Friday is party day - the day we let our hair down and enjoy ourselves.
"The standard of football is so much better than in NZ. We basically play like men, and as a result, my game has improved in leaps and bounds. All the teams are good, and the competition's strong - Charlton Athletic and Everton are emerging as our main rivals this season, but Birmingham City and Leeds United aren't far off the pace either.
"As well as the domestic competitions - Premier League, League Cup and FA Cup, we're also involved in the UEFA Women's
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 2004 NZ International Player of the Year
 photo courtesy Graham Hughes/Proshotz
 2004 Northern Premier Women's League Player of the Year
 scoring from 25 yards against Glenfield Rovers
photo courtesy Graham Hughes / Proshotz
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Cup. After my first month, we went to Sweden to play our UEFA group matches. We won our group, then went to Italy for the first leg of the next round - Sardinia, to be exact.
"It was so hot - we simply weren't used to the heat, and we were so lethargic through a lack of sleep. The food wasn't great, either … needless to say, we lost the away leg against Torres, but we beat them back home, and we're now in April's quarter-finals".
Amber's made four substitute appearances on the European stage so far, but the winner of both the Northern Premier Women's League's Player of the Year and Top Goalscorer trophies in 2004 greatly welcomed the opportunity to return home for a few weeks mid-season.
"It's great being back in nice weather, having come from freezing cold temperatures. When I got there in August, the temperature was thirty-odd degrees, but that didn't last long. There is minimal sunshine, and the water's not as nice as it is here.
"What I miss most is the space, the relaxing lifestyle and being away from my family - it's very difficult, being a family-oriented person. But traffic-wise, England's just like Auckland - there's a crash every minute!!"
This is the second break Amber has had from her Arsenal duties, the first having involved a trip to America for a couple of internationals last October. "The US tour was awesome. Standing out in front of those five-figure crowds in Portland and Cincinnati was unreal, and hospitality-wise, they were just so professional - they couldn't do enough for you.
"The best bit was walking into our changing room and seeing everything - and I mean everything - was there laid out for us. After the games, we had ice baths … huge! The tour as a whole gave us a great insight into where we need to be, both fitness-wise and mentally.
"You could tell the Americans had been together as a team for years - they actually flew in on the day of each game. But you can see we're going places, too. We're a really close, young team, and everyone gets on well - that's one of the keys in our development. See how a country like Mexico has developed in the women's game - we can be like that too".
The intensity of the training on what Amber regards as her best tour to date by some distance also impressed the five-times-capped twenty-year-old. "We'd do a 32 metre sprint four times, take fifteen seconds rest, then do it again, and again … twenty-five times all told. No-one dropped out. And the day after a game, we'd be straight into training - it was quite professionally done.
"Performance-wise, our games against the USA were pretty much defensive efforts. To go off at half-time trailing the Olympic champions 1-0 was such a huge feeling, but we need to keep that level of intensity going for ninety minutes. Because we're such a young team, it'll come with international experience".
It goes without saying Amber intends to enjoy many more such tours, as New Zealand prepares for its Women's World Cup qualifying campaign ahead of China 2007. "We don't actually mention it, to be honest", she says confidently, "'cause we know it's going to happen, and we're going to be there for it.
"Meantime, while I'll eventually return to New Zealand long-term, right now, I'm in my future - going overseas, living by yourself, living your own life, and best of all, playing football for a living. I mean, what more could a girl want?"
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