IT CERTAINLY WASN’T a case of plotting and planning for months on end, as one might expect. Having gone from Ballinasloe to Bristol via Peamount, Florida was suddenly up next.
The summer after completing her Leaving Cert, Heather Payne crossed the Irish Sea and pitched up at Women’s Super League side Bristol City.
A few months later, it was the Atlantic Ocean the Republic of Ireland international found herself traversing, before calling Florida State University [FSU] home.
There, she would balance football and education as she studied dietetics.
“It was a very last-minute decision, I had never really thought about going to America for college,” Payne, now in her third and penultimate year of the degree, recalls.
“I was kind of focused on maybe staying in England and trying to go pro, but I knew I wanted to get my education so I think it was the best option.
“I knew that the two Megans [Campbell and Connolly] had gone there previously, so I was aware of their relationship with the university. That kind of put my marker down and I made the decision then. It definitely wasn’t a planned decision, but it was the right one in the end.”
The verdict was all but settled after speaking to her Irish team-mates, who both offered helpful advice and spoke highly of the college and their positive experiences.
22-year-old Payne can now echo the sentiments of her predecessors. The versatile attacker and 2021 PFAI Player of the Year has developed no end, both on and off the pitch, as her star has continued to rise at one of the States’ top soccer universities.
She’s had success both in and away from football, having played a key part in FSU’s National Championship glory in the season just passed.
“I’m really enjoying my time there,” she beams. “I think I’ve come on loads since I’ve been there, and of course, getting my education at the same time, I couldn’t ask for a better environment.
“I went over there kind of young, I was 18, 19. It’s a very high-level college, it’s like number one over there. So I think that’s developed me loads. I’ve learned so many things over there that I wouldn’t have learned even growing up here, just little aspects of my game, and you get stronger and faster. I’ve played with a lot of players there from all over the world, we’re a very diverse team, so it’s nice to have different styles of play and incorporate them into my own game.
“I think I’ve matured too. Going through college, living on your own; all those different aspects definitely change you as a person.”
𝙃𝙀𝙍𝙊 𝘼𝙇𝙀𝙍𝙏 ...
— Sky Ireland (@SkyIreland) December 7, 2021
Congratulations WNT superstar Heather Payne on winning the @NCAA National Championship 🏆
On the back of winning PFAI Player of the Year, Heather scored a penalty to help FSU win the final.
Irish Women at the top - Go Heather!#SkyWNT | #COYGIG pic.twitter.com/gK02o2Zufv
The one downfall, perhaps, is the distance from home. Up until recently, for Payne to return to these shore for international duty, it was a marathon three-flight, 20-hour route — Tallahassee to Atlanta, Atlanta to Amsterdam, and Amsterdam to Dublin.
But fortunately, a few weeks back a new direct route from Atlanta to Dublin was opened, cutting out the Dutch diversion and making life much easier for Payne.
Fresh from said journey and reconvening with Vera Pauw’s squad at the Castleknock Hotel ahead of next Tuesday’s massive World Cup qualifier against Sweden, Payne is in a different sphere to most of her team-mates in the WNL, WSL and beyond.
The US college season finishes in December, so rather than being knee-deep in competitive fare, the Roscommon native is putting in the hard yards in the sun.
“It’s not really off-season, our college training still runs from January to the end of April,” she points out. “We still have training twice a day, every day. The good thing about springtime is it lets me have time to work on my game and focus back in on my fitness.”
Through the years, she has clocked up vital minutes where possible, too, and trained elsewhere when she sees fit. Last summer, she did her July pre-season training with Liverpool.
The Reds, back-boned by Irish trio Niamh Fahey, Leanne Kiernan and Megan Campbell, sealed the Championship title last weekend and secured promotion back to the WSL, so Payne was understandably delighted for all involved.
“I nearly felt like I was part of the team for that month,” she beams, unsurprised by their success after witnessing the close-knit, family-feel of the group first-hand. It also whet the appetite for what’s to follow after Payne’s US adventure comes to an end; a move in this direction understandably appealing.
“That’s the plan, I think; go back to England once I finish in college, or somewhere in Europe. I don’t know – whoever wants to take me! But yeah, that is the plan; to go and play professionally after. Of course England is closer to home, a lot of the girls on this team play in England so it would be nice to go over there.”
Worrying about her future certainly isn’t top of Payne’s list of priorities at the minute; the focus very much on the present and next week’s meeting with the Group A heavyweights in Gothenburg as Ireland’s bid to reach a first-ever major tournament hits new heights.
“Sweden are top of the group at the moment, they’re second in the world, so we’re not going to underestimate Sweden by no means. It’s important for us to focus on our game and just go out and do whatever we can to get the best result we can get.
“The previous campaign with the Euros was very disappointing, but I think that was different. I think we’re a different team this campaign. Each time we’ve been in camp, we’ve been developing more and more as a team, but of course, Sweden are going to be like a different team to how we played them in Tallaght Stadium. We are too.
“It’s going to be a very tough game, we know that, but we’re just going to go out and do whatever we can.”
Payne is one of the stars of this Ireland team, though flying under the radar at times as Katie McCabe and Denise O’Sullivan earn most of the plaudits.
She’s started almost every game of Pauw’s reign, establishing herself as a reliable, consistent regular in recent times. More often than not deployed in the centre-forward position, she’s made every attacking role she’s played in her own.
Regularly ploughing a lonely furrow up top, she understands the assignment ahead — and has become accustomed to her job in the team with experience.
While the Swedes will dominate possession, she’ll have to be clever with her output, reserving her energy and holding runs where necessary, attempting to outfox their strong, physical centre-halves. Should she get the chance, that is.
“Of course you’re never going into camp saying, ‘I’m expecting to start or whatever,’” Payne stresses. “I kind of take one game at a time. Vera chooses the team and I trust what she chooses and who she chooses. I just go into every camp trying to do my best, try and work hard and try get into the starting XI.”
Reflecting on Pauw’s tenure thus far, which will hit a milestone 20th game in charge next week, Payne concludes:
“It’s been good. She’s developed the team a lot since she’s come in and she’s put her trust in me, which obviously I appreciate a lot. It’s a good milestone.
“We were unlucky to miss out on the Euros so I think this campaign is a huge campaign for us, and for her as well. I think the whole team will say there’s been a change within the Irish squad. We believe in ourselves a lot more than we used to and I think we can attribute that to Vera.”
