KEY POINTS:
Cameron Lindsay is, for a few days, a world away from his football-playing buddies, but on January 8 he will again swap Auckland's sun and surf for the much colder climes of his adopted home in Blackburn.
Back home for a brief break after being invited to join the schoolboy programme at English Premier League club Blackburn Rovers, Lindsay, who has just turned 16, is enjoying the chance to catch up with mates but without ever losing sight of the big goal - the chance to play his beloved soccer as a professional.
It has been a hectic 12 or so months for the former Northcote College pupil. After an initial visit for trials at the club in October last year on recommendations from two of New Zealand's best - current Blackburn Rovers team captain Ryan Nelsen and Oceania Footballer of the Century Wynton Rufer - Lindsay and his parents returned to check things out in April.
They liked what they saw and by the end of August he was back to fulfil the dream of any aspiring footballer - rubbing shoulders with players in one of the world's greatest football leagues.
Well, not exactly rubbing shoulders, but at least keeping their boots orderly as one of the "lads" whose job it is to keep the boot room clean and tidy.
"I'm not actually a boot boy in that I don't have to clean their boots - only my own - but we have to clean up the boot room," said Lindsay.
Cleaning his boots is just part of the life Lindsay has happily accepted on the long path to being a professional footballer.
"Even at our age we are treated like professionals," he said. "It is just what I expected."
It's a world away from his early days playing club football at Central United and, before he embarked on his chance of a lifetime, Bay Olympic.
But it is not all football. As part of the club's academy/centres of excellence programme, Lindsay and his under-16 teammates split their time on the pitch with schoolwork, at the education centre attached to the club.
"My week is pretty much defined. Normally we have breakfast by 8.30am. On Mondays I go to school in the morning and train in the afternoon. Tuesday is all day training. Wednesdays are all day at school. Thursdays too are all day at school with training in the evening. On Fridays we train in the morning and have the afternoon off to rest before our game on Saturday."
On Sunday, if he is not watching Nelsen and the premiers play, he will "chill out" at his father's house in Manchester.
Being based in the north means Blackburn's youngsters play teams within two hours of their home - premier clubs including Liverpool, Manchester United, Everton, Manchester City, Bolton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion - and others from the lower leagues.
"We don't have a league as such. We play more friendly-type games. It is not until you are in the under-18s you play in a league," said Lindsay. "If you are good enough, you can play under-18s even if you are in the under-16s."
Lindsay is in no hurry. "I have just turned 16 and am prepared to give myself time - until I'm 20 or 21 to get into the top team. For sure, I want to stay at Blackburn but if that doesn't work out maybe I will go elsewhere."
In what has always been a super-competitive environment, Lindsay is no different than hundreds, probably thousands, of other football-mad youngsters who see the lure of the big dollar and the chance to play in one of the most competitive sporting arenas in the world as their driving force.
"The coaches are happy with my progress," said Lindsay who has established himself as a regular starter - either at centre or right back. "I have set my sights on a professional career."
He has watched Nelsen play as the premiers continue their struggle to avoid relegation under new coach Sam Allardyce. "I go to every home game. Ryan Nelsen knows who I am."
So does New Zealand under-17 coach Colin Tuaa who has invited the wide-eyed youngster into his national training squad.
Asked where his allegiance lies Lindsay, who has the necessary citizenship papers to allow him to play in England, says, emphatically, "I want to play for New Zealand".
Lindsay has been given the best chance to follow other New Zealanders including current All Whites coach Ricki Herbert and his assistant Brian Turner who played a decent chunk of their football all those kilometres from home.
It is now up to him to take it.
