College Sport: Football going strong

Anna Green. Photo / NZME.

Each week from now until the annual ASB YSPOTY awards function on November 28, we will profile past winners as we count down to the 25th annual event which honours the top young college sportspeople in the region.

The awards will be open for general admission with $10 tickets available at the door. Come and see tomorrow's sporting stars. There will be two hours of live entertainment and recognition of sporting excellence.

The event runs from 4pm-6.30pm at the Logan Campbell Sports Centre in Greenlane, with doors opening at 3.30pm.

Anna Green (Epsom Girls' Grammar) 2008

Anna Green, like her school and teammate Annalie Longo, represented the New Zealand women's football side while still at EGGS and followed in her footsteps by claiming the ASB supreme award in 2008.

The 25-year-old defender has travelled widely with football - playing for clubs in Germany, Australia, England and Japan - and has given nearly a decade of service to the Football Ferns.

But in her senior year at EGGS, she went to the Beijing Olympics with the national team.

"The Olympics was definitely a highlight and not something that I was expecting, having missed out on the World Cup squad the year before," she said from Japan, where she is on a short-term contract with the Elfen Saitama club. "It was an unbelievable experience, and one I'll never forget. School soccer that year was really exciting. We won the Auckland cup, and nationals were in Nelson. We won those nationals and this tournament was one of the highlights of my time at Epsom Girls'.

"Being in the team with Annalie is awesome. I was so lucky we both broke in at the same time. It made quite a daunting experience more exciting and allowed me to really enjoy the trainings and tours as I always had a good friend with me. Sometimes it's hard when you're at school for your friends to relate to high performance sport.

"Captaining the under-20 team at the World Cup in 2010 was a real privilege, and also playing at the World Cup in Germany in 2011 was a highlight for me," she said.

"Every time I get to play for the Ferns is pretty special and it's a great team to be involved with regularly. They really feel like family. It's given me the opportunity to travel the world with my friends, experience different cultures and play against the best footballers in the world."

Green was centre stage at the ASB awards night along with boys' winner Daniel Bell of Massey High.

She will be in Brazil next week with the Football Ferns as they build to next year's Olympics. Campbell Burnes