White, who scored her 11th international goal on Monday in the Football Ferns 1-1 draw with Brazil at Mt Smart Stadium, is studying sociology at the University of California, and her time in camp this week has been split between top level football, exams and study.
The 21-year-old sat an exam the day before the team arrived in camp and the 57-cap striker had another 48 hours before facing off against Brazil in the pouring rain in Auckland.
White says it’s a delicate juggling act balancing her football think time with test preparation during the time the squad is together.
“It’s pretty full on with training and meetings and other things during our time in camp,” White said. “So basically any spare time I have I’ll try and get a bit of study in.
“My professors understand my situation and a lot of them let me take exams on the road. So for me it’s basically about getting as much preparation done as possible before tours, then I can do the last bits of study if I have an exam while we’re away.”
White is one of several Football Ferns with exams scheduled during the camp for the Brazil series with captain Abby Erceg, Ria Percival, Sarah Gregorius and goalkeeper Erin Nayler all in similar situations.
Football Ferns management staff are key cogs in the exam and study process with coach Tony Readings and team manager Claire Hamilton playing important roles in a group which values development the players on and off the field towards their full potential.
“Claire is really awesome,” White says, “she talks to my professors and makes sure I get the exam done in the right conditions and things like that.”
“Tony is very understanding and I’ve talked to him a lot around which are the best times to study. I think that’s really important because we can’t be fulltime Football Ferns players and he’s pretty conscious of the fact that we have other aspects to our lives.
“They emphasise that when we’re doing something in the moment then we need to put our whole selves into it. Whether it’s the meetings or the trainings, we have to focus solely on that and we have other aspects to our lives which we have to give importance to as well; be it family, football or study.”
White says the physical activity that comes with training and playing during the week provides a nice change of pace from a regular study schedule before taking an exam.
“Getting to go outside and train is so awesome after being cooped up in study or meetings, that’s the best side about it, you get a good balance and you don’t get too sick of anything in particular.”
Aiming to graduate at the end of the year, White will then weigh up her options before taking the next step in her football career.
“I think I’ll probably come back to New Zealand at the end of the year and reset and establish what I want to do next year. Maybe I’ll look to go overseas, maybe somewhere in Europe. I don’t have any firm plans at this stage.”
After spending the week acing exams and scoring against Brazil, White will certainly be ready for any challenge which lies ahead.
Story courtesy of New Zealand Football
For more on New Zealand football go to www.nzfootball.co.nz

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