U.S. World Cup Star Heather O'Reilly's Intensity Matches Her Skill

From a skinny-kneed 9-year-old girl playing travel soccer in East Brunswick, to North Carolina, to Athens, to China and to Germany and to dozens of other places in between,  seen a lot since she left East Brunswick to become an international soccer star.

But what has brought her to that international stage is more than just soccer skill – which she has in spades – it’s a competitive intensity that can’t be taught.

“The main thing with Heather back in the day, it wasn’t really teaching her so much. It was trying to get her to control her emotions,” said her former travel soccer coach Phil Peterson. “There were times when it was a close game and she’d go to pieces, and we’d pull her out and score a goal, and we’d show her that we didn’t have to have her do everything. But that kind of intensity is part of being a world class athlete.”

When she lines up at her midfielder position on Sunday for the final game of the 2011 Women’s World Cup against Japan, O'Reilly will be arriving at one of her ultimate destinations, putting yet another impressive notch in an already impressive career.

O’Reilly spent her early years playing soccer with the East Brunswick Soccer Club and East Brunswick High School, where she won a Group 4 State Championship. She went on to attend the University of North Carolina where she was part of two college championships. She made her U.S. National Team debut in 2002 and made the U.S. women’s team for the 2004 Athens Olympics when she was 19.

The youngest player on the roster, O’Reilly took a pass from idol Mia Hamm and hit a shot past German goalkeeper Silke Rottenberg, lifting the team to the Olympic final.

In 2008, she started all six games at the China Olympics, and was second leading scorer for the USA with two goals and three assists. She has since returned to the area, leading the Women's Professional Soccer team Sky Blue FC to a championship and returning to East Brunswick to hold clinics, sign autographs, and inspire a new generation of soccer players. During this year’s World Cup, she has one goal and one assist and is getting ready to face off against Japan in the World Cup finals on Sunday.

Back home, those who knew her say that being a world class athlete is just a small part of what makes O’Reilly special.

"Every time I see Heather play, I am struck not by her remarkable talents and her competitiveness, but by the way she conducts herself on and off the field. What you see is what you get with Heather - polite, friendly, sincere, committed, not to mention a smile and spirit that light up a room,” said former East Brunswick Soccer Club President Ron Bransdorfer.

Whether it’s during a special appearance, training, or her “Heather O’Reilly” summer training camp, O’Reilly is a regular visitor to some of the fields she grew up playing on, inspiring a new generation of girls to go for it.

“She doesn’t have the flashiness, she doesn’t get the big headlines like an Abby Wambach might, but she’s probably the most steady one out there,” said Peterson. “She’s very consistent, and obviously, a starting midfielder. All positions are key, but that’s kind of a critical one.”

Justine Barbato is a East Brunswick High School soccer coach who played alongside O’Reilly during their days as on the Bears squad. She pointed to O'Reilly's hard work and wiliness to give back to the community she came from as things that help make her a role model for many young players in East Brunswick. 

“I coach high school soccer here at East Brunswick and there has been a buzz around USA soccer and Heather O'Reilly since the World Cup started,” she said. “Heather is a great role model and inspiration for the high school team and also all young female soccer players.  Heather shows that hard work and dedication does pay off and it helps to give the young girls that extra push to go the extra mile to strive to be their best. Heather has always been the most humble player I have played with and I could not think of a better person and player who is deserving of the success that she is having during the World Cup.”

Peterson agreed.

“One thing about her is she’s never let success go to her head. She’s such a down to earth girl. Millions of kids have been touched by her with training and being in contact with her,” he said.

For some, O’Reilly’s success isn’t so surprising, considering the girl they knew had a drive, passion and humbleness that isn’t always easy to find. It is those aspects of her personality that make her the perfect ambassador for women's soccer. At least in East Brunswick.

“Whatever  Heather accomplishes is no  surprise  to  me,” said longtime EBHS Athletic Director Frank Noppenberger. “Be it at  the  Olympics, the NCAAs or the World Cup, she  always  rises  to the  occasion.

“It’s  hard  to  put  into  words   what   she  has  done  to   promote  women’s  soccer by just being herself in the USA, New Jersey and especially East Brunswick. If  anyone  needs  a  role  model,  look  no  further  than Heather. Not  only  is  she  a  great  athlete, but  a  wonderful  person  who  has always been  super  to  our  athletic  department.”

But in  the end, it is her athletic ability that has gotten her where she is today. Peterson says she even earned the nickname "The Squirrel" because she would run with "lightning speed all over the field."

“You can’t teach intensity and lightning speed, all you can do is try to harness her and steer her in the right direction,” said Peterson. “Hopefully we did the right thing because she’s done well for East Brunswick. She’s obviously made the town very proud.”

The United States will take on Japan in the final game of the World Cup on Sunday. Coverage begins on ESPN at 2 p.m.