Harmoney Hachey already travels plenty to play the game she loves.
Living in Pemberton, the 15-year-old started out playing soccer locally before working her way up to teams in Whistler, Squamish and, now, the Lower Mainland.
Her hard work and skill has landed her an opportunity further away, as Hachey will head to France next month as part of the 2019 generation adidas international Olympique Lyonnais Select Program. Hachey is one of just 32 Canadian players to receive an invitation.
"I didn't even know about the program to begin with, but it pushed me to work really hard and be one of the top players, trying to really help the team," she said. "It was an awesome opportunity just to be nominated."
Hachey said she heard toward the end of her season with the North Shore Girls Soccer Club the team's coach and technical director had nominated her for the program. She found out about her acceptance in March and has been preparing ever since.
Hachey will travel to Lyon on Aug. 17 and return on Aug. 25. The program will include training and friendly games against Olympique Lyonnais Academy teams, as well as visits to Lyon Olympic Stadium, the pro Ligue 1 team's home ground, and a guided tour of Lyon.
She is already in a group chat with all the others to discover who else was going, and Hachey knows all the others play at high levels and feels she'll be able to learn from her peers as well as the coaches.
Getting her start in soccer wasn't necessarily smooth. Hachey was adopted when she was nine and was struggling with how to use her energy.
"[She'd] never done any sports in her life. She was in 13 foster homes before we got her. We made her go to soccer," her mom, Leanne, said.
"I remember that day!" the younger Hachey chimes in. "My parents were trying to get me to try soccer. I was, like, 'No. I hate soccer. I hate playing.'
"Then I played it, and after one practice—I didn't want to admit to it—but I fell in love with it. It was so amazing to meet everyone and make new friendships."
Getting a late start in the game, Hachey knew she had to play catch-up straightaway to get on the same level as her peers. But she soon passed them and has blossomed as a player, becoming a versatile option that can play primarily winger, but also fullback. Her prime asset: speed.
"I stuck with it because my friends did it," she said. "But then I worked hard and I worked outside of practice.
"I had to work harder than everyone else because they'd been playing before. I had to work 10 times harder."
After rising through the ranks, Hachey tried out for Richmond-based Fusion FC, and made the team. However, after so much upheaval in her life to this point, the family made a decision for her to remain for one more season on the North Shore.
While Hachey hopes to represent her country one day, she's broken down her goals into manageable chunks to accomplish along the way.
"Everyone's dream, if they really love soccer, is to play for the Canadian national team," she said. "When I was 13, I made a vision board of what I wanted to do and said 'I want to play for the national team.' Because that's a pretty big goal, I decided to break it down—I want to make the Whistler rep team, then the Squamish rep team, and then one of the Vancouver metro teams."
The elite level as a youth is to make it to the REX level, Hachey added, with university and the national team following that.
