With Katie McCabe, that is precisely what transpired.
McCabe is the young woman with the mischievous smile who would go on to make history, from the streets of Tallaght to the Women’s World Cup.
The newest captain of the Republic of Ireland is McCabe. The team was guided by her to their first competition. Her tale is told here.
Football was in McCabe’s blood because she grew up just ten minutes from Tallaght Stadium, where she frequently led the Republic of Ireland out as captain.With ten siblings, she had her squad assembled. Football was close behind the importance of family.
She would continue the career of her brother Gary, who represented Shamrock Rovers and Bray Wanderers in the League of Ireland.
Kilnamanagh AFC and Crumlin United were where McCabe began her football career, but it was at Raheny United when she truly began to establish herself.
When Casey McQuillan took over as manager in 2013, the 16-year-old was already a member of the Raheny squad, and he remembers his initial impressions of the young man.
There were other excellent young athletes, like Katie, Shauna Newman, and Claire Shine, who had no cares in the world, he claims.
“Of the bunch, Katie is the cheekiest. She is grinning broadly right now.
“It was obvious they could play. Age wasn’t a concern for me. Whether a player is 33 or 17 doesn’t matter if they play football and are good enough.
McCabe didn’t start out as the final product that everyone can see today, despite the fact that she has 20 goals in 73 Republic appearances.The FAI Cup final at the Aviva Stadium included a magnificent 35-yard free-kick from her, and McQuillan says: “You knew there was something in her game. She had that unique brilliance.
When she was with us, she displayed all of her potential and all of her warning flags.
Katie used to simply go off and do her own thing. As a boss, the only thing you could really say was, “Why did you do that?”
‘It worked, didn’t it?’ was a common response. It was great because it did work.
“They were usually joking around, but there were times when I wanted to rip my hair out with her. She would always point her toe at the boundary but never cross it. She sets new standards in both her professional and personal life, which is what makes her successful.
She was always curious about your expectations for her and how she could improve.
When McCabe was younger, she had to make compromises. Her aim was to play football, but it’s difficult for a young player to play for a team in a city like Dublin that’s on the other side of the city.
She occasionally received rides from her teammates after finishing school, but she frequently had to take the bus or train to practice and games.
She was highly professional even as a little child, says McQuillan.
“When you have practice a few times a week and a game, football would take up your entire week, and you would also have school on top of that.
“A significant sacrifice at such an early age, that.
“A child that age should be experiencing their life, and she was, but just in her own manner with football, but not in the usual way that a teenager would.
She was working hard and keeping her head down; it was basically who she was. She cherished both her team and football.
A move across the water seemed inevitable after impressing Raheny and the Republic age-group teams.She rejected down a move to Chelsea in 2015, the team she supported, in favor of joining Arsenal, where she would go on to become a club icon.
“Chelsea were looking for her to sign, but it wasn’t the right move for her at that time,” claims McQuillan.
“When Arsenal entered, it felt natural. It’s a difficult step for a small child to cross, and she showed maturity in her choice by refraining from jumping at Chelsea.
She waited till she had a gut feeling before acting on it. At that time, Arsenal had a bit more of an Irish connection.
Although the opportunity to move to Arsenal was excellent, she initially had trouble getting into games and was limited by a few niggling injuries.
The best course of action to aid her growth was determined to be a loan transfer to Glasgow City, and it was in Scotland that she thrived.
She used that season to lay the groundwork for the player she is today.
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