Golden opportunity

Ayla "The Wall" Frank is one step closer to achieving her dream.

She has been selected along with eight other goalies to try out for Hockey Canada's National U18 Women's Team at a training camp in Calgary, May 25-30.

Frank recalled that she found out that she'd be going away from her parents in the early hours of the morning May 3 and burst into tears.

She was overwhelmed with emotions, she said, and got into one of those "I'm so happy I need to cry" moments.

"My biggest achievement over the course of my hockey career would have to be being invited to the strength and conditioning camp in Calgary," she expressed. "This achievement is the closest to my dream and I hope I can keep this and build on it."

This Labrador West star goalie has a track record of success playing on teams including the Labrador Lakers, U15 Team NL, U18 Team NL, Team Atlantic, and Rothesay Netherwood School Riverhawks.

Her latest victory came when her Riverhawks won the New Brunswick provincial banner in finals held in Moncton at the end of March.

She believes that she was chosen to try out for U18 Team Canada through scouts who tracked how she did over the 2009-2010 season and tournaments.

She thinks that it was her appearance at the 2009 National Women's U18 Championships held in Surrey, BC, that sealed the deal because she noticed a lot of scouts and coaches there.

"My success has really started from the beginning," reflected Frank. "Everything my parents did for me has helped me open doors, they have done everything right and I can't thank them enough. If what happened in my early development didn't happen then I wouldn't be where I am now. It is really cumulative effort, if something good happens, you keep that and build on it."

She admitted to feeling very nervous going to the tryouts, but thinks that if she puts her heart and soul into it, she won't feel bad about any results.

She added that she's been doing more training on the side; when she's not on ice, she is on rollerblades.

Frank thinks she'll have to work around the dog-eat-dog competition at the camp in order to achieve her goal.

In addition to making Team Canada, she hopes to get in phenomenal physical shape, keep her marks up, and get into a great university that will promise her a great future.

She attends Rothesay Netherwood School away from home where she started a challenging International Bachelorette program, but said, despite this, her marks went up and besides her sport, she has a firm handle on her studies.

"Coming from a relatively small, and very isolated town to achieve this so far is a great feeling," she exclaimed. "It really means anything is possible for anyone if you have you heart and soul into something."