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Steamboat Springs — "Surprised" is not a word that longtime hockey coach Nancy Wilson likes to use when describing the growth of women's hockey in recent years.

"I'm more pleased than I an surprised," Wilson said of the increasing number of women playing the game.

Wilson, who has coached at the national level in Canada, said she's not surprised by the growth because she has been a part of it for most of her life.

She has played the game for more than 20 years and formed Centre Ice Female Hockey School about 11 years ago when she first saw a need for camps specifically designed for women. She spent last winter as the coach of the Vancouver Griffins, a professional women's team, before the organization folded. She plans retuning to professional coaching this winter when she isn't working as a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, a job she has held for 23 years.

Wilson is also one of the first women in her country to coach a men's hockey team at the junior A level, which is close to college hockey in the Unites States.

"I've had a mixed reaction from coaches and fans. I still get a few strange looks at first, but once people realize that I know what I'm doing they're OK with me," Wilson said.

This weekend, the coach will bring her enthusiasm and experience to a group of 40 women who have signed up to take part in a three-day school in Steamboat. She started the school in British Columbia, but was asked to run the camp across Canada, in Alaska and now in Steamboat.

"I'm really looking forward to coming to Steamboat," Wilson said. "I've heard that it's a very nice community."

Wilson's goal this weekend is to teach women the skills, techniques and training they need to be competitive on the ice. She wants to do it in an atmosphere where female students can feel more comfortable.

"This school is designed by females, for females, with female coaching," said Howelsen Hill Ice Arena manager Stacey Foster, who brought the camp to Steamboat. "That's the way I wanted it when we came up with the idea."

Foster said she sent flyers to about 1,600 women across the state of Colorado several months ago. She has about 40 registered for this weekend's camp, which she considers good turnout for the camp's first year in Steamboat.

There are still a limited amount of openings available for the camp. Women interested in taking part should contact Foster at 871-1152.

Foster said about a quarter of the women registered for the camp are from Steamboat. The rest hail from places such as Fort Collins, Greeley, Vail, Eagle, Castle Rock, Crested Butte, Telluride and Longmont.

"I was hoping for a better local response, but we did get a lot of players from other parts of the state," Foster said.

The camp will take place Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The camp will be divided into a session for players 18 and older, and another for players 17 and under.

On Saturday and Sunday, the school will be divided into two on-ice and two off-ice sessions. On Monday, the players will meet for one long on-ice session that will include scrimmages.

"I want to show these ladies how to be the complete hockey player." Wilson said.

In order to do that, players must work on their hockey on and off the ice, she added.

Power skating instructor Debbie Strome will join Wilson for the camp.

Strome will focus on edge work to help skaters get the maximum speed and power out of their skating stride. She owns and operated Extreme Ice Hockey Development Camps, which provide skills and skating instruction along with hockey tactics.

Foster said her goal is to develop the weekend into a weeklong camp to be held next July here in Steamboat.