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Steamboat Springs — Olivia Gorr didn't start playing hockey until three years ago. Even then, she only picked up the sport on the advice of a couple of friends.

Now, the 14-year-old Steamboat Springs Middle School student has skated right past those buddies - and nearly every other competitor she's come across. A fixture on Steamboat's U14 and U19 girls teams, Olivia recently was selected to take part in the national hockey team tryouts.

She was one of only 45 14-year-old girls nationwide to earn that right.

"I'm super excited," Olivia said. "I didn't expect this at all. I just tried hard."

The camp is set for the middle of July in Rochester, N.Y.

To get a crack at the national camp, Olivia first had to make her way through two other camps and be selected from their massive numbers to move on.

Steamboat Springs High School assistant coach Dave Strang helped evaluate campers at the first of those two, a statewide camp in which Olivia shined.

"All of the evaluators were really big on her hockey sense, her ability to make decisions and her positioning," Strang said. "Those are all of the things that at the next level become really important."

Olivia said she also likes to ride horses and play soccer. Hockey, though, has gotten a significant boost in her eyes.

"I want to play in college some day," she said.

Olivia skated this week in a camp at the Howelsen Ice Arena in Steamboat Springs. She was one of 34 current and future Steamboat Springs High School students who flocked to the arena to skate with this past season's high school boys team.

"The reason we run this camp is two-fold. One, we want some of our younger players - the eighth-graders and the freshmen that haven't played for us - to skate with the guys that made our team last year," Ruff said. "They get an idea of the skill level, speed and intensity that our game is played at. We want to get that surprise out of the way now."

The $25, three-day camp, in its fourth season, wraps up today.

"So far, the camp has been really good," Ruff said. "It has helped our young guys prepare through the summer. Because of that, we have a better team."