Albury's Ash Carty wins selection for NSW Country in National Training Centre Challenge event

The Albury High School student joined the 18-girl squad in Sydney on Friday and will fly with the team to Melbourne on Sunday for the five-day tournament which begins Monday.

It continues a consistent run of selections for the right-winger, who has already represented NSW at under-16 and under-14 level.

"I've played with most of the girls before and a few I will be interested to meet," she said.

"The connections are there, we'll see how it goes.

"Obviously [the goal] is to play really well, maybe score a few, assist a lot - to play well, prove what you can do, and hope for the best."

And as a 16-year-old, Carty will be eligible for the side again next year.

Football NSW player development manager for girls, Nadine Shiels, said players would be looking to showcase their skills with the hope of gaining future national team selection.

"Even moreso with the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup just around the corner, our players are inspired and have the drive, determination and passion to compete at this level," Shiels said.

It is great reward for Carty who has been travelling to Canberra three times a week to train and play in the city's National Premier League competition the past two seasons.

Carty has been a regular for Canberra United Academy's senior side this year, and has been benefiting from the exposure to the open-age competition.

The academy side is sitting fifth in the eight-team competition with a 5-1-7 record.

"It's going really well - the physicality is there so it's good to get used to that. And the girls are quicker so it's more of a challenge," Ashleigh said.

With any spare moments she gets, the year 11 student is completing school assignments or "catching up on anything I missed".

"I do a lot of computer work in the car [where] it's a lot easier to type than write," she said.

The right-winger, who can also play left, said she was gradually getting used to big tournaments.

"I'm not as nervous anymore. I still get nervous but I'm more used to it now," she said.

"The crowds don't really bother me, I just zone that out."

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Ash monitors fitness, hydration and diet heading into big tournaments, as well as her mental state.

"You've got to go in there mentally prepared or it's not going to go well - so having the confidence in there and knowing what you can do, it really helps," she said.

The youngster complements her soccer with an ongoing interest in athletics and competed at nationals level in heptathlon and triple jump in April.

The NSW Country side will cap the tournament by watching World Cup warm-up Australia versus France at Marvel Stadium on Friday, where Carty will be keeping a close eye on favourite Matilda winger Hayley Raso.

"It exciting," of being involved in the sport in a World Cup hosting year.

"You want to play well and it's great to see role models there proving what they can do on the big stage - watching every different team coming here, in real life not just on TV."

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