In six short years since being introduced to the sport of field hockey, Susan Armstrong has risen to being among Canada's best at the game. Last June, she was named to the national team. Now she dreams of going to the 2000 Olympics in Australia.

Susan, who was born and raised in Lloydminster and received her elementary and high school education here, was first encouraged to try the game by Jory Lamb, who'd played the game in Saskatoon. It wasn't long before she was hitting the ball for Team Saskatchewan.

In 1992, when Team Saskatchewan played in tournaments in Winnipeg and Ottawa, Susan met her present day coach Dru Marshall. Marshall, who has been the national women's coach since 1996, convinced Susan to play at the University of Alberta where she was enrolled as a Physical Education major.

Although a unique sport with any similarities to soccer, Susan found that field hockey combined several sports she was more familiar with, such as ringette, ice hockey and basketball.

Susan first began training with the National Team in 1995. When 10 teams qualify for the 2000 Olympics, Susan has every hope that her team will be among those ten.