Taylor Ferguson is following her dream of playing in the AFL Women's League all the way to the United States of America.
The 20-year-old grew up playing Auskick in the West Australian wheatbelt town of Toodyay but was forced to stop as girls could not play in boys teams after a certain age.
She picked it up again in high school, captaining the girls team for two years and winning a premiership.
When she moved to Perth for university, a friend encouraged her to join training for Swan Districts in the WA Women's Football League where she has played for the past three seasons.
"My mind is set on the AFL in the next few years, not sure if it'll happen just yet but I'm hoping WA get a second AFL team, that the Eagles get an AFL women's team and hopefully get a spot in their team."
High performance tour to give insight on elite sport
Ferguson has been selected for an international high performance development program and is heading to the United States later this year where they will attend the USAFL Nationals.
"We'll play some scratch matches with the USA girls and see how much training goes into being an elite footballer," she said.
Nicole Graves is the senior female coach for Swan Districts and the tour.
She believes Ferguson has the ability to make it at the next level and is also hoping for a second women's team in WA.
"She's hard at it for this tiny little frame, so she's a pretty brave kid, she's quick and she's got really beautiful skills."
"Let's hope West Coast get there. I think they'll be making those announcements in the next couple of weeks which then opens up another 35 spots," she said.
Ms Graves said the US trip was a great opportunity for all the participants to learn from professional athletes, including the NFL.
"We've got three AFLW players on the tour as well, so they'll be able to mentor what it takes to be involved at that level and what they're going to have to do to themselves, one, drafted and then obviously once they're drafted, their real work begins."
Ferguson said the small community of Toodyay had been extremely supportive and helpful in her fundraising to make the trip.
"They just love seeing young people follow their dreams and that's just awesome in a small community and to be a part of that as well," she said.
