Laura Hughes is edging closer to achieving her childhood dream of playing for the Matildas after spending the week in Sydney as part of a talent identification camp.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Following a breakout season for Canberra United, the 19-year-old has been given the chance to work with Matildas' assistant coach Melissa Andreatta during an intensive four-day skills camp alongside club teammates Nickoletta Flannery, Sally James and Jessika Nash.
"To represent the Matildas would mean absolutely everything," Hughes said.
"I've wanted to play for them since I started playing football when I was eight. Just to be given the opportunity to show what I can do is huge."
The Matildas talent identification camp allows domestic players a chance to show their skills ahead of the Tokyo Olympic games, with European based players participating in a separate camp overseas.
"I think it's great that we have one on Australian soil based on the circumstances of COVID," Hughes said.
"Just to be here and to be considered to possibly be in the Olympic Squad is unreal."
Despite the midfielder's rise to stardom in the W-League, Hughes wasn't getting ahead of herself with a potential spot in the Olympics squad on the radar.
"Even to be here in camp it's a dream come true but to get picked would be unreal," Hughes said.
"When I was young it was sort of just a dream to play for the Matildas."
"I knew that I wanted to work as hard as I could to get there but I never thought it would become a reality.
"I think the biggest thing I try to take into these camps to release a bit of pressure is just remembering to enjoy it.
"Selections are out of my control, I can only control what I do on the field so I think it's just about doing as much as I can to put myself in the best position.
"You never know when you might be selected, these camps can change and there can be injuries and there can be different circumstances with players missing out."
MORE CANBERRA SPORT
Hughes spent a season playing overseas in Iceland before returning to Canberra United at the end of 2020, putting together her best campaign to date and propelling her into Olympic consideration.
"I think it is really important for me to get exposed as early as I can and as much as I can to these camps so that if I ever get a call up I'm ready for the situation ahead of me," Hughes said.
"It makes me a better player with all the coaching staff and the environment that I'm in because it's so professional.
"Regardless of whether I'm picked or not I'm still getting so much out of the camp and just being in this environment."
The Matildas will play in Pool G in the Olympics along with New Zealand, USA and Sweden. Australia is still reeling after heavy recent losses Germany and the Netherlands barely three months out from Tokyo.
"Selections are out of my control, I can only control what I do on the field so I think it's just about doing as much as I can to put myself in the best position."
- Laura Hughes
