It's been a fast rise for Raygan Kirk, the starting goalie for the Eastman Selects Female AAA hockey team and as she continues down the road of success both on and off the ice, she looks back at how it all got started and how far she's come.

After moving to Ste. Anne in 2007/2008, she got her start in the game. "I started playing with the boys growing up, right until the first year of peewee," Kirk recalls with a smile. "Then after that, we got the first Ste. Anne Aces girls team, we got it going. So I've played with a lot of girls that are on the team since then, including (captain) Camille Enns and it's been great."

It might be surprising to know that one of the top goalies in all of Canada for her age group hasn't played goal her whole life.

She started out as a defender.

Kirk remembers growing up in hockey being on the boy's team and can remember when things started to change. "It was different, especially when hitting came in and it's all they wanted to do. I just wanted to play. They got bigger and I was still pretty tiny, so I made the switch to girls hockey and it was a great choice."

After spending some time on the blueline, Kirk looked to a sibling for inspiration towards moving into the crease. "Well, my brother's a goalie. I always wanted to try it out. When he got the nod from our family to go in the net, I thought it was great. It happened that on our girl's team we didn't have a goalie so I tried it out. I was doing both defence and goalie and eventually had to make a choice."

The choice was made.

Raygan Kirk would become a goalie.

Kirk also remembers what it was like to get the girl's team started in Ste. Anne. "It means a lot. Now, looking back, I can say I was one of the first people on that team. Now, it's growing. Some places have two teams. There are tryouts and it's not like they're taking just anybody. It's really growing."

It's Kirk's final year of high school and it also happens to be not only her final year in the Southeast but her final year of being in Canada.

Her smile couldn't be contained when she said where she's be going next. "I'll be going to Pittsburgh to play hockey."

It was quite the process for Kirk to go through, being recruited by a team and program she didn't really know too much about. "They actually contacted me last year in Stoney Creek. One of their Assistant Coaches Logan (Bittle) watched me play and he contacted me afterwards. I have never heard of the school before, I'd never been in touch with them beforehand so there was a lot of phone calls and I went down to visit and I've verbally committed and I'll sign this November. I'm very excited."

Signing with the Robert Morris Colonials is a dream come true for Kirk.

Knowing what comes next in her career has added a bit of pressure to this season for Kirk but it's a challenge she's more than willing to accept. "Just have to keep up the hard work but the best part is you don't have to worry about the scouts in the stands. I know where I'm going but I know the hard work just started."

Kirk is quick to credit those around her with helping her get to where she is today. "I couldn't do it without my family. They have supported me so much, it's been great. I've also had great coaches too like Curt (Enns), Terry Patrick and Bill Bram, it's all just been fantastic."

Another member of that coaching staff just so happens to be one of the faces of female hockey not just in Manitoba but in all of Canada, Bailey Bram.

It's a relationship that Kirk has treasured and cherished. "She's just awesome. Working out with her and seeing how much she pushes herself, makes you want to work even harder yourself. It's really great to have."

Just because she knows where she's going next year, doesn't mean she's taken for granted what she has this year and it seems like it may have gone quite quickly for Kirk. "Sometimes I forget I'm a grade 12," she says with a big smile and laugh. "There's sometimes they'll announce something in school and I'll think 'oh that's not me' but it is and I'm graduating in 6 months or so. But to have this year with the amazing teammates and friends I have, will be something I'll never forget."

For Raygan Kirk, the sky's the limit for her success as a goalie and in life. She stands firm in a belief that helped her get to where she is today. "Believe in yourself. If you asked me 5 years ago, would I believe I am where I am today, I would have said 'no', I wouldn't have believed it. But with great support and a lot of hard work, dreams come true."