KEY POINTS:
The ringtone greeting on Alana Millington's cellphone leaves no doubt where she would like to take her burgeoning hockey career.
Tina Turner's Simply the Best might be seen by some as a tad premature.
Others perhaps, take it as an indication she is prepared to put in the hard yards to be just that.
The latest international player churned out by the great Northland hockey machine, Millington waves that flag with pride.
And the 18-year-old will be surrounded by familiar faces when she debuts against Australia in the forthcoming four-test series starting in Dunedin tomorrow week.
Lizzy Igasan, Charlotte Harrison and Laura Douglas join Millington as Northlanders in Kevin Town's 20-strong squad. Auckland has only two players, and Wellington one.
Millington, while admitting she was surprised her call-up has come so quickly, has long been touted as a prospective international.
Coached and encouraged by her mother Angeline, a long-time friend of Northland great Sandy Bennett, who played 154 times for the Black Sticks, Millington, like so many Whangarei youngsters, had a hockey stick in hand virtually from the time she could walk.
She first played aged 5 and, like Igasan and others, soon found herself on the representative merry-go-round.
Millington and Harrison, pupils at Whangarei Girls High, played premier club hockey from a tender age.
Following the route taken by almost all of New Zealand's rising stars, Millington played at under-15, under-18 and under-21 national tournaments, often with mum as coach, who will proudly be on the sidelines for the Australian series.
Now, despite having represented New Zealand at age group level, she faces her biggest challenge.
"I was surprised to make the squad to play Australia," said Millington as she prepared for the intense build-up to the transtasman series. "The step up is a bit daunting.
"Everything happened at once really. I had just made the decision to leave Whangarei to go to AUT, switch from Northland to North Harbour and play my club hockey there when I was selected. I'm enjoying the environment. Lizzy [Igasan] has been most encouraging," said Millington, who normally plays at centre-half but may find herself taking other midfield or defensive duties.
"It is funny in that I have known her for a long time but have only played against her.
"Now we get the chance to play in the same team."
Towns said Millington found the step into the national squad pretty tough, but added he had no doubt she has the potential to succeed.
"She is working hard and you have to show young players some loyalty," he said.
"You can't expect them to be world-beaters overnight."
Or simply the best.
Alana Millington
* Born: June 28, 1988, Sydney, Australia.
* School: Whangarei GHS.
* Representative: Northland under-15, under-18, national league. Northern under-21.
* International: NZ under-16 (v Queensland), under-21 (Youth Olympics).
* Position: Centre-half.
