Taylor Miller desperately tried to attract the interest of ESPN, “the worldwide leader in sports.”

Miller, a 19-year-old Alabaster resident, grew up hoping to compete in the Summer X Games, an action sports competition controlled and arranged by the network.

From the time she got her first motorbike at age 4, until competing as a professional in the women’s National Motocross Championship series last summer, Miller has had her heart set on competing in the X Games.

For the past two summers, Miller has sent ESPN producers a video of her in action on the bike and a resume of her accomplishments. She never heard back from them.

That all changed this summer for Miller, who won the 2005 American Motorcyclist Association’s Amateur and Youth Motocross Championship as an amateur motocross racer. Miller sent in a new video and updated her resume, which finally caught their attention.

As a result, Miller was selected as an alternate for the 2010 Summer X Games, which will be held July 30-Aug. 1 in Los Angeles.

Miller has a chance to compete in the Women’s Super X motocross competition, which will be televised nationally on the ESPN family of networks. She gets a spot if one of the participants drops out of the race between now and late July.

“It’s pretty awesome,” Miller said. “It’s the biggest race in the industry for a female racer. Only a select few riders get this opportunity.”

Miller, currently the only women’s professional motocross racer from the state of Alabama, hopes to receive enough attention at the X games to attract sponsors for her motocross racing effort.

In addition the X Games, Miller will also compete in a motocross racing division in Canada next month. WMXtreme Pro Services/MPH signed Miller to race with a Honda motorbike in the Monster Energy National Canadian Series in 2010.

“Taylor looks very comfortable and is showing great speed on the new Honda,” said team manager John Wernsdorfer in the organization’s press release announcing her signing.

Miller will ride a Honda CRF 250 in the series’ events in Kamloops, Calgary, Edmonton and Walton.

Miller hopes to land a full-factory ride with Honda if she has success this summer. Miller, a student at Jefferson State Community College, is currently looking for help to pay for travel and lodging costs as she travels across North America to compete in races.

“I’m just looking to find support and people willing to make a donation,” Miller said.