Members of the Whitehorse Lynx basketball program saw a glimpse of the future possible for them last weekend.

A total of 28 girls took part in a skills camp led by Thomas Staron, executive director of 3D Basketball Academy in North Vancouver.

He recruited current university-level guards Elisa Homer (Simon Fraser University) and Claire Elliot (University of B.C. Okanagan) to join him for the three-day camp held at F.H. Collins Secondary School.

“The biggest thing we’re focussing on is individual skills and getting the kids to up their compete level,” said Staron, a good friend and former coach of Christine Kirk, who runs the Lynx program alongside Diedre Davidson.

“That’s kind of what separates the good kids from the great kids,” he said.

“Over the course of the weekend, we’ve been doing a lot of competitive drills to help teach these kids what they need to do, so if they come down to B.C. or Washington, they can compete and play with those kids.”

Staron was impressed by the work ethic and coachability of the Yukon athletes.

The up-tempo weekend reveals a healthy increase of interest in the sport of basketball locally, as opposed to four years ago when the city failed to field a team for the Western Canada Games.