Hopes are high for the players on this year's pan territorial juvenile women's basketball team as the group continues to prepare for U-17 Canadian National Championships.

The championships will be held from Aug. 19 to 23 in Charlottetown, P.E.I. All three territories are represented on the squad, which features two players from Nunavut, four from Yellowknife and seven from Whitehorse.

"I am very proud and pleased to be a part of this team," said head coach Tim Brady.

"It is always special when we are able to combine our players and represent the north. I know these young women I have are quality individuals and they have been working very hard. They will be great representatives for our northern territories on the national stage."

The group has been practicing together since mid-July and has been using the F.H. Collins Secondary School gym as their training ground.

The juvenile women's team has spent no shortage of time preparing for the national championships and has been meeting six days a week.

The practice sessions focus on areas such as the skills needed to be successful on the court, systems of play and going through various game scenarios.

There is also a fitness and flexibility component, which involves the players participating in a yoga program twice a week. The purpose of the yoga program is to improve the players' balance and agility.

The final element places focus on the mental preparation needed to be successful in a basketball competition.

For additional inspiration, the pan territorial team has created a vision board, which is being kept in the far corner of the F.H. Collins gym. The vision board consists of a series of pictures and quotes that are symbolic of the goals and characteristics of this year's pan territorial squad.

Some of the values depicted on the board involve teamwork, believing in each other, respect for both themselves and their opponents and trust in one another.

Several pictures of wolves can be seen on the vision board, depicting the intense and aggressive style of play that the pan territorial team hopes to achieve in P.E.I.

The wolf also symbolizes strength and teamwork, which are both among the core values on the squad.

There is also a picture of the P.E.I. and Newfoundland flags, which the group hopes to be competitive against at the championships.

All three territories are represented on the vision board

Besides practice, the pan territorial team has been getting game experience playing against the Yukon's men's and women's U-15 Midget team, which will travel to Kamloops, B.C. to participate at the national championships from August 4 to 7.

The pan territorial team will also compete in a pre-national championship tournament in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The other two coaches on the team are Mark Hureau and Sarah Crane.

Cat Lane, 16, is a player on the pan territorial team. Lane, who is playing at the U-17 nationals for the first time, said it is an advantage for the group to be made up of players from all three territories.

"I think it almost helps because we are all coming with different skills from different places and we are making friends for our whole life, so it helps a lot."

She said she likes going into the championships as the underdog.

"I think it is even better because the only thing we can do is gain," Lane said. "We have nothing to lose and we are going to go there and that's what we are going to do. We are going to gain."

This will be Chantai Minet second year competing at the U-17 nationals. Minet said she is more confident about the team's chances this year because of all of the work they have done in practice.

"I don't think we were as well prepared for it as we will be this year and we didn't set high enough standards for ourselves, so we didn't do as well as we will do this year."

Minet, 16, said it's a real eye opener competing on the national stage.

"If you come from a small town and city and you are playing in just high school tournaments it's not the same level at all," she said.

"When you go down to nationals, you know that you will never face that kind of competition anywhere else, so it's really good to know what's out there."