For 18 years, the Weseen family in Lake Lenore has been helping develop basketball in Saskatchewan.

Their Hometown Hoops basketball camp brings players to the small community to learn and develop skills with high quality instruction.

Started up in 1995, the camp has only missed a couple of years, with 2016 being the 19th running of the summer skills clinic.

The camp, which begins Monday, is open to all students from Grade 1 up to Grade 12.

"We have little guy group, bantam, junior and then senior age group," Lake Lenore Lancers Senior Girls coach Curtis Strueby said. "Like most camps, it will focus on basic fundamentals for the younger guys and then go a little more in depth for the older ones."

Along with local coaches, each year there are some guest coaches who come out to support the camp and provide instruction over the three day clinic.

"Carla Puetz is coming back. She played her high school ball in Lake Lenore and had a great career at the University of Saskatchewan," Strueby noted. "Joe De Ciman, who just finished up a four-year career at Colorado State, and his sister Margaret."

Puetz starred with the Huskies in the late 90's and early 00's. After concluding his NCAA career, Joe De Ciman left the Rams as one of the most tenured players in team history, and is tied for third in games played.

Margaret suited up for the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters and now plays professionally in France. The De Ciman family has many roots in the game, and that is continued on with Chan, their youngest brother, who is entering his second year at the U of S.

In order to keep camps going each year - most notably in smaller communities - there needs to be strong roots and support. Strueby says they have that in Lake Lenore with the Weseen's.

"There's very few small town camps in any sport anymore. The fact that Wade, Val and Jill and their other daughter Jasmine - the fact that they started this 20 years ago and it is still going says a lot about what that family is willing to do."

The camp concludes on Wednesday. Registration is accepted for walk-on players at a cost of $100.


You can hear more with Strueby below.