AUBURN - In the three years since Auburn High girls varsity basketball coach Gary Grinnell and JV coach Shawn Solomon first started the girls summer hoops camp, the opportunities for girls have kept growing.

"When we started, there was nothing," Grinnell said. "There weren't any summer teams, summer leagues or camps. When we started it was small, but we've worked hard and it has been great."

Having spent the past week with over 40 players at Seward Elementary School, Grinnell and Solomon's work has come to fruition.

"We reached our goal this year," Grinnell said. "We wanted to get at least 40 girls in this summer. It has been a lot of hard work but we are still growing. It has been a huge leap from last year and we are looking forward to seeing it grow."

Over those years, the program has been building up a strong base of players that come back every year.

"I used to play a lot at my house and with my friends," Haleigh Baier, 11, a second-year player, said. "Here, there are new games to play. It is a lot of fun learning new games and we all get along real well and we can learn how to work together."

One of the program's major focuses has been to get players interested when they are young.

"We're trying to build a program for basketball," Solomon said. "We want to reach the younger players and get them started working on their skills and knowledge of the game."

Young players, like Emily Crosby, 9, are getting their first real exposure to basketball.

"It's fun," Crosby said. "We get to play real games and run around and try to get the ball. I'm learning how to be a good basketball player, that is a lot of fun."

Helping the learning process along are members of the high school varsity team.

"They help the younger girls with a lot of the fundamentals like passing and shooting," Grinnell said. "The varsity counselors also help coach scrimmages. I think they have a lot of fun doing it."

The varsity counselors say teaching younger players is rewarding.

"It is a good opportunity to work with a team and help the younger kids," Molly Grinnell, 15, said. "I really love coaching the little kids. It is fun to know they are out there having fun. It reminds us of when we were young and just starting to play and that someday they will be playing like we are now."

And after a week with these coaches, the younger players believe they are going to be learning some new and improved skills.

"I think I'm going to be a better player," Annie Giannone, 8, said. "There were a lot of shooting drills and dribbling drills. I think I'm going to be dribbling and shooting better and have more experience."

This camp is an opportunity for everyone to learn, even the older players.

"We try to get the older girls in the program," Grinnell said. "With them, our goal is to get them to the next level in their playing."

And there isn't a single player that can't learn something new to make them a better player.

"It makes me better to stay busy," Nikki Neagle, 13, who has been playing basketball since she was 7, said. "It's good getting to work with the older players; we can see what they are doing and take from that and learn from it. I've picked up a lot of pointers. When I first stared playing I thought I was pretty good and had potential, that's what kept me playing, but I know I am getting better."

With many players already teammates from modified and JV, they are spending their time strengthening themselves as a team.

"I like playing together with my teammates," Maggie Race, 14, said. "Pretty much everyone is here and that makes it easier with more people. We can learn more of the key aspects of the game and get better as a team."

Moving from the fundamentals, to more detailed drills that are geared towards improving the foundation of a player's skills, is what has drawn girls from the modified teams and JV who are all looking to make the leap up to the next level.

"I hope to be on the JV next year," Sarah Wild, 14, said. "Playing all summer you get to stay in shape and really remember how to play so you don't get rusty. My ballhandling has gotten better. I think it is going to help when I try out for JV because I'll know how to do things the correct way."

And Solomon hopes this is just the beginning of a great future for girls basketball in Auburn.

"We want to focus from second grade on up," Solomon said. "And really try to do something with all of the elementary schools. I absolutely think we can keep progressing each year and just keep getting bigger and it will all help the kids in the long run."