Former Phoenix Suns player and Fountain Hills resident Steven Hunter will bring his Life Skills and Basketball Academy to town again this year, in two two-week session for young athletes ages eight to 14.

With the mission of “teaching youth to excel above and beyond the rim,” the academy will be hosted out of the Fountain Hills High School, with sessions running from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Lunch will be provided.

Ten-year NBA vet Steven Hunter will be on hand to provide special instruction through each day of the camp, with special guest speakers invited to come and share their knowledge with the kids.

Last year’s camp was only a one-week session, so Hunter said he and his team decided to expand the educational sports opportunity by a sound margin this year, due to popular demand

“Last year, we just couldn’t fit everything into one week,” Hunter said.

“In order to make sure they have enough time for the full experience and to get in all of the guest speakers I want to feature, we decided to extend the camp to two weeks.”

Hunter said he also felt a two-week session would be beneficial as it allows participants to pick up on drills and skills in the first week, then cement those fundamentals throughout week two.

As always, Hunter said that his camp will be about more than just basketba’l.

“It’s called the Steven Hunter Life Skills and Basketball Academy because I really emphasize those life skills,” Hunter said.

“The things you’ll learn in my camp, I believe, will help you throughout life. One of the things we take pride in is the fact that I’m going to have guest speakers from different careers come in and talk to the kids.”

Hunter said that most of his camp’s participants won’t go on to play in the NBA and many don’t even have that as a life goal. To that end, he invites a wide variety of professionals to speak to his academy participants and help inspire them to become great no matter what field they go into.

“That’s why it’s important I have doctors, lawyers, scientists, political figures and teachers come and speak about how they were able to become successful and make it in their fields,” Hunter continued.

“I think that’s great motivation and important for the kids to know that there are careers out there other than basketball.”

Looking ahead to this summer, Hunter said he’s excited for this year’s camp.

“I’m excited to see kids who were here last year return,” he said.

“I’m just excited to help these kids. It’s not every day a former NBA player is teaching kids about basketball skills and, on top of that, having all of these role models come in and mentor them. I’m excited for the amount of information and the fulfilment these kids are going to get out of the camp this year.”

Participants will receive a camp jersey and water bottle with registration. Registration is ongoing at stevenunterbasketballacademy.org.

Session I runs form May 30 to June 10, Monday through Friday. Session II runs from June 20 through July 1. Cost for either two-week session is $550 per athlete. Hunter stressed that, upon registration, only a down payment is required. The remainder of the registration fee may be made in installments leading up to the camp session.

For additional information, call 707-877-6032.