WOMEN'S National Basketball League (WNBL) star Lauren Scherf believes the future of the sport in Wagga is bright after catching a first-hand look at the city's next generation.
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Ninety keen junior basketballers hit the courts at Equex Centre on Monday for Sydney Flames' 'Her Flame Burns Bright' coaching clinic.
Scherf, Funda Nakkasoglou and Basketball Australia's Centre of Excellence assistant coach Sarah Graham were among those to put the juniors through their paces.
All were thrilled with the talent on display with spots in the clinic booked out within a week.
"Its actually really good. I've never been here before, so I don't know how big this town is but to know that there is a lot of girls that want to play basketball and want to learn the sport and have some fun with it, that's great," Scherf said.
"It's good to know that if they see myself or my other teammates that I've played with and see where they've got to, it shows a pathway that they might say, this is what I want to do in life.
"It's a really good thing that NSW have done, yep we're going to give back to the community and really focus in on the rural towns, which I think is great."
With Wagga Blaze currently sitting out the state league season, Scherf hopes the strong turnout at Monday's camp can flow through to senior level in years to come.
"Hopefully they stay committed. I'm sure the friends that they make, they're going to want to stick around," Scherf said.
"You've got to start somewhere, so to come down here and have athletes that are playing the sport and making it their career, it definitely shows these young girls, ok, it can be a goal of mine to do that."
Scherf was the 2015 WNBL Rookie of the Year and won the 2018-19 championship with Canberra Capitals. She spent the past two seasons at the Flames but is now a free agent, while a member of the Australian women's 3x3 squad.
The 3x3 format will make its Olympic debut in Tokyo this year and Scherf is hoping to be one of the four women selected to represent Australia.
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The camp was funded by the NSW Government and is part of the Her Sport Her Way strategy that aims to increase female participation, invest in female-friendly facilities and increase the number of women in leadership.
It is great to see so many young people getting the opportunity to learn from current and former Sydney Flames players, while also having fun and being active in a supportive environment," Nationals MLC Wes Fang said.
"Initiatives like this help to keep girls engaged in sport and provides an opportunity for our region to unearth the next Sydney Flame or Australian Opal."
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