Former Phoenix Suns player Steven Hunter has returned to town for the third year in a row to offer his Life Skills and Basketball Academy.

This year’s program began June 19 and will continue through June 30. Along with plenty of basketball skills training, Hunter said his camp focuses on concepts like teamwork and respect, and he likes to invite plenty of guest speakers to talk to his youngsters about their careers.

“They’re seeing speakers from many different career paths,” Hunter said. “Dentists, doctors, police officers…We’ve had all kinds of career genres out here to speak. I want the kids to learn about more than just how to be a basketball player.

“I want them to learn what it takes to become something, academically, and give them something to strive for. I want them to know they can have a career that doesn’t just last four years, which is the average NBA career. These careers can last them 50 years.

“I’m very passionate about that. I want to give these kids every opportunity to become a professional at something other than basketball in their life.”

Hosting around 60 young athletes this year, Hunter said he’s excited to see his camp continue to grow.

“It’s grown quite a bit,” Hunter said. “What I’ve done is integrate kids from Phoenix, Maryvale and Avondale; from underserved areas.”

Hunter explained that young athletes have the opportunity to apply for scholarships to the camp, which are provided by various sponsors.

“Our sponsors are great and they pay for these kids to experience two weeks of camp, which has been awesome,” Hunter said. “Camp’s going great. This is by far the best group yet. These kids are so appreciative of just being here. They’ve got adults who are willing to work with them and who genuinely care about them.”

Hunter compared camp to a vacation for some of his youngsters.

“Quite honestly, some of our kids wouldn’t be here without the help of our sponsors,” He added. “They’ve even paid for transportation and gotten some of these kids out of the city and into beautiful Fountain Hills. They get to see something different than what they see in their everyday environment. I think that opens up their minds to different things in life.”

And those are lives Hunter said he’s been proud to be a part of.

“My favorite part of the camp is getting to interact with the kids,” Hunter said. “Not only do the kids make new friends here, but I make new friends, too. I get to know each and every camper. For these two weeks, I get to become like a big brother to them, and I really appreciate those relationships.”