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Basketball stars southbound for more practice
Fort Simpson youth headed to Vancouver and Seattle to train for Canada Summer Games

April Hudson
Northern News Services
Thursday, June 30, 2016

LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
For two youth from Fort Simpson, the summer is kicking off with a world of possibilities.

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Bryce Hardisty-Phillips, left, and Zehro'h Waugh are on their way to a basketball practice for the 2017 Canada Summer Games. - April Hudson/NNSL photo

Zehro'h Waugh and Bryce Hardisty-Phillips are both on their way to team practices in Vancouver and Seattle to train for the 2017 Canada Summer Games, after the people of the Deh Cho rallied behind them and raised the $1,000 apiece they needed for player fees.

Hardisty-Phillips and Waugh expect to take part in the games as part of the 16-and-under basketball team.

The duo left town for Yellowknife on June 24 for the first of their practices and expect to be in B.C. by the beginning of July.

On June 23, following Thomas Simpson Secondary School's awards ceremony, Waugh said he was planning to take it easy until the trip began and take the time to say his farewells to friends he won't see for the rest of the summer.

"It feels really good (to make the team)," Waugh said.

"It feels like all my hard work paid off."

Waugh and Hardisty-Phillips were at team tryouts earlier this year, where Waugh says "the best players in the territory came." He added 15 players have been selected in total for the team, although there are only spots for 12 at the actual games.

"So far, all of us are going and training together," he said.

Both players have three and a half years of experience on the court and have developed into formidable shooters.

Hardisty-Phillips said he's happy to be training for the games and will be working to improve his passing and dribbling over the next season.

"This will be a new experience. I'm really excited for it," he said.

"I can't wait."

Waugh said his area of focus for the next season will be to work on tightening up his defense.

"I think I'm a really good leader on the court," he said.

"But even though I've worked hard, I still have to prepare and work harder this upcoming winter, because it's going to be really intense. It's going to be a new challenge for me."

On June 22, Waugh's aunt, Tracy Waugh-Antoine, created a GoFundMe for the pair, which had raised $1,895 by press time. That doesn't include private donations.

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