KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) - Morgan Stuart paced slowly behind a line of three campers at the University of Washington Softball Camp at Dudley Field in Ketchikan, repeating the same three-word phrase.

"Load. Step. Swing," she said, watching as the three campers launched plastic yellow softballs off the tees placed in front of them. "Load. Step. Swing."

The campers listened carefully, trying to recreate Stuart's pre-swing mechanics by loading their weight on their back foot, then stepping into the ball before making a full swing.

And why wouldn't they listen carefully?

Stuart, a junior shortstop at Washington, was a crucial cog in the Huskies' triumph over Florida in the Women's College World Series last season. She batted .476 in the six-game series, set a WCWS record with four doubles and tied a record by recording five hits in a single game.

Stuart was also one of seven Washington players to attend this year's camp in Ketchikan, the third consecutive camp in which Washington players and coaches were the primary instructors.

"Everything that (the campers are) doing today, we do as a team," Stuart said Saturday. This drill practices "harnessing power before the swing."

As a team, the national-champion Huskies are one of the more successful softball programs in the nation. Washington, led by coach Heather Tarr, finished last season with a 51-12 record despite playing in a Pac-10 conference that has won 21 of the 27 WCWS titles.

Tarr and her staff were in Ketchikan for the camp. So was pitcher Felecia Harris, who went 7-2 with a 3.12 ERA for Washington last season; infielder Niki Williams, a member of the WCWS All-Tournament team after setting the series record for RBIs with 10; and outfielder Kimi Pohlman, who scored the game-winning run for the Huskies in the final game of the WCWS.

"You couldn't find a better coaching staff, a better group to come in," Kayhi softball coach Joe Austen said. "They're a Northwest program, too. The first year they came in they were No. 3 in the nation ... of course they're the national champions this year."

This year's camp attracted more than 80 softball players, according to Austen. Most girls were from Ketchikan, but players from Anchorage, Juneau, Palmer, Soldotna and Wasilla also attended the three-day camp.

Girls aged 8 to 18 were invited to attend, and for most of the three days players were divided into groups based on age and level of ability. Washington players and coaches worked with everyone from the youngest player to members of Austen's Kayhi team.

Saturday's camp included the requisite running of drills simulating everything from diving catches to executing a rundown - as the players went through pitching, hitting and general skills clinics. But Kahyi senior and girls' softball captain Mykayla Martin said what she noticed most was the Huskies' ability to connect personally with the campers.

"They work one-on-one," said Martin, who has attended all three Washington camps in Ketchikan. "No player is alike ... They really take you one-on-one and figure out what you need to do."

That one-on-one attention has paid off at the varsity level for Ketchikan. In the past three years, Kayhi has won two state championships (2007 and 2009) and finished second once (to Kodiak in 2008).

"Since we started getting involved with the University of Washington, our level of play has really gone up considerably," Austen said. The Huskies "need to take some ownership in our success."

The influence of Tarr and her Washington team has extended beyond short-term summer camps.

Take the case of camper Sarah Cool. Cool, an 11-year-old sixth-grader from Ketchikan, was in Seattle with family for a wedding in late April when Tarr invited her to serve as bat girl for the Huskies' April 29 game against UCLA.

"Sarah was in the dugout, with the team, where the players remembered her from the previous year when they were up here," said Bill Cool, Sarah Cool's father. "Coach Tarr, I think, has adopted Ketchikan softball, and encourages the girls."

Austen said camper Kaylie Smith received a similar offer from Tarr and the Huskies, serving as a bat girl for four games last season.

"It's been neat to see the development of the people here that we've been able to work with for the last three years, the Kayhi team specifically," Tarr said. "Even the young ones that were 10 (years old) when we first came here ... that's really why we do it.

"We're not going to probably find our next top pitcher in 10 years here. It's just neat working with everybody."

At the end of the camp, Tarr and her players gathered for a special message to the players on Kayhi's softball team. It focused on the importance of accountability and reliability within the framework of any team. Tarr reminded the Kayhi players that as state champions, they would be held to a higher standard.

"They talked to us about being accountable, having each other's back on and off the field," Martin said. "Four years ago it was, 'I just want to win, I just want to get this out.' Now it's, 'I want to have her back, I want to do more."'

Austen said he has already made plans with Washington to return to Ketchikan next year, noting that, "They're pretty committed to us, and we are absolutely committed to them."

"Looking at the younger kids, (Ketchikan's) future looks great," Austen said. "When (these kids) are freshmen, they are going to come in with a bigger advantage than what our freshman this year and last year and the year before came in with.

"They've had a much better foundation than any of our young kids have had before."