After the Plant City Elks Lodge held their annual Hoop Shoot Free Throw Contest in October, the five winners from each age group made their way to Lake Placid, Fla. for the district round.
In the competition, male and female participants across three different age groups ranging from eight to 13 years old each got their opportunity to shoot 25 free throws, with four of the five Plant City hopefuls taking first place.
These are the local competitors that took the top spot in districts, earning their spot in the state regionals in Sanford, Fla. on Jan. 29:
Boys 10-11: Kaden Montgomery
Boys 12-13: Elijah Gilroy
Girls 10-11: Kara Ouzts
Girls 12-13: Marlee Kraus
In addition to the four district winners, Je’ziah Johnson finished second in the 8-9 Boys division.
Following the state regionals, any competitors that once again earn the top spot will head to the state competition at the Elks Youth Camp in Umatilla, Fla. on Feb. 19, with a chance to then advance to the national regional and eventually the National Championship at DePaul University in Chicago. Winners at the national level will have their names and pictures enshrined as part of a brand-new digital exhibit at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.
Seeing the important role that the Hoop Shoot plays on local kids, the Plant City Elks Lodge will assist the journey by funding travel expenses for any kids and their parents as they advance through the competition.
“When we started the Hoop Shoot at the local level, we wanted to instill grit in all of the kids,” said local Hoop Shoot director George Domedion. “A commitment to making new friends, a commitment to the work ethic to go out in practice and I can’t even tell you, almost every one of those kids told me how hard they’ve been practicing for the entire time since we held the local competition. They’re all practicing like crazy and now, especially the four that are moving on, they’ve all said how they’ve got to practice, practice, practice. That’s what we want them to do and they’ve all kind of become friends along the way, so it’s really been cool.”