Four kids to represent Breckenridge at district Elks Hoop Shoot after winning local contest
By Tony Pilkington and Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan
Stephens County’s Elks Lodge No. 1480 held its annual Hoop Shoot free throw contest last week, and the four top winners will be going to the district competition on Sunday, Jan. 20.
The contest is for kids ages 8 to 13, divided into three age groups: 8-9, 10-11 and 12-13.
“This is all about competition and the kids concentrating and becoming gritty kids, as part of our motto,” said Wayne Justus with the Breckenridge Elks Lodge. “We’ll make gritty kids out of these guys and gals.”
Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “grit” as “unyielding courage in the face of hardship or danger,” and, according to the Elks Lodge’s Hoop Shoot web page, “The grit movement started a few years ago when psychologist Angela Duckworth studied people in challenging situations, including National Spelling Bee participants, rookie teachers in tough neighborhoods, and West Point cadets. Her research suggested that grit was a more accurate predictor of success than social intelligence, good looks, physical health, or IQ.”
This year’s Breckenridge Hoop Shoot winners were:
- Girls, 8-9, first place: Millie Walling
- Boys, 8-9, first place: Sam McClymond; second place: Trey Duran
- Boys, 10-11, first place: Pate Gill; second place: Bostyn Navarro
- Boys 12-13, first place: Ian Hitchcock
Awards were presented in each category, and the winners will be eligible to participate in the district hoop shoot on Jan. 20 in Arlington. The Elks Lodge will provide gas money for that trip. The winners from the district contest will go on to the state competition in Carrollton in February. The regional hoop shoot will be held in Dallas in March, and the national contest will be in Chicago in April. Everything above the district level will be an overnight trip, and the participants and their parents will get to attend the events as guests of the Elks.
Six national winners — a boy and a girl in each age category — will be named. The national winners will each receive a trophy and have their name inscribed on a plaque in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. The top-scoring boy and girl will be named the national champions and will receive the Getty Powell Award.
According to the Elks Lodge organization, the contest gives kids the opportunity to participate in spirited competition, develop relationship with peers and travel statewide, regionally and nationally at minimal expense to their parents.
Click here to see the Breckenridge Texan’s Photo Gallery from the 2024 Hoop Shoot.
The annual Hoop Shoot contest is sponsored by the Elks and gives kids the opportunity to participate in spirited competition, develop relationship with peers and travel. The local winners will compete in the district contest in Arlington later this month. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Ian Hitchcock won first place in the 12-13 year-old division. Wayne Justus with the Elks presented him with a medal. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Pate Gill won first place in the 10-11 year-old division. Wayne Justus with the Elks presented him with a medal. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Sam McClymond won first place in the 8-9 year-old boys division. Wayne Justus with the Elks presented him with a medal. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Millie Walling won first place in the 8-9 year-old girls division. Wayne Justus with the Elks presented her with a medal. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Cutline, top photo: Ian Hitchcock shoots a free throw in the Elks’ annual Hoop Shoot on Sunday, Jan. 7. Ian won first place in the 12-13 age bracket. Click here to see more photos from the event. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
