YOUTHS TAKE SHOT AT GREATNESS AS SIMI ELKS SPONSOR HOOP-LA.Byline: Gloria Gonzales Daily News Staff Writer More than 70 youths from several Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. middle schools turned out over the past four weekends to take a shot at becoming the 1998 Elks National Hoop Shoot champion. ``We've had some really great players come out,'' said Bill McColgan, the Simi Valley Elks Hoop Shoot chairman. ``We had a few kids who shot 13 or 14 out of 25, and one boy, Nathan Metcalf, shot 22 out of 25.'' The nationwide free-throw contest is open to boys and girls boys and girls mercurialisannua. ages 8 to 13 living in an Elks Lodge district. In its 26th year, the Simi Valley contest is sponsored by Elks Lodge No. 2492. The Simi Valley winner will progress to the district finals, which will involve players from all of Ventura County and parts of Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. County. Youths use a ball slightly less than regulation size in a series of 25 free throws, and best score wins. The district winner goes to the state finals, and then on to the nationals. All travel and lodging Lodging or holiday accommodation is a type of accommodation. People who travel and stay away from home for more than a day need lodging mainly for sleeping. Other purposes are safety, shelter from cold and rain, having a place to store luggage and being able to take a fees are covered by the Elks Club. Both the boys' and girls' national champions will have their names inscribed in·scribe tr.v. in·scribed, in·scrib·ing, in·scribes 1. a. To write, print, carve, or engrave (words or letters) on or in a surface. b. To mark or engrave (a surface) with words or letters. on a plaque plaque (plak) 1. any patch or flat area. 2. a superficial, solid, elevated skin lesion. attachment plaques at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame For Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, see Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. For other uses, see Basketball Hall of Fame (disambiguation). The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. So far, several Simi Valley contestants are still in the running for that honor. Some have sunk 18 out of 25 shots, while only a handful have made more. The top one-quarter - McColgan expects about 15 youths - will compete in the Simi Valley finals at the Elks Club court Nov. 29. ``The finals will be exciting; we'll have some closely matched players,'' he said. On Saturday, Naqi Jaffrey, a 13-year-old student at Valley View Middle School, made use of the regulation 10-minute warm-up period before the countdown began. ``We actually heard about it because of a flier that was passed out at my younger brother's school,'' he said, practicing his shots. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. how well I'll do; I haven't really been practicing that much.'' Naqi, with a powerful arm but less than exact aim, scored five out of 25 and endured several painful rim rolls during the 10-minute trial. ``Maybe next year,'' McColgan consoled the teen-ager as the pair walked from the court. For more information about the Elks National Hoop Shoot, call McColgan at 581-5753. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO (ran in Simi edition only) Bill McColgan, Simi Valley Elks Hoop Shoot chairman, and his fellow Elks will host city finals Nov. 29. Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News |
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