HARLINGEN — Cristian Cisneros was pretty psyched last weekend when he won a state contest for shooting hoops.
“I want to play at a professional level one day,” said Cristian, 9, who won the state finals Feb. 19 in the Texas Hoop Shoot presented by the Texas Elks.
Desirae Rodriguez and Isaac Fonseca competed in the 10 – 11 age group at the event in Dallas. Cristian won the 8 – 9 age group and will compete in the regional competition March 19.
“I’m excited and ready to represent my state well,” said Cristian, who attends third grade at Elma Barrera Elementary in Santa Rosa.
The Elks Lodge, known more formally as The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the U.S.A., sponsors a variety of events to benefit the community. One of those events is a national “Hoop Shoot” free-throw contest involving more than 3 million children, says it’s website.
At the local level, Elks Lodge 1889 sponsored the competitions which opened the way for Cristian and his fellow players to succeed, said Monica Arellano, Harlingen Elks Lodge Hoop Shoot Coordinator and South District director.
“They all performed without a hitch,” said Arellano, who accompanied the three players to Dallas.
She was especially impressed with the fact they were all “first timers.”
“This is their first time competing at the state level and it was also their first time competing at a hoop shoot, period,” Arellano said. “We really didn’t know how they were going to do going to a bigger stage because there were a lot more kids they were competing against and a lot more people. They all did so well.”
The kids seemed to enjoy themselves.
“It was a good opportunity for me,” said Desirae, 10, a fourth grader at Crockett Elementary.
“I enjoyed meeting new people and it made me a stronger shooter,” she said.
Isaac also enjoyed meeting more people as well as having “more chances to shoot.”
“I wanted to get better at shooting free throws,” said Isaac, a fourth grader at Treasure Hills Elementary.
“I wanted to learn to concentrate and get more practice,” he said.
Arellano said the Elks Lodge coordinated this particular event to create good sportsmanship opportunities for local youth.
“We want them to learn how to compete and learn how to be good sportsmen,” Arellano said. “We want them to learn to lose and win gracefully.”
The Elks pay all expenses to ensure any child can participate.
