Kids aim for shot at district competition

Jan. 23—EFFINGHAM — Effingham Knights of Columbus Council 665 hosted its annual free-throw contest Sunday at St. Anthony High School, with winners taking a stab at district competitions in the coming months.

Kids ages 9-14 throughout the area competed for the chance to advance to the district contest at Sacred Heart School in February. There were 12 spots up for grabs — six boys and six girls in each age group — determined by who could hit the most free throws out of 15. In case of a tie, rounds of five free throws are held until a winner was determined.

The event is a chance for the council to get out in the community and provide an outlet for kids to both compete and have fun. Greg Koester, program director for the council and chairman of the free-throw contest — in addition to his duties as city planner — said it was yet another opportunity for the group to get involved in the community through work with children.

"It's just another opportunity for the Knights to show they're active in the community by having programs for our youth to participate in," Koester said.

Any child in the area, whether or not they were related to a member of the council, could participate.

"Each child is different," Koester said. "There are some that do this to have a little fun, (while) the more competitive ones are here to compete and advance on to (districts). They'll compete in the Knights of Columbus shoot, the Elks Hoop Shoot and different things."

While the kids were in the spotlight, there was a large group of people willing to help and allow the event to move smoothly, from Grand Knights of the council to students at St. Anthony's seeking service hours. Madeline Kibler, a sophomore, and Alexis Stephens, a senior, were serving at the registration desk and each saw great value in working at the competition. Kibler said it was good the school hosted it, as it gives plenty of students a chance to volunteer and serve the community.

"A lot of people at St. Anthony are always out volunteering," Kibler said. "You have to have 60 service hours in order to graduate, so it's really big (for us) to get out in the community and show that there's more to these kids (and) that they like giving back."

Stephens said volunteering helps to set a good standard for people to get involved in their communities and prepares them for work they could do in the future.

"It shows a good example to younger kids to come out and help volunteer," Stephens said. "Without everyone's willingness to help one another, we would not have a lot of events that we have in our community."

As for the kids, the mixing of competition and fun helped to bring many of them out. For 11-year-old Sydney Stephens, her basketball skills helped out in the competition, but for the most part, she wanted to have a nice, fun Sunday.

"I kind of feel nervous at the start, but once I get going, I feel excited that I'm just having fun," Sydney said.

Zach Roth can be reached at zach.roth@effinghamdailynews.com or by phone at (217) 347-7151 ext. 132 or (217) 899-4338.