Jr. NBA Skill Challenge Returning to Olean
Jr. NBA Skill Challenge Returning to Olean
March Madness Continues into Late April for GOACC Event
Hutter, Ruggles, Dubin – tops from Olean that went on to compete in Cleveland
OLEAN - March Madness will continue into late April with the Jr. NBA Skills Challenge coming back to Olean! The City of Olean Youth and Recreation and the Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce has scheduled the challenge for Saturday, April 22 and will provide boys and girls, ages 13 and younger, the opportunity to improve upon and showcase their fitness through five fundamental basketball skills: shooting, lay-ups, dribbling, passing, and defense. The program is free for all participants and organizations. Boys and girls compete separately in two different age groups: 11U and 13U.
“We are excited to be asked again to host this skills challenge for our area children. Last year, we had 24 participants,” stated Meme K. Yanetsko, GOACC COO.
For Olean’s 2022 Challenge, New Life Christian student athlete Marci Hutter and Olean Intermediate Middle School student athlete Liam Ruggles both placed first in their divisions in Olean, and Allegany-Limestone student athlete Jamison Dubin placed second in Olean. All three were invited and joined other top scorers from local competitions around the country to participate in their closest geographical regional competition; for Olean, it was in Cleveland. Miss Hutter went through that round and earned a trip to the finals in New York City. She went to the NBA Draft as a guest of the Jr. NBA Challenge and toured NYC!
Boys and girls need to sign up and register online at https://jr.nba.com/skillschallenge/ . Participants will compete in each of the five standardized skills to earn a total cumulative time resulting in a final score:
Dribbling – Challenges participants in stationary, zig-zag, and speed dribbling.
Shooting – Challenges participants to make jump shots from the elbow.
Lay-Up – Challenges participants to make lay-up shots.
Passing – Challenges participants to accurately pass towards a wall target and receive a pass.
Defense and Bonus Free Throw – Challenges participants in defensive lane slides, sprinting, and free throw shooting.
“The City of Olean is excited to co-host this challenge. Our St. John’s gym is the ideal space to host this as the facility has new flooring,” stated Kris Shewiary, City of Olean Youth and Rec Director. He added, “Through our winter basketball leagues as well as summer programs, the City has a built in audience that is familiar to our programs and activities.”
The challenge will run from 10:15-11:45am. GOACC and the City are also looking for high school students who need community service hours to help volunteer. For more information on volunteering or on the skills competition, please call 716-372-4433 or email info@oleanny.com.