HANOVER – For the past decade, ‘A Shot For Life’ has served as the last word competitors for among the state’s premier basketball standouts, a marathon designed to find out who the most effective shooters actually are within the commonwealth.
When his mom was first recognized with a doubtlessly malignant mind tumor again in 2010, Mike Slonina discovered himself decided to assist increase consciousness within the unending warfare with most cancers. As a method of doing so, he spent 24 hours in a gymnasium taking pictures throughout a fundraiser on April 9, 2011, with proceeds benefiting the MGH Cancer Center. He transformed 73.2% of his makes an attempt, and the occasion was a rousing success.
Few may have envisioned simply how a lot his labor of affection would develop over time, or the variety of lives that will go on to be impacted by its mission. On Sunday, dozens of athletes descended upon Starland Sportsplex and Fun Park in Hanover for the tenth working of the basketball problem, and followers in attendance had been handled to some stellar performances.
During her highschool profession, current Dedham High graduate Avery O’Connor garnered fairly a couple of accolades. However, she walked into the power Sunday morning with a chip on her shoulder, having completed third within the ‘A Shot for Life’ competitors final summer season. The UNH-bound O’Connor caught hearth throughout the free throw session, sinking almost each single try she took within the early levels. The scorching begin was greater than sufficient to hold the previous Tri-Valley League MVP to a primary place end (78.5%), besting the sphere by 4.8%.
“I kind of came in with a mission to get first (place),” stated O’Connor. “Just because last year, all the percentages were really close. So I knew I was definitely capable of doing it. I was really excited to come in here today, help support a good cause and promote it.”
The boys’ competitors got here down to 2 gamers on the finish of the day, with St. Sebastian’s sniper Trevor Mullins taking residence the title. In an identical vogue to O’Connor, Mullins additionally discovered his stroke instantly, and by no means relented. A Yale commit, Mullins related on 87.1% of his photographs, edging Hingham’s Liam McBride (86.1%) for the {hardware}.
Just a few years in the past, Mullins’ older sister Maddie first took half within the event earlier than embarking on a collegiate basketball journey of her personal at Brown. He has merely continued the household custom by taking part within the occasion yearly.
“The shooting competition is a giant game of runs, basically whoever has the most time where they can make the most shots in a row,” stated Mullins. “For me, we learned a lot from last year. Take some more breaks here and there…I also brought a lot of food and drinks, so I was ready to go.”
As of this week, roughly $40,000 had been raised by this yr’s version of the problem, and the group solely continues to broaden. This yr marked the first-ever ‘A Shot For Life’ All-Star basketball video games, which had been held on the Rivers School on Aug. 2. The charitable basis has additionally expanded into different sports activities, with baseball, lacrosse and softball competitions already going down.
Slonina says that ‘A Shot For Life’ can even start internet hosting a soccer problem this upcoming January, adopted by a soccer competitors in April of 2023.
“Our goal is to cure cancer,” Slonina stated. “At the end of the day, we’re a cancer organization that uses sports. Not a sports organization that uses cancer. Yes, this initiative is growing. It will continue to grow. The All-Star Game was a great addition to ASFL basketball. But really, A Shot For Life as a whole is what is growing exponentially.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com