by Sara Kolander

Last October, Soccer Shoot champions from Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin dueled in Osh Kosh, Wisconsin, for top honors in the Elks Region 5 Soccer Shoot competition. Now in its fourth year, the Soccer Shoot is the Elks’ newest national youth program.

The weekend kicked off with a pizza party on Friday night, where the 29 participants and their families were able to relax and get to know one another. The main event began at 9:30 Saturday morning when the young champions, ranging in age from 8 to 13, paraded into an indoor soccer field in the new Osh Kosh YMCA. Each state delegation marched together, waving their state flags.

One of these participants was twelve-year old Kyle Menke of Fairfield, IA. Kyle’s been playing soccer since he was 4, and he currently plays in a competitive traveling league. Last year, Kyle placed first in the regional competition and fifth in the nation. He is proud to represent Iowa because of the hard work it took for him to get this far.

Ten-year old Brittany Baumler from Beaver Dam, WI, also began kicking the ball around at an early age. Following her dad’s example, Brittany played in her first soccer league at the age of five. Competing in her second Soccer Shoot, Brittany was nervous and excited to be representing Wisconsin.

Saturday at 10, the balls started flying. In the Elks Soccer Shoot, boys and girls compete separately in three age brackets: Under 10, Under 12 and Under 14. At the Region 5 competition, all three age brackets competed simultaneously in three separate areas of the field. Each child was given three practice shots to get the feel of the indoor turf, as most do not normally play indoor soccer.

In the two older age-groups, each child gets 15 shots at a standard 24-by-10-foot goal. The goal is partitioned into sections of varying point values, depending on the degree of difficulty of the shot. Depending on which section they hit, shooters can score one, two, three or five points. A perfect score is 75. The youngest age-group kicks at a progressively smaller goal.

In the Under 10 bracket, the winners were Jacob Galbrecht, sponsored by Chillicothe, MO, Lodge No. 656, and Hannah Krivanek, sponsored by Alexandria, MN, Lodge No. 1685. In the Under 12 bracket, Lucas Miller, sponsored by Galesburg, IL, Lodge No. 894, took top honors on the boys’ side, while Amy Krivanek, sponsored by Alexandria, MN, Lodge No.1685, matched her sister’s feat on the girls’ side. Matt Huberty, sponsored by Detroit Lakes, MN, Lodge No. 2261, and Kelsey Polzin, sponsored by Racine, WI, Lodge No. 252, were the big winners in the Under 14 bracket.

Because there is no physical national contest, these six champions then took 25 additional shots. Their scores were compiled and submitted to the national director to determine their placement nationally. (Both Lucas and Matt recently were informed that they had won national championships, while Amy finished second in her bracket.)

Saturday evening, the participants and their families gathered at Oshkosh Elks Lodge for an awards ceremony. The largest trophies went to the winners, but everyone received a trophy for participating.

The weekend was deemed a success by all involved. Regardless of how they finished, the kids enjoyed competing and the parents were impressed by the quality and organization of the event. Mike Rogers, the Region 5 Soccer Shoot Director states, “With more participation at the local lodges this program will just keep growing. This is the newest way we show that Elks Care-Elks Share.”

During the 2002-02 fiscal year, the Elks National Foundation granted $150,000 to the Grand Lodge Youth Activities Committee to completely fund the Soccer Shoot program. For more information about Soccer Shoot and other Youth programs, visit www.elks.org/YouthActivities.cfm.

Sara Kolander is an Elks National Foundation Most Valuable Student attending University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh.