A Morton Grove Police Department free throw contest two officers organized during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic is still going – and continues to encourage youth to be active.
“We thought this would be an opportunity to get kids out of the house and just do something fun,” Community Liaison Officer Justin Jurasz, one of the founders, told Pioneer Press. “The other reason to have it was to get that sense of community back.”
The annual free throw contest was held Oct. 22 on the indoor basketball court at Prairie View Community Center, drawing approximately 21 children, which is more than the 15 youngsters at the 2023 event, according to organizers.
“More people were interested,” Jurasz said.
He credited word of mouth, opening the competition to residents of surrounding areas – including Niles and Skokie – and parent feedback about the time as among the reasons more youth reserved a spot in this year’s contest.
“With the timing in previous years, we would have the competition start at 4 o’clock. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to make it. Kids get out of school at 3:30. We moved the time back to 4:30 so that allowed for the extra participants,” Jurasz said.
He explained that refining the age range, which was through age 14 in 2023, also helped this year.
“We felt like it was a little unfair for the younger kids. We wanted it to be consistent and have (contestants) shoot from the same free throw line. We can’t really lower the hoop. We felt like 7 to 14 was the right age range,” Jurasz said.
Children were divided into two age groups: 7 to 10 and 11 to 14.
“The first round of the contest essentially was ‘how many free throws can you sink in 10 attempts?’ Then the highest score from each of those age groups would move on to a final round,” Jurasz said.
Hamzah Ahmed, 10, won first place and Hammad Hussaini, 10, won second place for the 7 to 10 group. Ryan, 13, won first place and John Francis, 12, won second place in the 11 to 14 one. Each winner was awarded a new basketball.
Next, 14 police officers – which was more than the 11 who competed in 2023 – each had 10 attempts to make free throws. Community Liaison Officer Gina Lietz, the other event co-founder, was the overall winner for the officers.
“Then the two kids faced off against each other in the final. That was a little bit different format. Instead of being ‘how many free throws can you sink in 10 attempts?’ it was ‘how many free throws can you make in one minute?’” Jurasz said.
Ahmed was the overall children’s winner and was awarded a $25 Amazon gift card.
According to Jurasz, prizes were paid for through the community liaison budget.
“It’s a fun way to show kids that ‘Hey, officers are just like you,’” he said. “Sports is a fun way to bring the community together.”
Jessi Virtusio is a freelancer.
